Car: 2000C/2000CA
Years Produced: 1965-1969 (see note on production
years)
Production Volume: 2,837
In 1965 BMW continued to build a
complete model range from a relatively small parts bin. The company took
the standard four cylinder engine, expanded it to 2 litres and intalled
it into a pretty two door coupe body made for BMW by Karmann.
The car was attractive, though those have debated the effectiveness of the
front whose only grille area was two tall, skinny BMW "kidneys."
The engine gave the usual willing performance, but it was pushing a heavy
car that looked faster than it actually was. This was somewhat remedied
when the TI treatment was given to the 2 litre and installed into the coupe,
creating the 2000CS. This helped in the performance
arena giving 120 bhp, but the car would be clearly supplanted by the six
cylinder coupes to follow. Today the four cylinder coupes are little known,
but they did have charm (I owned a 2000CS, I'm
biased).
At this point some BMW new class/'02 model abbreviations may be helpful:
TI or ti: Touring international. Usually means dual carbs, higher compression
ratio and uprated suspnesion
TI/Lux or tilux: TI engine with luxury trim
TISA: Touring international special equipment
tii: Touring international injected. TI compression ratio and suspension
coupled with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection.
C: coupe
CA: coupe with automatic transmission
CS: Sports coupe. TI engine/suspension treatment applied to a coupe.
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