The Spanish Six – Ivan Pardiñas’s 1979 BMW E24 635CSi

While the namesake might suggest otherwise, the E24 6-Series was born as a clearly defined successor to the iconic E9 Coupe. As a grand-tourer built to hybridize and balance the ideals between sports car and luxury traveller. In many ways, it's the car that helped to define BMW as a marque for at least a decade, if not two. It comes as no surprise, then, that BMW fanatics throughout the world continue to celebrate its prowess and poise. Ivan Pardiñas of Spain, in this case, has built one to call his own, doing his best to celebrate the chassis with a bit of flair and a touch of real-world character.

Clearly, Ivan's example lacks the stature of its stock counterparts, laying as close to the pavement as possible. Custom air ride suspension on all four corners has the car as low-slung as Ivan can muster. The elegant lines of the long-nosed coupe are enriched by the car's height (or lack there0f), visually stretched and lengthened, playing up what makes the E24 so memorable and familiar. As a European model E24, the car's lines are further enhanced by a lack of the massive impact bumpers the North American cars were plagued with. The slim chrome trimming that lines the front, rear, and windows of the car helps to define its shape as the original, indisputable "shark" of the BMW lineup.

Matching the chrome trimming is a gorgeous set of fully polished BBS RSs, custom built and measuring out to 17x9.5 in the front and 17x10.5 in the rear, and of course wrapped in tightly stretched rubber, allowing just enough room for the coupe's arches to rest against the aluminum wheel outers. Gold hexes and red BBS caps add a dash of color to the monochromatic car. Other exterior touches, such as the M635 CSi rear spoiler, complete the look of simplistic elegance.

On the streets of Spain, perched atop a bridge, Ivan Pardiñas does his best to show the world what the Spanish BMW community is up to, and needless to say, he's caught our attention with his beautiful example of an E24. And of course, a special thanks to Mike Crawat for capturing the moment.