Pick of the Day: E24 BMW M6 was best GT of its era

I have said this before and I’ll say it again: The E24 BMW 6 Series coupes, in all guises, are one of the most undervalued and overlooked modern classic GT cars on the market. 

I cannot understand why, because they are a great design which incorporated some of the classic design elements of the E9 coupes, but also provide more power and a more civilized interior, making the first-generation 6 Series cars one of the best GT cars of their time. 

And yet they can be purchased for considerably less money than other GTs of the era. Even the M6 is a veritable bargain compared to cars such as the Porsche 928 GT.

The Pick of the day is one of these classically elegant high-performance 6 Series cars, a 1987 BMW M6 finished in Henna Red over a black leather interior.

The E34 first-generation M6 is quite a rare car with only 1,677 cars believed to have been shipped to North America from an estimated total build of 5,855 units. This makes it a much lower production car than the E30 M3, which somehow tends to cost more money than the M6, despite the fact that it sold for less money when new. 

This M6 is being offered by a Denver, Colorado, dealer which states in the advertisement on ClassicCars.com that the car was sold originally in Canada, hence my statement about North American deliveries. The dealer adds that the car has all of its original sales and delivery paperwork as well as service paperwork. 

When new, the M6 was the fastest production car BMW built, with a top speed of a very quick for the time 158 mph. This is not surprising as the M6 has the same 3.5 liter DOHC 24-valve inline-6 as the mythic BMW M1.

The seller calls this M6 “a beautiful example that has been extremely well cared for throughout its entire life.”  The odometer reads 73,809 kilometers, which translates to 45,862 miles. 

I’m not alone in my appreciation of the first-generation M6. Car and Driver magazine noted, “We’d love the M6 if we had to sit on orange crates in place of the Recaro seats and fan ourselves with copies of Motor Trend to drive it.”

This example has an asking price of only $49,000 and looks to be an excellent value in today’s market. To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.