On the Road: 1989 BMW M6

Vancouverite coveted rare coupe and finally hit the jackpot with last E24 model built and shipped to North America

Greg Williams

Aug 28, 2021 • August 28, 2021 • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

Burt Malan of Vancouver says he’s loved the lines of the BMW M6 since first seeing and reading about the car in the July 1987 issue of Car and Driver magazine. As a pilot, he also loves planes, and he restored the 1975 Cessna 180 Skywagon in the background. Photo by Burt Malan

Reviewing the BMW M6 in the July 1987 issue of Car and Driver magazine, auto journalist Csaba Csere called the model ‘one of the most attractive cars on the market.’ That description caught Burt Malan’s attention. “I’ve loved the M6 ever since reading that article,” he says.

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Malan lives in Vancouver and is a retired airline pilot who first trained at Winnipeg’s Red River College to become a heavy duty mechanic. He worked in the trade before taking a flying experience program, and that altered the course of his life. He took flying lessons, became a pilot, and started flying planes for Alberta Central Airways out of Lac La Biche. The majority of his flying career was spent with Cathay Pacific. He retired in 2018 after nearly 30 years with the airline.

Malan is certainly interested in airplanes, but cars have always been a part of his life, too. He’s owned a few interesting vehicles, including a Porsche 911 he bought new, a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner convertible and a 1969 Mustang Grande. However, Malan couldn’t shake the BMW M6 from his mind, and he regularly searched online hoping to find one for sale. As he would discover, the model is somewhat rare.

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In its original Salmon Silver Metallic paint, Burt Malan’s 1989 BMW M6 has never been restored. Photo by Burt Malan
The Vancouver auto enthusiast did change the wheels, and replaced a slightly damaged exhaust system and gas tank to make the car near perfect. Photo by Burt Malan
The BMW M6 of the mid to late 1980s looks fast standing still with its long and distinctive ’shark nose' front end. Photo by Burt Malan
Two of Malan's prized possessions. Photo by Burt Malan
1989 BMW M6. Photo by Burt Malan
1989 BMW M6. Photo by Burt Malan

Introduced in 1983 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the E24 code M635CSi was imbued with enhanced performance by BMW Motorsport. The model went on sale in the European market in 1984, with North American versions sold from late 1986 until the fall of 1988. For the North American market, the model was simply badged M6, rather than M635CSi. In Canada, the U.S. and Japan, the M6 was powered by a twin cam, inline six-cylinder engine fitted with a catalytic converter. The powerplant made 256 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 243 lbs.-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. Backing up the six-cylinder engine was a Getrag 280/5 five-speed manual transmission. According to the BMW M Registry, 1,767 M6s were built for North America. Of those, 135 were for the Canadian market – and the M Registry website breaks that down to 60 for 1987, 73 for 1988 and the last two production model M6s sold were Canadian-spec versions for 1989.

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“I often searched forums and other online sources for an M6,” Malan explains. “And, in the summer of 2008, I was on the BMW Club of Southern Alberta’s website when I saw an ad for a 1989 M6. It said the car had 64,500 kilometres on it and was a one-owner vehicle.”

Malan spoke to the seller, but in the process of doing so, it was discovered the car was quite a rare vehicle – it was actually the very last E24 code M6 built and shipped to North America. At that point, the car was no longer for sale, but Malan had the right of first refusal should it ever be offered again. That call came in the fall of 2011, and in October, Malan flew to Calgary and drove the car home to Vancouver.

BMW’s inline six-cylinder engine under the hood of Burt Malan’s 1989 M6. In North American cars, this powerplant was fitted with a catalytic converter and made 256 horsepower. Photo by Burt Malan

“It was originally purchased new in Ontario,” Malan says. “When the owner died, it went to his son in Calgary, who drove it periodically. I’m technically the second owner of the car.”

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Finished in BMW’s Salmon Silver Metallic with black leather interior, the car is mostly original. It’s never been in an accident and is straight as an arrow. After getting the car home, Malan had to have the hydraulic leveler replaced, and changed the rims to period correct alloy wheels. At some point in the car’s life, it was driven over something that had creased a heat shield on the exhaust and scraped the bottom of the gas tank. From BMW in Germany, Malan sourced the last brand new M6 exhaust system and a new gas tank. He bought them for $4,500 and had them installed at CG Motorsports in Richmond, B.C.

“I’ve kept the originals, but it always bugged me they were damaged,” he says. “Everything works on the car; I’ve made a point of ensuring it stays that way.

“It’s a beautiful car to drive and it handles like a much newer vehicle. I don’t avoid driving it, but I also don’t want to put too many kilometres on it. It’s got 70,700 km on the odometer now, and I look at it as a piece of rolling art.”

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca