e9 vs todays´cars,....size matters ?

deQuincey

deQuincey

Quousque tandem...?
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what do you think about sizes of todays cars vs our coupes ?

have you noticed the evolution ?

is there a clear trend ?


i was surprised to see side by side, 6 series from the 70ies vs 3 series from the 2020´s


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lets share some comparison pics...
 
I really noticed it when the last "modern" BMW we had (a 3 series from 2012) was larger than the E34 M5 I still have.....
 
I thought this picture that @Drew Gregg posted the other day was quite informative for a couple of reasons. 1) Look how small the 1600GT is. It makes the 2002 look hefty. 2) I was really surprised by how big the Z1 on the left is. I think of it as a pretty small car for the times (89 - 91 production years).

IMG_6320.jpg
 
coupedegrace said:
I thought this picture that @Drew Gregg posted the other day was quite informative for a couple of reasons. 1) Look how small the 1600GT is. It makes the 2002 look hefty. 2) I was really surprised by how big the Z1 on the left is. I think of it as a pretty small car for the times (89 - 91 production years).
Click to expand...
I thought it informative as it told me that @Drew Gregg needs to practice parking :p
 
Great topic, I love visual comparisons, here are some neat ones:

1) Italian cars are getting smaller
2) BMWs kept their footprint but got heavier in 10-15 years
3) Japanese family cars grew, although family size shrunk
5) Some things are timeless even if a bit dirty...
6) Proportions matter, no point in just growing bumpers
7) Beetles were not that small
8) More important than the size of the car...
9) The more I know cars the more I like my dog
 

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coupedegrace said:
I thought this picture that @Drew Gregg posted the other day was quite informative for a couple of reasons. 1) Look how small the 1600GT is. It makes the 2002 look hefty. 2) I was really surprised by how big the Z1 on the left is. I think of it as a pretty small car for the times (89 - 91 production years).

View attachment 175901
Click to expand...

When the Auty's & I switched cars on our way home from The Vintage in Asheville/Hot Springs in 2017. I drove the the Silver 1968 1600GT & they drove Vern my 1973 2002Tii. Alex Auty called me & exclaimed "This is like a REAL car!"

The Glas & BMW GTs are at least 4 inches narrower & 6ish inches shorter than the equivalent '02 sedan. The Chris Bangle designed 2003-2008 E86 Z4 Coupes are the modern homage to the BMW 1600GTs & brilliantly designed. Only the driver side has a keyed lock, the Roundels on the mid-front fender are turn signals, the rear Roundel is the hatch release with a keyed lock on the bottom. The interior has zero wasted space to maximize storage & the the rear storage of the 3.0i, the battery is under the lower storage panel while the rear suspension of the M-Coupes the battery is under a cover on the passenger side of the upper storage area.

E9s & '02s are roughly the same width though the E9 is is 8-10 inches longer & has a lower trunk.
Athena with her 5-speed gets the same fuel mileage as Veronika our 1968 1600 Cabriolet does with a 4-speed at equal speeds.


Z4 BMW Bum Rear.jpeg
 
adawil2002 said:
When the Auty's & I switched cars on our way home from The Vintage in Asheville/Hot Springs in 2017. I drove the the Silver 1968 1600GT & they drove Vern my 1973 2002Tii. Alex Auty called me & exclaimed "This is like a REAL car!"
Click to expand...
I love the "real car" observation.
adawil2002 said:
The Chris Bangle designed 2003-2008 E86 Z4 Coupes are the modern homage to the BMW 1600GTs & brilliantly designed.
Click to expand...
I've always really liked the Z4s, but especially the coupe. I think I've admitted elsewhere on this forum of a fondness for the often maligned Bangle years BMWs. Never really cared much for the Z3 in any of it's versions, although I appreciate the outrageousness that is the "Clown Shoe."
adawil2002 said:
Athena with her 5-speed gets the same fuel mileage as Veronika our 1968 1600 Cabriolet does with a 4-speed at equal speeds.
Click to expand...
That's interesting, and not what I would have expected. I guess the convertible version is carrying a little extra weight and probably has slightly poorer aerodynamics than the coupe, which would makd that 1600cc motor work pretty hard.
 
coupedegrace said:
I love the "real car" observation.

I've always really liked the Z4s, but especially the coupe. I think I've admitted elsewhere on this forum of a fondness for the often maligned Bangle years BMWs. Never really cared much for the Z3 in any of it's versions, although I appreciate the outrageousness that is the "Clown Shoe."

That's interesting, and not what I would have expected. I guess the convertible version is carrying a little extra weight and probably has slightly poorer aerodynamics than the coupe, which would makd that 1600cc motor work pretty hard.
Click to expand...

Athena's turning 3,000 rpm at 85 mph, Veronika's turning 5500 rpm at 85. I tend to be fairly gentle with Veronika & keep her in the 4-4500K range.
 
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