New Member & E9 'RestoMod' Builder/Owner

KEPetersen

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Greetings from Florida:

As a long-time BMW collector/driver, now with a restored, modified – and near-completed – E9, I'm delighted to become a member of the E9Coupe forum.

As background, I'm a partner in Pathfinder Motorsports here in Florida where we build and restore classic race and exotic cars. I'm pretty pumped about our latest car: a 1970 2800 CS. You can read the details on the BMW CS Registry. Controversial, to be sure, it's what is now called a 'RestoMod' and was built on spec for a movie studio. The script featured a retired SIS (MI-6) officer living in Europe who drove a “converted former BMW racecar.”

Asked for a proposal, Pathfinder conceived of a fictional one-of-a-kind 1970 BMW Alpina E9 CSL ‘Batmobile’ with a prototype 'Gruppe 6' M534-derived V8 OHV engine. The studio enthusiastically agreed, asking only that the body not appear “overly race-like” – meaning no rear bat-wing. The premise of the car was that the movie’s protagonist wanted a street car with racecar performance without undue attention(!). The remit also stipulated construction that ensured “stunt driver safety, very high-speeds, racecar handling – with maximum reliability and a minimum of service delays due to parts availability.”

Pathfinder built the car after locating a 2800 CS with a solid body but a corroded frame and a trashed engine. All of the Alpina components had been stripped. Suffice it to say, the 2800 received a comprehensive rebuild with major modifications, including a race-grade chassis, engine, suspension, and FIA-specification roll cage. While the movie was never produced (sinking into 'production hell'), we have gladly kept the 'CSR' with plans to race it in this year's Mexican La Carrera Panamericana road race.

So, with that I'm looking forward to reading about other E9s and learning from the many true E9 experts on the forum! (Oh, by the way, anyone have a lead on an E9 right-side passenger manual-window regulator? Our's has gone kaput!)

Alpina B1 Prototyp 2800 6.0 CSR-1.jpeg
 
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KEPetersen

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Welcome & would love to see more photos of this Coupe.
Hi Andrew:

Thanks for the welcome and request. I'm traveling overseas at the moment but will gladly post some additional photos on my return. Probably best that I start a new thread under 'E9 Photos'. In the meantime I've got a couple of older shots (several changes since then) ...

Side View CSR.jpeg


3:4 Rear Shot CSR.jpeg
 
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Drew Gregg

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KEP--I live in Ft.Lauderdale and have a slightly modified CS also. There's a cars & coffee here on Sept 27. You should contact me for the details. Are you in the area?----Drew
 

KEPetersen

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KEP--I live in Ft.Lauderdale and have a slightly modified CS also. There's a cars & coffee here on Sept 27. You should contact me for the details. Are you in the area?----Drew
Hi Drew:

Thanks for the invitation! The car is in our Satellite Beach shop awaiting a new windshield (no easy find that) after which it heads down to Pompano Beach for a week of tweaks and mods. I'll be back in country but not sure that the car will be ready – but if it is, I'll be there!
 

JFENG

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Goal:
body not appear “overly race-like”

and:
street car (snip) without undue attention(!)


I think it is a very cool resto-mod. However, IMHO this car fits the “undue attention” description only relative to a Lemans LMP ot F1 Car tootling around downtown London.
 

KEPetersen

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Goal:
body not appear “overly race-like”

and:
street car (snip) without undue attention(!)


I think it is a very cool resto-mod. However, IMHO this car fits the “undue attention” description only relative to a Lemans LMP ot F1 Car tootling around downtown London.

Yeah, in retrospect we may have failed on that point. But in our defense, how low-key was James Bond gamboling about London in an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera? (BTW, thanks for the kind remarks!)
 

KEPetersen

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I think this is a wonderfully modern interpretation of the wide body CSL look.
Thank you for the much appreciated comment.

My brother and I have spent four-years so far on what has proven to be a very personal and rewarding project. The E9 is the most beautiful sedan ever put on the road – bar none – and we understood the gravity of messing with its design. And we did so only after very thoughtful and much debated consideration. Importantly, we did not take a road-worthy E9 and chop it up; we think that would have been sacrilegious. In the case of our 2800, the frame was unsafe and the engine unsalvageable, giving us license to create a respectful - and as you said, "modern interpretation fo the wide body CSL look." We used original BMW and Alpina components wherever possible given our remit, and went so far as to avoid any use of fiberglass on the car. For example, the Group 5-inspired fenders were hand-formed on an English Wheel by a true old-world craftsman. Expensive? Yep, but again this is an E9 and it deserved the extra mile.

Thanks to everyone for the kind and positive feedback! To be honest, we were worried how our 'CSR' would be received by the E9 cognoscenti.
 
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Bmachine

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I had to look up what an M534 motor was... 140hp, produced from 1961 to 1963? I am rather puzzled. Can you share what the thinking was in choosing this much older engine design for this modern interpretation of the car?
 

autokunst

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Hello and welcome. I started to read your description of "restomod", and felt like I was being prepped for a regrettably transformed coupe. Slow scrolling down, and the re-imagined coupe looks pretty amazing. Looking forward to more pics, and hopefully a video with the audio of that dual center exhaust note. Beautiful work, and sorry the film didn't complete production.
 

KEPetersen

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I had to look up what an M534 motor was... 140hp, produced from 1961 to 1963? I am rather puzzled. Can you share what the thinking was in choosing this much older engine design for this modern interpretation of the car?
Great question, Bo! I'll try to explain ...

Inasmuch as our protagonist's BMW was a former racecar, and given that we elected early on to use an E9, it was decided that his car would be a former 2800 CS prototyp developed for the ill-fated FIA Group 6. You may remember that Gruppe 6 was originally intended as a sports car category with no minimum production requirements and no maximum engine capacity! The latter allowance only lasted two-years, but nevertheless created the possibility that a prototype might have been developed that would now fit our bill: A rare BMW racecar with a large displacement V8;* a surfeit of horsepower; abundant low-end torque; and, an exhaust note that would raise the hairs on your neck.

With Group 6 as a starting point, we imagined what Alpina** and BMW might have produced in collaboration regarding the 2800 CS – especially if they decided to take their existing OHV V8 design and double the engine capacity to just under six-liters.

The last V8 BMW developed leading up to the manufacture of the E9 series was the alloy OHV M534-series, and before that there was the M507/1 3.1-liter alloy OHV V8 found in the lovely but infamous BMW 507 (which brought BMW to the brink of bankruptcy). So with that as a prologue, we decided to source/develop a modern OHV alloy V8 that would push six-liters (hence the '6.0 CSR'*** nomenclature) and, instead of 206 brake horse power, would produce ± 400 bhp.

Not perfect, but that's our story and I'm sticking to it ...
____________________________

* Why a V8? Low-maintenance, low-weight (alloy block not iron), reliable power.
** At the time, Alpina was an up-and-coming tuner with early success in the European Touring Car Championship and the 24 Hours at Spa.

*** CSR: Coupé Sport Rennsport/Rallye
 
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leonine99

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What a fantastic looking car - I'm not generally a fan of boxed flares but WOW! And the engine. You know of course we're all going to demand to know how it drives, so I predict a track video in this great car's future....as said earlier an excellent modern interpretation of a classic design. Well done!
 

autokunst

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Inasmuch as our protagonist's BMW was a former racecar, and given that we elected early on to use an E9, it was decided that his car would be a former 2800 CS prototyp developed for the ill-fated FIA Group 6. You may remember that Gruppe 6 was originally intended as a sports car category with no minimum production requirements and no maximum engine capacity! The latter allowance only lasted two-years, but nevertheless created the possibility that a prototype might have been developed that would now fit our bill: A rare BMW racecar with a large displacement V8;* a surfeit of horsepower; abundant low-end torque; and, an exhaust note that would raise the hairs on your neck.

With Group 6 as a starting point, we imagined what Alpina** and BMW might have produced in collaboration regarding the 2800 CS – especially if they decided to take their existing OHV V8 design and double the engine capacity to just under six-liters.

The last V8 BMW developed leading up to the manufacture of the E9 series was the alloy OHV M534-series, and before that there was the M507/1 3.1-liter alloy OHV V8 found in the lovely but infamous BMW 507 (which brought BMW to the brink of bankruptcy). So with that as a prologue, we decided to source/develop a modern OHV alloy V8 that would push six-liters (hence the '6.0 CSR'*** nomenclature) and, instead of 206 brake horse power, would produce ± 400 bhp.
Who creates this back story? Was it the screenplay writers? Or did they give your company some creative licence to generate a character depth likely greater than the main protagonist? What a rich story.
 

craterface

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Welcome KEP! I am over in Sanibel with two coupes. I love your creation. "Ate up with motor", as they say. Bring it to Cars and Coffee at Amelia in 2021, or Cars on Fifth in Naples in Feb (since you are an FCA member I assume, you can talk to those folks about getting in--they only have about five spots for BMW). It will be the belle of the ball.
 

KEPetersen

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Welcome KEP! I am over in Sanibel with two coupes. I love your creation. "Ate up with motor", as they say. Bring it to Cars and Coffee at Amelia in 2021, or Cars on Fifth in Naples in Feb (since you are an FCA member I assume, you can talk to those folks about getting in--they only have about five spots for BMW). It will be the belle of the ball.
Thanks for compliments! We were supposed to be at Amelia this year and will definitely be there next year. Great suggestion about Cars on Fifth - I just finished sending in our application. If you'll be there, let's coordinate on meeting up.
 
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