[1]: 130–131 In 1960, Herbert and Harald Quandt invested heavily in BMW, and gained a controlling interest in the company.

The three-box four-door saloon was in many ways conventional, using a unitary structure and MacPherson strut front suspension which were becoming mainstream by the time of the 1500s introduction.

[4] Less conventional was the independent rear suspension, which featured coil springs and semi-trailing wishbones pivoted from a stout cross beam that also supported the differential housing.

[4] While BMW was using MacPherson struts for their first time on the New Class, they had used unit body construction on the 700 and semi-trailing arm rear suspension on the 600 and the 700.

[1]: 136 [2]: 62  The engine was canted over at 30 degrees to the right of vertical in order to allow for the low bonnet line, which also contributed to the styling of the car.

In 1963, sales increased by 47% to DM 433 million, and BMW was able to pay dividends to its shareholders for the first time in 20 years.

[2]: 63 Introduced in September 1961 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the BMW 1500 entered regular production in October 1962 and was manufactured until December 1964.

[2]: 64 The 1500 was replaced in 1964 by the 1600,[1]: 139  but it was still made available in markets where capacities greater than 1500 cc incurred higher tax rates.

[1]: 140–141 [2]: 64–66 The 1800 TI (Turismo Internazionale) model featured components developed for the 1800 by the tuning company Alpina.

The 2000 TI sedan, released in 1966, used the 90 kW (121 hp) engine from the 2000 CS with twin Solex PHH two-barrel side-draft carburetors[1]: 142–143 [2]: 67  and a higher compression ratio.

In addition to its more powerful engine, the 2000 TI also had front and rear anti-roll bars and somewhat wider wheel rims and tires than the 2000.

[11] Intended as an upscale version of the 1800, the 2000 featured unique rectangular headlights, distinctive wide taillights, and more exterior trim.

The 2000 TI retained the round headlights and vertically-arranged taillights of the 1800 and other earlier New Class sedans, and it was otherwise less well-equipped than its 2000 sibling.

[10] In 1969, BMW introduced the final model in the New Class sedan series, the 2000 tii ('touring international, injected').

[2]: 74  Apart from its improved, fuel-injected engine, the 2000 tii had features similar to the 2000 tilux; a total of 1,952 examples of it were built.

In 1965, BMW ended production of their Bertone-bodied 3200 CS coupé, the last of their line of V8 powered luxury cars from the 1950s.

The coupé was built for BMW by Karmann in Rheine[22] and available as the 2000 C, with a single-carburettor engine delivering 100 horsepower (75 kW) at 5500 rpm, or as the 2000 CS with a higher-compression engine equipped with dual twin-barrel carburettors and delivering 120 hp (89 kW) at 5500 rpm.

[1]: 141 [2]: 66–67  The headlights were behind a glass fairing, and the grill consisted solely of a chromed BMW "double-kidney" at the centre of the front.