The snow had fallen overnight and it was the coldest morning so far in 2024, as I spotted it standing there in all its modesty, just next to my office. The BMW 3.0S was in tune with nature, not only for the color, but also since somewhat unexpectedly, it was on winter tires! Compared to BMW’s latest luxury sedan, the i7 that I had seen earlier the same day, you can’t help but admire the modesty of designs back in the day.

As always when seeing a car from an older generation, the first thought (or actually the second, after how modest its design was) is how small it is compared to today’s cars. After all, this was the predecessor to the first 7-series and already set to compete with notably the S-class, and yet it wasn’t bigger. That said the 3.0 always led a discrete life, very much in the shadow of that younger, more beautiful sibling everyone prefers…

Street finds are rare in winter and stumbling upon a BMW 3.0 was certainly not what I expected on the way to work last week. BMW’s then luxury sedan was launched in 1968 after several years when the brand had lacked a larger car, and going through a period that had been very economically challenging.

A few years earlier they had however launched the mid-sized BMW 1500 which had become a success, so ever so slowly, the finances were improving. The 3.0 was launched to re-establish BMW as a luxury maker for those with a thicker wallet and was a clear break, also in production technique, with its closest predecessor the 501, built since the early 50’s and discontinued in 1964.

It’s completely unthinkable these days that the luxury line of a brand wouldn’t have a name (even if in some cases, you would wish they didn’t…), but the 3.0 was always called just that. Internally it was however known as the E3 and was the first BMW to have the E designation. Why, given that, it wasn’t called the E1, I can’t tell you.

The fact that the grill is black and the rear lights larger tells you that this is a second series 3.0, produced after 1971, however before 1974, when the six-cylinder engine was increased to 3.3 litres. At the time it was the top of the line engine, and its core would live on until the 90’s.

Back in the early 70’s however, far more potent engines were also in development, including a 5-litre V12. Four 3.0’s were actually built with a V12 engine, just around the time of the first oil crisis, which quickly put stop to any further developments in that direction. I wonder if one of those is still around, and exactly how nose-heavy it is to drive…

So what about the beautiful sibling? I’m of course referring to the 3.0 CS, internally called E9, the beautiful coupé that was built by Karmann in parallel to the 3.0. Far more of these are still around today and they’ve really taken off in price, contrary to any 3.0 you may find, which will likely still be sub-30.000, or about 1/3 of a good CS. That probably tells you that a coupé was more of a Sunday car, already back in the day…

I’ve actually seen this particular 3.0 another couple of times since I first spotted it, so it clearly belongs to someone living in the neighborhood. I hope to meet the owner one day, not only to congratulate him/her on the perfect condition of the car, especially since it’s clearly driven all year around, but also to learn more about its history, because I’m sure there’s a nice one to tell. If I do, the story will be continued!