The “Batmobile” is a legendary car that helped to both define BMW’s place in global motorsports and to solidy its presence in the sports sedan realm. Sure, they had competed successfully for years in touring car and sports car races, not to mention substantial involvement in motorcycle racing. But the bread and butter of BMW’s 1980s reputation was built on their sporting nature, and that legacy was born in the 1970s touring cars. The CSL was a message to the world, much like the Porsche 911RS was – BMW was a major player, and here to stay. They’ve since built upon that racing legend, but enthusiasts look back upon these models as the ones that spawned the dreams of countless children – the lucky ones of which would go on to buy new BMWs in the 1980s. It’s not often that you see a well presented CSL with racing pedigree come up for sale, but there’s a stunning example available today:
Category: BMW
Do you need a show car? We often write up very clean, fully restored and consequently very expensive examples of cars that are desirable, but there are many more than exist below pristine level. Generally if we post one of these cars there’s a large amount of feedback pointing out the flaws. Yesterday, a few of the GCFSB authors went to a local open house in our old – and flawed – cars. None of them are perfect; all have plenty of character from being driven over the years. They have stories about how they got various battle scars, strange modifications and unorthodox thinking to get around a problem or previous owner’s work. Despite this, driver quality cars have a charm that makes them desirable in their own right. Do I love perfect examples of older cars? Yes, absolutely – they’re awesome to see. But so are well presented drivers:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1972 BMW 2800 on eBay
Comments closedOne of the people that really helped me see the legitimacy in having cars as a hobby is my uncle, who has had an eclectic collection of Chevys as long as I can remember. In my early days, many were Raiders-themed, from the black and white Nomad to a metallic black Chevy Van with fully-embroidered Raiders interior. The one that has lasted longest and remains one of the coolest, however, is an homage to old fire chief’s cars (he was an LA fireman his entire working life), made from a ’56 4-door Bel Air with goldleaf type, working sirens, and a V8 so loud I got my first experience of one car setting others’ alarms off. My M5 takes care of that last endeavor these days, but “Chiefy” does leave a soft spot in my heart for today’s E34 Firecar. The 2.0 liter may not be setting off any car alarms, but the utilitarianism of the various vehicles used as emergency assistance cars in Europe has always been cool to me. With less than 90k miles, three pedals, and an interesting cloth/leather interior combo, it would be a fun car. Probably not worth importing unless you’re a fireman who happens to be obsessed with BMWs – if you’re that guy, you’re my hero.
Click for details: 1990 BMW 520i Firecar for sale on ClassicDriver
Comments closedAsk anyone what the largest engine ever fitted to the E30 BMW 3 series was and you may get a few folks citing the M20 2.5 liter inline-6 in the 325is. However, South Africa received their own special edition by way of the M30 3.3 liter “big six†being slotted under the hood to create the 333i. These cars were built in collaboration with Alpina, all fitted with a 5-speed manual transmission and limited slip differential. Slotted front brake rotors, 16†Alpina wheels and optional ABS were other features on tap in this package. With 194 horsepower on tap, these were very potent machines in their day, capable of 0-100 km/h in the mid seven second range. A mere 204 were produced in 1986 but these special E30s, like this one for sale in Germany, have cemented their place in history amongst the E30 faithful.
Click for more details: 1985 BMW 333i on Classic Driver
2 CommentsWe’ve seen some cool 2002s around GCFSB, but most have at least some level of modification or updating. Today’s 2002tii comes in the amazing Riviera Blue, a subtle hue that suits the vintage lines perfectly and is a new personal favorite. Having been with just two owners and covering less than 70k miles in its four decades years, it has been very well cared for and shows a few spots of patina but overall is in incredible shape. The all-original look, especially with this color and wheel combo, makes it hard to imagine a modified ’02 looking any better.




