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“Restomod” is probably a word that’s overused and misappropriated often. I’d consider any car with period-correct or period-inspired modifications, updated to make it more fun to drive or more reliable, and cleaned up to look a bit more sporty while still retaining the essence of the car a “restomod”. Nothing important is taken away, but some of the shortcomings are improved upon – or, at least made more enjoyable. Looks wise, there isn’t much that you can do to improve the E9 BMW – it’s a timeless classic design, beautifully elegant and simple. I wrote up a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC on our sister site, Classic Italian Cars For Sale, and it’s amazing how similar the overall look of the two cars is. Yet, while you wouldn’t dream of resto-modding a $800,000 Ferrari the prospect of changing your E9 – especially when it’s not the most sought after model – suddenly becomes much easier. As such, I really think the seller of this E9 made a pretty design much prettier with some minor modifications, some nice period details and a bit more sport with a heart transplant:
If you’ve been watching the E30 M3 market, you’ve been shocked by the seemingly insane appreciation of the entire line. From roughly a year ago’s top value of about $28,000, condition 1 M3s are now valued at nearly $70,000 with no slow down in sight. While the trend is undeniable, the question I have is at what point do you recognize that there are some classic options that are more unique and perhaps as collectable as the E30? Certainly, BMW has plenty of options in its own stable, and the E9 3.0CS is one of the best. Currently top examples are trading at about the same rate as the M3, begging the question of which classic BMW you’d rather have. For me, while the E30 is an awesome ride, I think I might sport for something more classic in that price range, such as today’s “RS” inspired 3.0CS – pared down and turned up with a 3.7 race motor:
Yesterday on our Facebook fanpage I posted a 1972 BMW 2002 track car with Zender flares and an S14 swap; while not original, it sure looked neat. Today’s car isn’t original either, but is built in the style of the Alpina racers and if anything looks even better to me as a result. Looking splendid in red over those classic turbine wheels, take a look at this 1972 2002:
About a month ago, I wrote up a 2002 M20 Turbo built by a company called Manofied. Well, the Manofied folks have been at it again, this time with a 535i. They’ve fully built the car in the style of the Alpina B9, replete with plenty of Alpina parts, some Euro bits, and what appears to be a fantastic individual throttle body engine. The downside? As with the 2002, the price for this build is quite high for a non-original car. But before you jump to conclusions, take a look:
The E21 might have been the first BMW badged as a 3 series, but it is one of those rare instances where its successor became wildly more popular than the original. But, given that E30 prices are on the move, perhaps the E21 will become the new affordable BMW classic. This particular 320 is an early one, as production commenced in 1975. The E21 wasn’t the most visible BMW in motorsport, but it did make appearances in both the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DTM) and Group 5 racing, where it would succeed the 3.0CSL. The E21 was also active in IMSA, and this particular 1975 320 was the first of its kind to win a race in that series.