Neue Klasse BMW 2000cs: The Unsung Design Hero 

I love how cars can take you back like this. My parents had an 1800 Sedan when I was young in England and we'd take road trips in it together with my sister, to Spain and Portugal. It had a distinct smell inside and in the trunk which came back to me together with those memories when I found my 2000c, and it's part of why this car is so special to me.

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Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for tuning in!

There can't be many of these in Tennessee!

Not too expensive yet! Thanks for watching!

Wow I've never seen one in yellow. The interior needs to be redone, for sure, the seats are splitting, the sunroof needs to be serviced, the parcel shelf has those awful Kenwood speakers, the wood is tired, the door cards are scarred ...but the interiors on these are really tricky, and it's not easy to find someone who'll take on the task. Finding original material is nigh impossible and the interior trim, same thing. Someday. Thanks for watching!

It does sound lovely! Thanks for watching, so glad you enjoyed it.

The Marchal driving lamps fill the gap nicely. Thanks for watching!

@@TheCarCrush thank you for the informative video.

Oh cool, where can I see the registry?! How many in the UK?

Thank you!!

There's a newfound transparency from BMW expressed through press communications and van Hooydonk himself in terms of recognizing the external designers shaping the era. BMW does not (at least any longer) contest that Bertone/Gandini had a hand in the first 5-Series, in fact to the contrary. BMW's own press materials for Garmisch state: "Gandini and his team at Bertone have worked on the BMW Spicup show car and the first generation of the 5-Series, which was created under the lead of BMW's former head of design, Paul Bracq." You're correct in that by mentioning Bertone for the 5-Series I'm referencing Gandini: I tried to condense things somewhat and didn't mention Bracq, or even Hoffmeister. I'm curious, as you clearly love design, what do you think of the Vision Neue Klasse?

@@TheCarCrush Thanks for asking about my opinion! I like the Vision Neue Klasse, it's definitely a step in the right direction. However, in my opinion, it's a little bit too little too late. In my opinion, most of the BMW design of the last twenty years have been complete rubbish. Some of the latest stuff is almost comically grotesque. And I think now is a good time for them to try out what kinda stuff will stick in the future. Chris Bangle's brief for the E65 7-series was keeping what he thought was the brand dna and completely re-invent the rest. So he kept the double round headlights, the double kidney grille, and the Hofmeister kink, which he thought was intrinsically BMW. The problem is, you can not just take a couple of attributes and plaster them all over, there needs to be something more to a design philosophy. The problem is that the market have changed for the last twenty years, and the cars that was traditionally BMW are now simply out of fashion. This is a problem not only for BMW but also for Mercedes, Lexus, and especially Jaguar. Look at Jaguar and see that there simply isn't a market anymore for the traditional kind of cars that they are famous for, the market changed and the demographic disappeared from right under them, Jaguar is on the brinks of bankruptcy because there's no one buying that kind of car anymore. And even though I applaude BMW for trying, they have to relent to the fact their traditional market for 3-series/5-series/7-series sedans simply isn't there anymore. What they should be looking for is something that would cover all bases including EVs and SUVs. And there you get the Porsche problem because it simply looks ridiculous plastering an SUV full of sports car attributes like the Cayenne looks like a 911 that ate too many cheeseburgers. BMW seems to be in an identity crisis looking in the mirror and asking themselves who they really are? But aren't they more than just picking up some design cues from here and there in their history?

It'll be interesting to see how closely the production version of the Vision NK resembles the Vision. And I agree the past decade from BMW has been a mess, design wise, pulling together styling elements that are working well for other, less premium manufacturers and pasting them all together. I like the Vision NK as it's a cohesive idea which takes a point of view, a stance. Your point on Jaguar is an interesting one. I think there is still room for "beautiful" cars, even though they may seem to be out of vogue at the moment. Ferrari I think has done better than most in this regard, particularly the 296 and nearly, nearly with the Roma. And I think the latest Maseratis are quite good, too. Jaguar's big misstep was forgetting how important the interiors were to the brand, to the Jaguar experience. I interviewed Ian Callum at the F-Type's debut here in LA years and asked him about this, and he said that the E-Type was never a leather and wood interior affair, and that's why the F-Type was more purposeful and technical inside - I thought it just looked cheap, and so did the XE and cars that followed. Porsche is interesting, too, over time many of the designs age so well. I'm liking 996 and never thought I would, and the generation 1 Boxster is looking better than ever. I very much like the gen 1 Macan for what it is. I've always had a bit of a challenge wrapping my eyeballs around Panamera but it's gotten better with each generation. Cayenne started with a clear identity - love it to leave it - and now for me is sort of handsome in a generic SUV way. Porsche's upcoming 7-passenger Range Rover competitor will be interesting to see.

Hi Tina, and thanks for watching. I think perhaps you are confusing the Neue Klasse and the E3, also called the New Sixes? Neue Klasse did indeed begin with the 1500 Sedan in 1961/62. BMW celebrated the NK's 50s Anniversary in 2011 and issued a news release at that time which is available at the BMW Global Press Site (easy to find with Google) called "50 Years of the BMW New Class" which you might find interesting. Also, the NK 2000C/S has MUCH more in common with the E9 2800CS than the rear end: the interior and main structure is carried over, while grafting a new front end into place. The wheelbase was increased to accommodate the new, larger 6 cylinder engine, and the front suspension was also significantly revised, too. As I mentioned in my notes, I relied heavily on both BMW's EXCELLENT press site and resources and also, "BMW: Driven to Succeed" by Graham Robson. If you're interested in learning more, check it out!

I stand corrected - thank you!@@TheCarCrush

It gets confusing!

There's a likeness, for sure, but I don't share your view that one directly inspired the other. Take a look at the Bertone-designed 1961 BMW 3200CS; that's where much of the 2000CS design originated from I think.

I agree, but I really like the direction they're heading in with the Vision Neue Klasse.

I hear you, but this was really focused more on the design evolution, and design is my way into cars in general. The trunk is HUGE btw and really clean, I debated a shot of the engine but...it didn't make it. LMK if you have any ????'s and I'll answer. And thanks for watching.

For me, the Vision NK is the first BMW in many years that's shown real design leadership rather than being a pastiche of what everyone else is doing, or has been styled to appeal to a specific market. It's still a "Vision" show car so, we'll see what the production version looks like.

Its a piece of crap,Sergey is sooo right!!!

Great design is polarizing! Love your handle btw!

Yep I've heard that before! And you're REALLY not going to like the way BMW's look in the future, assuming they look like the Vision Neue Klasse!