Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Every once in a while, a car pops up that I’d just love to know more of the history of. Case in point; today’s 2000 BMW 323i. This was the second year for E46 in the US, and frankly the very early E46 323i models were pretty plain. But that’s not the case today, and this one was special ordered from BMW Individual in Dakar Yellow. From there, it gets a bit stranger, because the ticking of special options didn’t seem to continue….
Having just looked at a few modded fails, I think it’s relevant to remind ourselves that not all modified cars are in bad taste! And where better to start than one of the most popular classics that people like to customize; the BMW 2002.
A few months back I took a look at a wild Zender-bodied example that pulled it all together rather well, if a bit extreme:
Today’s example is one year newer and a lot more tame, but no less shouty. This example has undergone the knife and come out sporting Turbo-style flares, an M42 DOHC inline-4, and a host of other mods all draped in Porsche’s Miami Blue. Does it pull it off?
The other day I started to think of all of the various special editions of the M3, and how they proliferated our market. Go back to the first M3, and it was take-it-or-leave-it. Granted, it wasn’t *quite* as devoid of options as the E28 M5, in that you could choose color here. But we only had one configuration and one motor. Jump to the E36 and suddenly there were three M3 variants and one special edition. For the E46, we lost the sedan, and while no special editions came here, we did get the ZCP Competition Package option. Limited Editions exploded in the fourth M3, though, when the sedan returned and we got the choice of not only the Competition Package, but the Lime Rock, CRT, and Frozen Editions.
The names split for the F8x, but the steady stream of specials didn’t stop. In 2017, BMW commemorated its small chassis M history with this car; the 30 Jahre. Now, it was interesting in that they chose the M3, and not the M4, for this car. But of course, you say, that’s because of the name. Rightly so. But then it meant they were selecting the sedan body to celebrate. And, in many ways, the 30 Jahre was the antithesis of the original car. Okay, you get the throwback color of Macao Blue, and yeah – it’s gorgeous. But the E30 M3 was all about the driving experience; not many luxuries and a high-strung race motor with a lot of aero add-ons. The F80? Well, let’s just say this one has a few more goodies, and while the motor isn’t really race-bred, it’s a whole lot more potent:
Much like the E28 M5, the E82 was a legend before it even hit the market. Press releases and journalists gushed over its superlatives; while most felt it was a return to the classic BMW form, some went so far as to suggest it was the best M product ever. Debate still rages over that and generally fans of each chassis manage to come up with plenty of justification as to why theirs is the most special M produced. However, one thing is undeniable; the 1M might be the only M car to ever immediately appreciate on the market. Perhaps it was the combination of those aforementioned press articles or the limited nature of the model; a scant 983 were produced for the U.S. market over a 10 month production cycle in 2011. As with the E28, color choices were quite limited (though, thankfully more than just black!) – 326 Alpine White III (300), 222 Black Sapphire Metallic (475), and 435 Valencia Orange Metallic (B44) – the model’s signature color. All were mated with the same interior: LWNZ Black Boston leather with contrasting orange stitching. They all featured the same drivetrain specification, too – the boosted twin-turbocharged N54 turned up to 335 horsepower and mated only to a 6-speed manual with a limited slip differential. Wheels were the Competition Package BBS-made Style 359M 19″ options from the E9x. The result was magical – if you can afford it…
As with the first 5-Series, the E21’s reputation has suffered in the wake of the models that replaced it and the legend which preceded it. The US-market models were long on bumpers and short on engine choices and while a lot of them sold here when new, they just never really grabbed the enthusiast following of either the ’02 models or the E30.
Yet there are good examples that pop up from time to time, especially when they’re presented in European guise and with the gutsier inline-6 under the hood. The model that often pops to mind is the 323i, one of which I looked at back in 2018. But there was also a carbureted version called the ‘320/6’, which used the M20 hooked to a single Solex. That’s what we’re looking at today, but this one not only has the more desirable look at motor, but also a host of period-style mods to go with it:
