BMW 1600 CS - The 02 with the skeptical look
02/25/2024
The BMW coupés based on the "New Class" were more elegant gliders than sporty racers. Even the factory preferred to use the sedan on the racetrack. However, anyone who liked the narrow-eyed front end and still longed for a little more driving dynamics did not have to look down the tube, but could turn to Willi Martini from Adenau on the Nürburgring from 1967.
There, Martini, who had made a name for himself with his BMW 700-based models, converted the compact 1600-02 into the "BMW 1600 CS". To do so, he implanted the headlights, radiator grille and tail light ensemble of the large 2000 CS into the Munich compact sedan. Martini refined the interior with bucket seats and a wooden steering wheel. But of course the racing car designer didn't stop there.
Those who could afford just under 20,000 marks received a racing version with Koni shock absorbers, a reinforced stabilizer, the front axle of the BMW 2000 TI with disc brakes, a brake booster, a body lightened with GRP parts and an engine with increased power output of 150 hp. Willi Martini wanted to produce a small series of 50 BMW 1600 CS. How many there were in the end is unknown.
