The BMW E24 is the first generation of BMW 6 Series range of grand tourer cars, which was produced from January 1976 to 1989 and replaced the BMW E9 coupé. The E24 was produced solely in a 2-door coupé body style. All models used petrol straight-six engines, with the majority (aside from the M635CSi/M6 model) using a version of the BMW M30 engine family. The E24 was initially based on the E12 5 Series platform, until it switched to the newly released E28 5 Series platform in 1982. The M635CSi is the first of the BMW M6 model line and is powered by the M88/3 straight-six engine. In North America, the vehicle is badged as "M6" and uses the less powerful BMW S38 engine. The E24's successor, the E63 6 Series, was released in 2004 after a 16-year hiatus. Although the E31 8 Series was released as production of the E24 was ending, the 8 Series is considered a separate model line and therefore not a successor to the E24. Development and production The E24 was designed by Paul Bracq. Unlike its E9 predecessor, the body of the E24 has a B pillar. The initial proposal for the E24 was based on a BMW E9 3.0 CS with an increased height, in order to make it easier for customers to enter and exit the vehicle. However, Bob Lutz rejected the proposal, eventually leading to the shape of the E24 in its production form. Production started in January 1976 with the 630CS and 633CSi in February 1976. A total of 86,216 cars were built prior to production ending in April 1989. Originally the bodies were manufactured by Karmann, but production was later taken in-house to the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing. Early series one E24s in original condition are now quite rare, particularly Karmann assembled cars (look for the Karmann build plate in the left door frame) produced before August 1977. Engines Figures are for European specification models, with U.S. market figures in the footnotes. Transmissions Initially, the E24 was available with a 4-speed manual transmission (Getrag 262), a 5-speed manual transmission (Getrag 265), or a 3-speed automatic transmission (ZF 3HP22). In 1983 the automatic transmission was upgraded to a 4-speed ZF 4HP22. Suspension and steering Front suspension consists of MacPherson struts and the rear suspension is independent semi-trailing arms. In 1982, the front suspension was upgraded to include twin-pivot lower control