{{Infobox automobile | image = BMW 3200 CS (1961) Classic-Gala 2022 1X7A0178.jpg | name = BMW 3200 CS | manufacturer = [[BMW]] | production = January 1962 – September 1965<br />603 built <ref name="AutoMotoruSport2010"/> | predecessor = [[BMW 503]] | successor = [[BMW New Class coupé]] | class = [[Grand tourer]] | body_style = [[coupé|2-door coupé]] | layout = [[FR layout]] | transmission = 4 speed [[manual transmission|manual]] | engine = [[BMW OHV V8 engine|BMW OHV V8]] | length = {{convert|4850|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|1760|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | height = {{convert|1470|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | weight = {{convert|1500|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}} | wheelbase = {{convert|2840|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | related = [[BMW 501|BMW 502]] | designer = [[Giorgetto Giugiaro]] at [[Gruppo Bertone|Bertone]] }} The '''BMW 3200 CS''' was a sports touring car manufactured by [[BMW]] between January 1962 and September 1965. It was designed by [[Gruppo Bertone|Bertone]] and was introduced at the [[Frankfurt Motor Show#1961|1961 Frankfurt Motor Show]]. More than five hundred were built.
The 3200 CS was the final variation on BMW's early postwar luxury platform that began with the [[BMW 501|501]] introduced in 1951. The styling of the 3200 CS influenced the 2000 CS coupe version of the [[BMW New Class|New Class]] and the later [[BMW E9|New Six coupes]].
It was the first BMW to feature the [[Hofmeister kink]] (which would become one of the company's trademark design elements).
==Concept and design== [[File:BMW 3200 CS 1965.jpg|thumb|left|1965 BMW 3200 CS]]
In 1960, Helmut Werner Bonsch, BMW's marketing manager, discovered that the Pininfarina body for the [[Lancia Flaminia]] coupe would fit on the chassis of the BMW 3200L sedan without major modification. He proposed to BMW's management to commission Pininfarina to build Flaminia coupe bodies with BMW grilles in order to create a successor to the [[BMW 503|503]], which had been discontinued in 1959.<ref name="BavDrivMach131">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.131</ref>
After deliberation, the management rejected Bonsch's proposal and instead ordered chief engineer [[Fritz Fiedler]] to commission Bertone to design and manufacture a coupe body for the 3200S.<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /> This used a [[Frame (vehicle)|perimeter frame]],<ref name="BavDrivMach87">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.87</ref> a {{Convert|3168|cc|cuin|abbr=on}}, twin-carburetor version of the [[BMW OHV V8 engine]], delivering {{Convert|160|hp|kW}},<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /><ref name="BavDrivMach93">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.93</ref><ref name="UltiHist65">[[#Noakes|''The Ultimate History of BMW'', Noakes]], p.65</ref> a four speed manual gear box,<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /><ref name="UltiHist65" /> a live rear axle,<ref name="UltiHist65" /><ref name="BavDrivMach88">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.88</ref> disc brakes on the front wheels,<ref name="BavDrivMach93" /><ref name="UltiHist65" /> and torsion bar springs at all four wheels.<ref name="BavDrivMach87" /><ref name="UltiHist65" /><ref name="BavDrivMach88" />
==Reception== [[File:BMW 3200 Cabrio.jpg|thumb|The only BMW 3200 CS convertible, made for major shareholder [[Herbert Quandt]]|left]]The 3200 CS was introduced at the [[Frankfurt Motor Show#1961|1961 Frankfurt Motor Show]]<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /> alongside the [[BMW New Class|BMW 1500]].<ref name="BavDrivMach136">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.136</ref> While the 1500 represented a completely new direction for BMW,<ref name="BavDrivMach136" /> the 3200 CS was based on the chassis of a car introduced at the Frankfurt show ten years earlier.<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /><ref name="BavDrivMach89">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.89</ref>
The 3200 CS was built from January 1962 to September 1965.<ref name="BavDrivMach132">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.132</ref> Sources differ concerning numbers produced.<ref>Examples of differing sources: *603 according to [[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.132 and [[#Melissen|Ultimatecarpage.com - BMW 3200 CS Cabriolet, W. Melissen]], *596 according to [[#Vaughan|Conceptcars.com - 1965 BMW 3200CS]], *538 according to [[#Noakes|''The Ultimate History of BMW'', Noakes]], p.63</ref>
One 3200 CS convertible was built by BMW for their major shareholder, [[Herbert Quandt]].<ref name="UltiHist64">[[#Noakes|''The Ultimate History of BMW'', Noakes]], p.64</ref><ref name="UltiCarPage3200CSCabrio">[[#Melissen|"BMW 3200 CS Cabriolet", Melissen, ''Ultimatecarpage.com'']]</ref>
==Legacy== [[File:3200CS-Cockpit.jpg|thumb|View of the interior showing the [[Hofmeister kink]] that would emerge as a feature of BMW design]]
The 3200 CS was the end of an era. It was the last of BMW's early postwar luxury cars.<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /><ref name="UltiHist63">[[#Noakes|''The Ultimate History of BMW'', Noakes]], p.63</ref> As such, it was the last BMW automobile to have pushrod-operated engine valves, a perimeter frame, or a solid rear axle.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}
Stylistically, however, the 3200 CS gave a view of what was to come. The low beltline, tall greenhouse and thin pillars of the 3200 CS became a template for BMW's later coupes,<ref name="BavDrivMach131" /><ref name="UltiHist63" /> including the 2000 C and CS coupes based on the [[BMW New Class|New Class]] sedans,<ref name="BavDrivMach141">[[#Norbye|''BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines'', Norbye]], p.141</ref> and the [[BMW E9|E9]] "[[BMW New Six|New Six]]" coupes.<ref name="FromBavWLove">[[#Severson|"From Bavaria with Love: The BMW E9 Coupes", Severson]]</ref> Both BMW cars introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt show, the 3200 CS and the 1500, featured what became known as the [[Hofmeister kink]],<ref name="AutoMotoruSport2010">[[#Ostmann|"Nachtschicht im Schloss: A report on a concours d'elegance at Schloss Bensberg", Ostmann, Bernd; ''Auto, Motor und Sport'', '''Heft 25 2010''']]</ref> but sales started only in 1962 and it was the 3200 CS, sold from February 1962, which was the first BMW offered for sale incorporating this styling cue.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} {{-}}
==References== ;Citations {{Reflist|30em}}
;Sources {{Refbegin}} *{{cite web| url= http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1966/BMW-3200-CS-Cabriolet.html | title= Ultimatecarpage.com - BMW 3200 CS Cabriolet| first= Wouter | last= Melissen | date= 1 December 2004| work= Ultimatecarpage.com| publisher= Wouter Melissen| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121024094213/http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1966/BMW-3200-CS-Cabriolet.html| archive-date =2012-10-24 | access-date = 2010-07-08| url-status=live| ref= Melissen}} *{{cite book|last= Noakes |first= Andrew |title= The Ultimate History of BMW |year= 2005 |publisher= Parragon Publishing |location= Bath, UK |isbn=1-4054-5316-8 |pages= 63–65 |chapter= Chapter 4: Rescue and Revival 1959-72 |ref=Noakes}} *{{cite book |last=Norbye |first=Jan P. |title=BMW - Bavaria's Driving Machines |year=1984 |publisher=Publications International |location=Skokie, IL |isbn=0-517-42464-9 |ref=Norbye |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bmwbavariasdrivi00norb }} *{{cite journal| title = Nachtschicht im Schloss: A report on a concours d'elegance at Schloss Bensberg | first = Bernd | last = Ostmann|journal = [[Auto, Motor und Sport|Auto Motor u. Sport]]| volume = Heft 25 2010| pages = Seite 26 |date = 18 November 2010|ref= Ostmann}} *{{cite web| url= http://ateupwithmotor.com/sports-cars-and-muscle-cars/130-from-bavaria-with-love-bmw-cs-coupes.html| title= From Bavaria with Love: The BMW E9 Coupes | first= Aaron | last= Severson | date= 17 November 2008 | work= Ate Up With Motor - Snapshots of Automotive History | publisher= Aaron Severson| access-date= 2010-07-09| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723160655/http://ateupwithmotor.com/sports-cars-and-muscle-cars/130-bmw-e9-cs-coupes.html| archive-date=2012-07-23| url-status=live| ref= Severson}} *{{cite web| url= http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14696/BMW-3200CS.aspx| title= 1965 bmw 3200cs| first= Daniel| last= Vaughan| year= 1998 | work= Conceptcarz.com | publisher= Daniel Vaughan| access-date= 2010-07-08| ref= Vaughan}} {{Refend}}
{{Commons category|BMW 3200 CS}}
{{BMW cars: 1960s to 1980s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmw 3200 Cs}} [[Category:Bertone vehicles]] [[Category:BMW vehicles|3200 CS]] [[Category:Coupés]] [[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]] [[Category:Cars introduced in 1961]] [[Category:Cars discontinued in 1965]]