Straight Six December 2020 Member Edition by BMW Car Club GB

Straight Six MEMBER’S EDITION

DECEM BER 2020 £5

The Beast from Buchloe! Drew Ferguson’s Alpina E38 B12 5.7 is a true Autobahn Stormer!

PLUS: MEGUIAR’S CLEANING GOODIES TO GIVE AWAY!

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BMW CAR CLUB GB ARE THE ONLY CLUB ENDORSED BY BMW UK

Bespoke arrangements for your Motor, Home and Commercial insurance needs. COVER AVAILABLE CAN INCLUDE: Ÿ Classic and Modern Car Policies

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www.BMWCARCLUBINSURANCE.co.uk Call the dedicated members line on 0330 123 0197 and speak to one of the team for all your Motor, Home, and Commercial Insurance needs. This agreement has been designed specifically for BMW Car Club GB, who have become an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of A-Plan Holdings. A-Plan Holdings is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Registered office: 2 Des Roches Square, Witney, OX28 4LE. Registration number: 750484. To confirm our registration on the FCA website, go to www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Formed in 1952 as The BMW Car Club of Great Britain, incorporated in 1982 as BMW Car Club (GB) Ltd. A non-profit making club owned and run by and for its members. Combined One-Make Car Club Assoociated Club of RAC Motor Sports Association Ltd. The views and statements made in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the BMW Car Club GB Founder The Late R.J.T Hewitt President John Safe Vice Presidents Chris Wadsley, Jeff Heywood, Len Oakshett Chairman Jamal Blanc Board of Directors Dave Evans Martyn Goodwin Nick Thomas Richard Stern Club Office Michelle Evans Lisa Davies Anya Edwardes

inside this issue

BMW Car Club Insurance Henry Francis Patron Colin Turkington, Mike Wilds, The late Barrie Williams

Editing Team Jeff Heywood Lisa Davies Andrew Coles

24 – MLife: Weapons Grade Released back in 2016, the GTS at £120,000 was double the price of a regular F82 M4. This didn’t put off prospective buyers, with the entire limited production selling out within days. See one of these rare beats in this month’s MLife.

Cover image: Andrew Coles Advertising Print & Digital Next Step Heritage Madeleine Lillywhite 01485 779455 07855 447968 advertising@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Website advertising Next Step Heritage Madeleine Lillywhite 01485 779455 07855 447968 advertising@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

31 – No longer available – A thing of the past

36 – Alpina B12 – King of the Motorway

Online classifieds - £4.95 bmwcarclubgb.uk

One of just 16 UK-supplied examples, Drew Ferguson’s Alpina B12 5.7 e-kat is the grand-daddy of them all.

Classifieds - £9.95 per issue Club Office 01970 267 989 office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk BMW Car Club (GB) Ltd, Unit 5h, Glan Yr Afon, Aberystwyth, SY23 3JQ Website: www.bmwcarclubgb.uk Email: office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Tel: 01970 267989 Office Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm - Mon-Fri Published on behalf of BMW Car Club by Cedar Group, Unit 3, The Triton Centre, Premier Way, Abbey Park Industrial Estate, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 9DJ Tel: 01794 525 020 info@cedargroup.uk.com

Elusive Parts are working hard to remove as many limitations of unavailable parts as possible, using the emerging technology of 3D printing.

42 – Revisiting the Classics No. 8 – BMW E10 2002. The original sporting saloon…

51 – Simples The sheer complexities of the modern world have arrived upon us… however nothing will beat the simple daily life of the Sharknose range.

Contents

from the editor

24 regulars 6

Board Torque

Thoughts from the Boardroom

10 Club News

Welcome to the December issue of Straight Six! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It has been a year we won’t forget, however we hope that reading your monthly Straight Six has helped beat the lockdown blues. In this month’s MLife feature, Steve Carter reviews the M4 GTS. Released back in 2016, the GTS was double the price of a regular F82 M4 at £120,000. However this didn’t put off prospective buyers, with the entire limited global production of 700 units selling out within days. Club member Julian Rooney owns the Frozen Dark Grey Metallic M4 GTS seen on page 21. Do you ever find yourself frustrated that the odd little parts for your classic BMW are no longer available to buy? This is a thing of the past, as Straight Six editor, Andrew Coles, finds out on page 31. Using the emerging technology of 3D printing, Elusive Parts are working hard to remove the limitations of unavailable parts. The Alpina B12 5.7 e-kat is the grand-daddy of them all, and Club member Drew Ferguson is the lucky and proud owner of the 1998 example seen on page 36. This month’s Revisiting the Classics looks into the original sporting saloon, the BMW E10 2002, on page 40. Launched by BMW in 1966, the compact saloon christened the ’02 - quickly garnered favour with the motoring press and public alike, who enthused over its practical nature and sporting driving style. M Power and Sharknose Captain, Richard Baxter, brings us another insightful article on the Sharknose range on page 51. Modern cars have now become too big and complex to use, whilst the E21 does all you could wish for and provides confidence and style to a simple daily life. Do you have an interesting article for Straight Six? Whether it’s a restoration project, technical information, Club event, or simply why you love your ultimate driving machine – please don’t keep your BMW adventures to yourself, we want to read about them! Please send article suggestions to officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. Want to help the Club? We are always looking for volunteers with knowledge in BMW models to fill our vacant registers. To find out what roles need filling or to show your interest, email officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. Part-time photographer or just love taking pictures? Send us high quality images of your BMW along with a caption to officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk to be in for the chance to win FREE Meguiar’s products! Below is this month’s winner, Kieran Monaghan. Happy reading!

12 BMW News 16 Motorsport News 18 Dan Norris 20 Products 54 Pirelli 56 Crossword/Social Media 57 Classifieds/Your Letters 59 Regions 69 Registers 81 Your Photos 82 Club Pub Meets

Jeff, Lisa & Andrew Straight Six editorial team.

boardtorque Nick Thomas – Technical Director Having recently been asked by Jamal to join the Board of Directors with a focus on developing the Technical Register, this is a good time to introduce myself, and share some first thoughts on the Technical Register of the Club. My BMW habit started in 2002 whilst living in Germany. After many years of practical cars, it was time to get back to fun car ownership (having owned a Triumph Spitfire MkIII many years ago). My first BMW was a black 1988 E30 320i Convertible. This had to be sold in 2007 due to an international relocation. My second BMW was a black 2000 E46 328i Touring which I bought in Holland as a daily driver. I still have this Touring, in the meantime it has had a full respray, is on GB plates and is now semi-retired. The next in my current collection was another black 1988 E30 Convertible, this time a 325i bought in 2014 when I moved back to the UK. I then ran a blue Z4C for a while, a car that was a load of fun in the right circumstances but a bit of a pain on long commutes and so it got replaced with a much more practical E46 Coupe. For the last few years I have jointly owned The Vibrator with Simon Maskell (3 Series Register) - our blue E46 330Ci trackday car that has appeared in Straight Six a few times, and that I take on the excellent BMWCCGB trackdays whilst pretending to emulate Jim Clark’s driving style. My wife and children add another three E46s to the fleet – a Convertible, a Compact and another Touring. For me, Club membership is very much about getting out what you put in. Regional events are probably where most of us interact with Club life (I’m also North East Region chair), but don’t forget national events, shows, weekends, racing, tours and trackdays – whatever takes your fancy, just join in. In addition to the BMWCCGB I’m still a member of the German E21/E30 club and regularly take my E30 on long drives deep into Germany with them. I live in Newcastle (although not a Geordie by birth) with my family, dog and chickens. I’ve worked for many years in Quality Management in England, Germany, USA and The Netherlands, and most recently in Scotland. A few months ago I took on a new role which is home based – a new experience that many of us are discovering for the first time this year. I do not claim or pretend to be an

6 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

expert in the technical aspects of our cars. Although I do enjoy tinkering with my cars, this is kept to easy, reversible Sunday afternoon jobs. However, I have learnt that car clubs contain a huge amount of expertise and enthusiasm to share this knowledge. Amongst us are passionate DIYers, mechanics, electricians, software engineers, restorers and specific model experts. Somewhere in the Club is someone who has had the same problem you are having. Someone who has made the repair you are facing. Someone who knows how to restore that obscure trim part, or someone who knows a business who can. Someone who has that rare part you need. And on the very rare occasion where just nobody knows, someone to offer sympathy. I have benefitted so much over the years from fellow Club members pointing me in the right direction (particularly with E46s – although they are probably the best BMWs, they do have an amazing variety of little niggles to sort even though they rarely fail completely). A key part of the Technical Register will be to facilitate these connections. I want to emphasize what we have as a recognised BMW club, and the thing that the internet formats do not offer – a real life presence. Real people, real meetings, real help, real parts. It should complement and intertwine with existing club structures such as National Events, Straight Six and the Regions and Registers. The new Club website should of course give us a focus point

for sharing our technical knowledge. If you have ideas and suggestions on how the Technical Section should develop please do get in touch with me at northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. We are now coming to the end of a tough year. Many Club events have had to be cancelled due to Covid, and many others have had to be rescheduled, relocated or reformatted. This places an extra burden on all the volunteers throughout the Club involved in organising these. Many thanks to everyone giving up their time and energy for the benefit of all Club members. My big hope is that vaccine programmes can start getting us back to normality in the first part of next year. I’m certainly looking forward to meeting fellow BMW enthusiasts again. 2021 is poised to be a bumper year for the BMWCCGB with the regular events coming back, delayed events from 2020 finally going ahead, and the Club’s new BMW SommerFest joining the Club calendar. On behalf of the Club Directors and the office staff I wish you all a healthy and happy holiday season, and I hope we all have a much better New Year.

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thoughts from the boardroom I

Graeme Grieve, CEO BMW (UK) Ltd.

nnovation has always been one of the pillars on which BMW has built its reputation and our history is littered with examples of our forward-thinking philosophy. From our cutting-edge exterior design language to groundbreaking interiors along with inventive mechanical and electrical solutions, BMW has always pushed the boundaries and challenged preconceptions. With our all-new iX we’re doing it again with our purely electric reinterpretation of the Sports Activity Vehicle. Of course it’s been no secret that we’ve been working on this model and it’s been previewed as the BMW Vision iNEXT but here for the first time we present the production version, the iX, that will go on sale towards the end of next year. In so many ways it’s a groundbreaking machine and one that is the first representation of a series of trailblazing cars that are poised to redefine the driving experience and the way that we use our cars. As you might expect we’re not quite ready to announce the minutiae yet but what I can tell you is that the iX is about the size of an X5, packs twin electric motors good for around 500hp and a zero to 62mph time of under five seconds. And for those of you who might have been worried about the distance you can cover in an electric car you really don’t have to be anxious anymore – the iX has a WLTP range of over 370 miles –

8 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

and with our fifth generation of eDrive it promises exceptional efficiency. But there’s far more to the iX than its performance and impressive range, it’s packed full of innovative ideas and has a greater focus on the wellbeing of its drivers and passengers than in the past. It’s designed to offer a high level of spaciousness, a luxurious ambiance and a minimalist approach with the displays and controls stripped back to the bare essentials with intelligent technology only becoming visible when it is needed. It really does offer an insight into the future from its intriguing new design language to its innovative use of materials and, of course, its typical BMW driver appeal. Our first chance to get behind the wheel and experience the iX will come towards the end of next year but I’m confident it’ll be worth the wait – this really will be a phenomenal BMW. Of course the iX isn’t the only purely electric Sports Activity Vehicle that’s been in the news this month as the media have

now driven the new iX3 for the first time and it’s been garnering very favourable reviews. What Car? commented; “The BMW iX3 is practical, good to drive and has a longer range than its closest rivals,” while Autocar summed it up by saying; “A brisk, quiet, agile and versatile electric vehicle with traditional rear-wheel-drive BMW driving qualities.” It might not be quite as avant garde as the iX but it’s a superb car in its own right. Another innovation this month is that over three quarters of a million BMWs worldwide will be able to receive the most extensive Remote Software Upgrade ever offered by BMW or any other European manufacturer. Changes to BMW Operating System 7 will include faster and enhanced mapping, the introduction of eDrive zones and Google Android Auto – updates that demonstrate BMW’s position as a leader in digitisation. It reminds me that back in the early 1980s one of the things that gave our world-beating Formula 1 engine the edge over the opposition was our ability to adjust the car’s fuel injection ‘over the air’ from the pits while the car was on track. It’s this sort of innovative thinking that’s been at the core of BMW over the years, and while the iX may use a very different powertrain to the 1980s F1 cars, it utilises the same cutting edge design ethos that’s at the very heart of our DNA.

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clubnews This month we say goodbye to our wonderful colleague Anya. Anya joined us in September of 2019 after completing her Master’s Degree and she literally hit the ground running. It became evident to us very quickly that Anya’s particular skill was her adeptness at improving working practises within the office and if there was a way to shorten a process or improve it then Anya would find it. We also got to benefit from Anya’s creativity with her interactive newsletters, engaging articles on our website and captivating social media posts which received many likes and shares. Words are inadequate to express our gratefulness and appreciation of the incomparable work performance and attitude Anya displayed throughout her time with BMW Car Club GB. Saying goodbye is never easy and Lisa and I will miss working with her on a daily basis. We thank her for bringing her best to work every single

day, she has been a great team member and makes the best cuppa too! Congratulations from us all at BMW Car Club GB on your new role. We are 100% sure that you will do an outstanding job in your new position as an Officer of Fair Trading and we wish you every success.

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10 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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New Members

National Events Calendar 2021

CENTRAL

EASTERN

SOUTH EAST

John Spencer Stephen Radford Marcus Green Keith Carter Daniel Acey

Tony Bilham Joshua Bovis Michael Pensavalle

Aidan Mannion Graham Mooney John Mitten

Martin Hill Paul Harman Beejal Sudra Daniel Richards Kenneth Ball Andrew Verrall Sean Scarsbrook Martin Swatton

LONDON

SOUTH WALES

John Wakefield Humphrey Moynihan Simon Davies Kuldeep Suman Bahader Virdee Julian Bentley Jitendra Kavia Ajay Champaneri Razwan Hussain Varinder Sooch Jeremy Rigden Steven Harris Angus Ulyate Darren Parker

Michael Gough Kevin Stanley

CENTRAL WEST Tim Fairbairn

CHESHIRE & STAFFS Trevor Dunn Edward Hark David Smallwood

COTSWOLD John Darke Paul Darke Conrad Jones Simon Williams James Keely

DEVON Dean Harwood Antony Venables

IRELAND

February 20-23: London Classic Car Show

March 26-28: Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show

May 1-2:

Donington Historic Festival

June

WESTERN

18-20: Retro CarFest

Danny Hubbard Noel Joyce Eddie Emmanuel

July

WESSEX

August

Colin Sayer Peter K Gjetnes Bruno Truncik Nick Lloyd Toby Bryant

23-25: Camp CarFest North

27-29: Camp CarFest South

NORTH EAST EAST ANGLIA David Grace Thomas Pinches Paul Grimwood Jagdeep Bhambra Jamie Humphrey Jon Cowell Peter Hughes John Slimmon

Steven Mcdarby Scott Simm

NORTH WEST Robert Gibbins Chris Hunter Chris Williams Douglas Walker

SCOTLAND Digby Morton Martin Baxter

Publication Correction It was brought to our attention that a statement made in the November issue of Chairman’s Chat, specifically - “the Board of Directors made the difficult decision to terminate the agreement with Hine Marketing”, can be misleading. A mutual agreement by both parties not to renew the contract is a more accurate description. BMW Car Club GB sincerely apologises to its readers and to Hine Marketing for this error.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Classic Silverstone 2021 Tickets for Classic Silverstone 2021 are on sale now! Join us between the 30 July – 1 August* to celebrate the Classic’s 30th anniversary. Please use discount code 2020CCD057 at checkout on www.silverstoneclassic.com.

*Provisional dates.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

bmwnews BMW iX breaks cover! “The vision becomes reality, as the BMW Vision iNEXT becomes the BMW iX.” A full year before its market launch at the end of 2021, the BMW Group is providing a first look ahead to the future BMW iX, the first model based on a new, modular and scalable platform developed by BMW. The iX will go into production at BMW’s Dingolfing plant from the second half of 2021, and it is expected that customer orders will be taken from late summer. The iX is conceived from the outset for purely electric mobility. BMW says the iX has been “developed from the inside out, with a clear emphasis on quality”. Exterior styling is again dominated by the huge front grille, which has received a very mixed reception on new BMW models, but it seems BMW are going to ride the criticism and see it out – a brave move indeed. Other than the front grille, the rest of the styling is relatively conventional, looking much like any other X5-sized sports activity vehicle on the market. The fifth-generation of BMW eDrive technology, encompassing the two electric motors, develops a maximum output of around 500bhp, enough to power the iX from 0 to 60mph in about 4.8 seconds. A clear development aim was for the iX to post an exceptionally low combined electric power consumption figure of less than 21 kWh per 100 kilometres in the WLTP test cycle. A gross energy content of more than 100 kWh should enable the latest-generation high-voltage battery to record a range of over 300 miles. To aid the mission

for extra range, the iX boasts a drag coefficient of just 0.25 Cd! The iXs new charging technology enables DC 200kW h fast charging, and the battery can be charged from 10 to 80 percent of its full capacity in less than 40 minutes, with a ten minute charge increasing the iX’s range by more than 75 miles. It takes less than eleven hours to charge the high-voltage battery from zero to 100 percent at 11kW h from a wallbox. Computing power in the iX has been developed to process 20 times the data volume of previous models. This means automated driving could be on the near horizon, as well as new and uprated digital services supplied by 5G.

‘First Edition’ X5M & X6M Competition models announced BMW has launched ‘First Edition’ variants of the new 625bhp X5M and X6M Competition models, in a limited run of 250 examples each. The special-edition cars are available in two special paint finishes, BMW Individual Frozen Dark Silver

and Individual Frozen Marina Bay Blue. Both cars come with a plethora of extras to help differentiate them as First Edition models. For more info either visit bmw.co.uk or pop into your local dealer.

The ‘First Edition’ 625bhp X6M and X5M Competition models

12 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

M2 CS goes racing! After the current Nürburgring longdistance series ended prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it received a big boost for 2021 when BMW announced that they’re taking the M2 CS racing. The M2 CS Racing Cup Series will take place on the revered Nordschleife circuit and replaces the highly successful M240i Racing Cup. BMW has guaranteed that the series will run for at least three seasons, and for 2021 there will be €100,000 in prize money up for grabs.

BMW bounces back in the third quarter The BMW Group increased sales volume and net profit in the third quarter of 2020, and at Q3 is unbelievably on track to meet its targets for the full year. The Group generated profit before tax in the region of €2.5 billion in the third quarter. In the period from January to September, R&D expenditure totalled €4,140 million. BMW also confirmed that by the end of 2021 it will be offering five all-electric vehicles, the BMW i3*, the MINI Cooper SE*, the BMW iX3*, the BMW iNEXT and the BMW i4. By 2023, the BMW Group intends to have 25 electrified models on the road – 13 of them all-electric versions.

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt stands down After a disastrous 2020 DTM season that has seen the BMW M4 DTM entries struggle to score points at some rounds and totally outclassed and embarrassed by Audi, it looks like BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt has paid the price. The only real highlight of the season for BMW Motorsport was victory in the Nurburgring 24H Race for an M6 GT3, but embarrassingly, the car was run by privateer team ROWE Racing. BMW’s official statement says that “after almost ten years serving as BMW Group Motorsport Director, Marquardt will take on a new role leading the pilot plant for the prototype construction of the BMW Group series models.”

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt

BMW plans huge software upgrade BMW Group is carrying out the biggest and most extensive new remote software upgrade in its history, with more than 750,000 vehicles worldwide receiving updates to BMW iDrive Operating System 7. The upgrade will include new expanded and enhanced functions, such as BMW Maps, Google Android Auto and eDrive Zones. The new software version will be available to customers in the UK from November 2020 and can be downloaded to vehicles directly over the air and installed free of charge. Customers will receive a push notification in their vehicle or via the BMW Connected App on their smartphone as soon as the upgrade is available.

BMW to reuse ‘end of life’ batteries BMW Group UK announced a new partnership with Off Grid Energy to create a sustainable, second-life solution for BMW and MINI electric vehicle (EV) batteries. They will supply Off Grid Energy, who are market leaders in energy storage, with battery modules for them to adapt to create mobile power units, giving retired BMW and MINI EV batteries a useful second-life. As more battery modules become available over time, systems will be built with a capacity of up to 180kW h and will be able to provide multiple charges at rates of up to 50kW h. When these units are used to replace conventional ways of generating temporary power, the battery modules will at least double the CO2 reduction achieved in their original use in the car. BMW and MINI EV batteries have a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles. After this period the battery could still retain up to 80% of its initial capacity, but at some stage the battery will need replacing.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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motorsportnews Roving reporters Jeff Heywood & Neil McDonald

Strong showing for M8 GTE at Charlotte BMW Team RLL headed to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for Round 9 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Unfortunately the weather was unkind with torrential downpours for most of the weekend’s racing. Qualifying – The pair of M8 GTEs were pipped for pole by the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and Porsche 911RSR, which snatched pole and 2nd on the grid for the race, with the #25 M8 GTE driven by De Phillippi/Spengler claiming 3rd in qualifying and the #24 M8 GTE of Edwards/Krohn snuffing out the second Porsche 911RSR to claim 4th. Race – Krohn made a lightning start as the race got under way, moving from 4th to 1st place as he cut through the front three cars as the rain poured down. Krohn and Edwards then led the race for 42 of the 62 laps before being passed by the Corvette C8.R, as their M8 GTE struggled with its tyres. The #25 M8 GTE had been hounding the Corvette up to this point as both BMWs ran in the top three.

The #25 BMW M8 GTE of De Phillippi/Spengler battled through atrocious weather conditions on their way to a 3rd place finish in the 9th Round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina

Both BMWs kept the Corvette honest in atrocious conditions, but with their tyres quickly going off, the BMWs had to settle for second and third place, as the Corvette C8.R took the chequered flag. The #24 M8 GTE of Edwards/Krohn pipped the #25 car for 2nd place this time out.

M8 GTE on the podium at the ‘Petit Le Mans’ But it could have been so much better as the #24 BMW M8 GTE led by 18 seconds with just 28 laps to go The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship arrived at Michelin Raceway, Road Atlanta for the 10th Round of the championship – the 10-hour Petit Le Mans race. Qualifying – Connor De Phillippi just missed out on pole as he qualified the #25 M8 GTE 2nd on the grid for the race. He was pipped for pole by one of the Corvette C8.Rs. De Phillippi was followed by fellow BMW driver John Edwards who placed the #24 M8 GTE 3rd on the grid for the race. Race - As the race got underway both BMWs settled into a steady but quick pace, and being a 10-hour race the #24 car was also co-driven by the experienced Augusto Farfus, alongside Edwards and Krohn, while the #25 M8 GTE driven by De Phillippi and Spengler were joined by co-driver Colton Herta, the 20-year old son of IndyCar racer Bryan Herta. Farfus soon eased the #24 car past the sister #25 M8 GTE and quickly overtook the Corvette to take the lead. The trio then led the Petit Le Mans several times as the hours passed by. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be the #25 M8

The #24 M8 GTE led the Petit Le Mans race and was looking good for a win until being punted off the track with just 28 laps to go. A 3rd place finish was scant reward for their race pace

16 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

GTEs day, as a mechanical malady after just 20 laps pushed them to an eventual 6th place finish in the GTLM Class. The sister Edwards/Krohn/Farfus #24 M8 GTE was faring much better, and after the series of final pit stops, Farfus took the lead in the M8 GTE for the last time on lap 401; unfortunately the M8 GTE was pushed off the track two laps later by a Prototype and had to drive through the grass to return to the track. A pit stop then followed to clean out a radiator, which threw it 26 seconds behind the leading Porsche 911 RSR and a Corvette CR.8. The #24 M8 GTE finally came home in 3rd place after 431 laps and 4.412 seconds behind the victorious Porsche. It was a bitter pill for the #24 entry as they had been consistently fast and running at the front of the GTLM Class for a large part of the race. For BMW Team RLL it was the sixth podium place in a row in the current IMSA season. Next stop, Laguna Seca.

Farfus (L), Edwards (M) and Krohn celebrate their 3rd place finish in the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BE PART OF HISTORY JOIN US FOR OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT 30 JULY – 1 AUGUST 2021*

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BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

dannorris Big news! I’ve made a decision. I am definitely undecided. The time has come. Our V8 M3 is nearing the 100,000-mile mark, the warranty will end soon and let’s face facts – its time as a daily driver is coming to an end. I won’t sell the car – too many memories – so it will be put into storage, and enjoy the rest of its days as part of a modest, but growing, collection of modern classic BMWs that I love to look at and own, but never seem to find the time to drive. So, here’s the million-dollar question – a hitherto unanswered one that is the main reason I haven’t moved on before now – what next? This is a normal question for my customers to ask me, but in my job, shouldn’t I already have an answer? The truth is, the E90 M3 is such a terrifically good car – with just the right blend of old-school and modern tech – that it’s an incredibly hard act to follow. Imagine being in a band, and playing Glastonbury, but having to go on stage following a re-formed Led Zeppelin.

Who would? Well, an F90 M5 would. On paper it would be an easy decision – enough torque to tow an ocean liner, stupendous handling from its four-wheel drive system – which means I can also go to snowy places without leaving my tyres, and other bits of car, behind – power, comfort, status, and a nice, fresh-smelling warranty straight from BMW. But does it have any character? Will I really look back at it when I’ve parked outside the pub and walk backwards all the way to the door until someone grabs me and pulls me in? Is it too big? Will I still lose a fortune in depreciation (motor dealers hate this – a sign of impotence) even though it’s already lost 50 percent? There is, on this one, competition. Regular readers (both of them) will remember my past lyrical waxing on the M6 Gran Coupe – in my opinion, the coolest car to come out of Munich since,

well, the V8 M3. I’d made up my mind ages ago that the GC was up next. Then I drove an F90 M5. Now, the cynics amongst you will tell me this is a first world problem. You’ll say that with Covid, and Brexit, and the economy and all, that there are bigger things to worry about. But you’d be wrong. There’ll be a vaccine soon. And whatever happens with Brexit, life will go on. The economy will rise and fall. But this car will be on my drive for years, and if I get it wrong – well, I dare not even think about the consequences. I could end up with the wrong car. The pressure here is immense. The M6GC has character in spades. Unusually, for a modern car, it really does have the ability to fill one’s trousers – a feature lacking in almost everything else from 2010 onwards (please don’t write in – yes, yes, the 1M and the M2CS). When it comes to looks, it is one of the things

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18 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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left in life that really is binary. This car is not a ‘they’. It is a bruising, elegant, street gangsta, high class, beast of a beauty, with one of the coolest interiors of any modern car, and the performance to make it to this top table of choices. It looks as good sitting outside a drug deal as it does on the drive at Blenheim, it holds its own on the track, and dominates the fast lane of the most uncompromising autobahn. It has to be a future classic. Can you say that of the M5? For those of you who haven’t driven the M5, let me give you a quick summary. Take every preconception that you may have - about auto-boxes, four wheel drive and weight distribution, weight in general, BMW have lost it, all that – and throw them in the bin. Wait. In fact, put them inside a nuclear bomb and detonate it. No, worse - give them to Trump and get him to Tweet them. Basically, they’re wrong. The

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M5 is a masterpiece of modern automotive engineering. The feeling that car gives you as a driver is dangerous. Power, control, presence, speed, all wrapped up in a yummy comfy blanket of tech and…er… comfort. You get the idea. I’ve driven many M cars in my time, and let me tell you, the F90 M5 sets the bar very high. In fact, when it comes to the ‘what next’ question, there is only one car. Unless I think about the M6 Gran Coupe. What appeals about the M6 Gran Coupe is the feeling that I’d be driving something really special, a car missed by a lot of people – a well-kept secret, if you will. I felt that about the V8 saloon – customers used to point at it parked outside Munich Legends and ask if we could find one for them. And when we did, they loved it. In most cases, we still look after them in the workshop, the typical owner racking up the miles just like me, saying it’s the best modern M car they’ve owned. Whilst the M5 is almost impossible to fault, it just isn’t the same. But therein lies the problem. There is a reason that most people ‘don’t get’ the M6 Gran Coupe – because there aren’t any. This is one of the main

reasons why they’re special. I hardly know anyone who has one, because hardly anyone bought one. That’s because BMW hardly made any. And if you look on the used market today, there are hardly any available – especially if you want the competition pack (why wouldn’t you?). On the other hand, there are loads of M5s. I’d have the pick of the crop and I could have one tomorrow. The GC would take weeks, possibly months to find the perfect car, searching, inspecting, waiting patiently for… you see my dilemma. Nobody waits ‘patiently’ for a car. But if I buy an M5, isn’t that too easy? Why is life so cruel? I know there’s a difference in budget. Not enough to really make a difference. I know the M5 is newer thus will arguably ‘last’ longer – but that isn’t important. I know that soon there’ll be a new M6 and then mine would be old. That’ll just make it more classic. I know they’ve just done an M5 facelift and now it looks like a Skoda from the front. I’d buy the pre-facelift. I know my mum won’t care either way because they’re both fancy M cars, and she just wants me to be happy. So, what to do? Well, you’ll be pleased to hear I have made a decision. I’m going to keep thinking about it.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

products Atspeed High Power Competition Clutch & Flywheel for BMW S62 V8 Engines Atspeed is pleased to announce it is now stocking the TTVR High Power Twin 215mm Competition Clutch & Flywheel for the BMW S62 V8 engine. This high power combination kit is suited to all sorts of competition applications from drifting to off road racing. Unlike other competition clutches this clutch can be used with the factory release bearing mechanism making installation easy. The clutch can handle up to 900lbft of torque with exception durability. It is fully rebuildable with options to upgrade further if required. Retail price: £1,620.00 including VAT For more details contact Atspeed Racing on 01268 773377 or visit their website: www. atspeedracing.co.uk

Fidanza Lightweight Flywheel for Mini Cooper 2002-2004 Fidanza, America’s leading performance flywheel specialists, has a direct replacement lightweight aluminium flywheel to improve the performance of the Mini Cooper 1.6 (2002-04). The Fidanza aluminium flywheel replaces the heavy standard flywheel and improves the power-to-weight ratio thus making the engine more responsive and improving performance and acceleration. The Fidanza aluminium flywheel is made from high-quality machined 6061 T6 aluminium with a 1050 steel friction surface, CNC machined fastener holes and chamfers. The friction surface of the flywheel is a replaceable steel plate, so when the surface

eventually becomes worn it can be replaced without requiring a new flywheel. Every Fidanza flywheel application is a unique design that has taken into account the overall balance, critical clearances, tensile strength, heat dissipation and optimum weight saving that strikes a careful balance between reducing the original weight and maintaining a smooth idle for day-to-day street driving. Fidanza flywheels are equally suited for fast road, trackday and pure competition use. The flywheel for the Mini Cooper can be ordered directly from Fidanza.com as Part number 177001 and for a limited period is available at the special price of $418.76 (approx: £320.00)... a discount of 16% on the usual price of $497.90! Prices correct at time of going to press. Prices are plus shipping and tax. For more information on Fidanza’s premium aluminium flywheels and other great products, call +1 440 259 5656 or visit www.fidanza.com

20 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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M-Style’s Performance Front Splitter for G30 / G31 BMW 5 Series M-Style is pleased to announce that it is now offering a superior quality Performance Front Splitter for the G30 and G31 BMW 5 Series. The splitter is finished in matte black and is available at just £129.00 inc. VAT. The kit comes with a fitting kit but M-Style recommends professional fitting which it can carry out for just £40.00 including VAT. For further details e-mail info@mstyle.co.uk or call 0208 598 9115

M-Style ESS supercharger system for BMW E46 models M-Style is proud to offer the ESS tuning supercharger system for BMW E46 3 series cars with engine capacity from 320i to 330i. Taking the 320i engine as an example, the system will increase power to 260bhp and torque to 310nm, powering the car from 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds. The system includes: • ESS Spec Lysholm 1.6l twin screw supercharger unit • High strength, dual-layer cast aluminum alloy ESS intake manifold with integrated high capacity • Laminova based liquid intercooling system • Uni-belt SC drive system with additional OEM quality idler pulleys, • Six larger Bosch fuel injectors • Throttle body style butterfly bypass system for superior fuel economy during cruising and optimal throttle response under all conditions

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• Perfectly optimized, dyno tweaked MS43 ECU software • CNC hard anodized brackets and hardware • Cast aluminium SC intake system with crankcase fume reduction system designed for boost • High temperature resistant, custom made silicone hoses with clamps • Detailed, step-by-step installation manual • Heavy-duty drive belt • All necessary installation hardware The system comes with a two year unlimited mileage warranty. The system is available for E46 320i 2.2 2001on, 325i, 328i and 330i all at £6,850.00 each inc. VAT. M-Style can also provide a fitting service at £770.73 inc. VAT For further details e-mail info@mstyle.co.uk or call 0208 598 9115

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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Power Feature - BMW M4 GTS

Whether you’re a fan or not of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, one thing that’s hard to argue against is the impact it has had on modern modified car culture. For BMW, the modified and after-market scene is huge business, and one that BMW GmbH itself is participating in more frequently than ever before with its M Performance branded parts. That ability to customize and individualize your pride and joy, be it for the looks or for the performance gains, is a massive fascination for many, myself included, with Instagram and YouTube providing a forum for a host of new influencers to show off and share their creations.

LIFE

Weapons Grade

Editorial by Steve Carter Photographs by Dean Grossmith

24 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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nd whilst for the few this can turn a passion and a hobby into a paid or sponsored career, for others it can simply be a lifestyle choice and for others still, just a bit of fun. Sometimes though it doesn’t always go to plan. Only last year, BMW gave YouTuber Riccardo Senior just a week to pay up for his M4 Competition in full. Why? Well, Riccardo highly modified his

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M4 with methanol injection and a hybrid turbo to produce a truly tarmac shredding and staggering 720bhp. Promoted over YouTube, it was hardly surprising BMW were upset, you see Ricardo didn’t actually own the car, he was leasing it from BMW. Duh. But sometimes the need to modify is negated by the fact that a special car is created from scratch by a manufacturer.

Take BMW’s M division for example, over the decades they’ve produced such legends as the E30 M3 Sport Evo, the E46 M3 CSL, even the Fire Orange E92 V8 M3 GTS. And the most recent addition to this rather select group of cars? Well that’s the track focused M4 GTS. Released back in 2016, and at £120,000, the GTS was double the price of the regular F82 M4. But did that put

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Power Feature - BMW M4 GTS

prospective buyers off? Not a chance, the entire limited global production of 700 vehicles was sold out within days. The UK was allocated 30 right hand drive cars, although according to one source that number increased to 32 after a few toys were thrown out of a few prams by a couple of wealthy brand advocates not wanting to miss out. So, whilst producing a very rare and special version of an M car was not unheard of by BMW M, what was justifying the hefty price tag of this particular GTS? Under the bonnet sits the familiar 3 litre straight six twin-turbo from the F80/F82, but this time it has one very trick upgrade, a cold-water injection system. Who would have thought water can make a petrol engine car go faster? And not just a little bit faster either. Power and torque both increased substantially over the base power unit, giving 493bhp and 442lbft of torque, and that translated into a derestricted top speed of 190mph and a 0 to 62mph time of just 3.8 seconds. The GTS also has a whole bunch of other upgrades and additions so that the car could be finely tuned to suit either the track or road. Along with its widened track, the car has three-way adjustable

26 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

coilovers (16 settings), carbon ceramic brakes, thicker anti-roll bars, a (bright orange) roll cage courtesy of the no-cost option Club Sport package, a large front splitter, a huge rear wing, and those stunning orange and diamond cut wheels were shod with Michelinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sticky and track focused Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. Here was a car that was set up for super sharp driving dynamics. Of course, to go faster, more power is helpful, but so is losing weight. Like many of its predecessors, the GTS was no exception in having been put on a weight saving diet by the folks in Munich. Gone were the rear seats, the front seats were replaced with light weight versions, the roof, bonnet, boot, splitter and wings were made of carbon fibre,

and even the wheels could be upgraded to carbon fibre versions to save an extra 7Kg of unsprung weight. Added to this, the standard exhaust is made of titanium and the interior has been paired back so there is no centre console storage and only grab straps instead of door handles. With all of these changes you may be a little surprised that the weight saving over a regular F82 M4 is only 30 kilograms. But that adjustable suspension system www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

will be adding significant weight over the standard set-up, and there’s also a 5-litre tank in the boot for that trick Water Injection System. Cosmetically the M4 GTS is somewhat muted in exterior colour options compared to the M3 GTS that came before it, painted as that was in “look at me” Fire Orange. The M4 GTS options are far less shouty and came in four colours only; Frozen Dark Grey Metallic, Sapphire Black, Mineral Grey and Alpine White. I say only, as it seems one determined German customer couldn’t resist twisting BMW’s arm and had his M4 GTS painted in the same Fire Orange as the previous generation; quite a feat considering no Individual paint colour options were supposed to be available, a true one of one car - that’s some impressive personal network connections going on right there.

orange wheels and roll cage, gold brake callipers and extensive exposed carbon fibre bring together an awesome visual feast for the eyes, only bettered when the ignition is switched on and the rear bespoke OLED tail lights do their dance. If ever there was a factory produced Fast & Furious car, this is it. Seconds later my jaw drops, euphoria is shattered as Julian turns over the

engine and the exhaust explodes into life. PHAAAWWWRRRRRRRR!! Whooah, what an epic noise! This is one Weapons Grade road legal race car. After the car is moved out of its spacious garage and on to the driveway to be photographed, it gives me a few moments to speak with Julian about how the M4 GTS ended up in his collection. “It was during the F80/82 M3/M4 launch at Intercity Istanbul Park back in June 2014 that I found out about it. Over dinner, and after a few glasses of wine, it was mentioned by one of the BMW guys that a limited track focused edition version of the M4 would be made available, and my interest was piqued. The headiness of an M4 and exclusivity of a GTS, well it was something I just had to have. As soon as I was back in the UK, I made the call to Sytner High Wycombe and got my name on that list.” But the M4 GTS purchase nearly didn’t happen, Julian continues, “However, I almost lost out on my slot. I was away with the family in Scotland on holiday during the October half term the following year, and with very little mobile reception I was pretty much out of contact with everyone. What I didn’t realise was that BMW had chosen that week to call all of the prospective buyers to take deposits; and it was simple: no deposit, no car. Luckily a really good friend of mine realised what was going on and knowing that I was pretty much off grid for the week, very kindly stepped in and paid my deposit.” That IS a good friend. And what does Julian enjoy most about his GTS, “The enormous sense of occasion. It doesn’t feel like an M4 at all. And unlike some of my other cars such as the Porsche 991.1 GT3 which you can lean on immediately and which has huge traction, the GTS takes time to build confidence and understand the depths of

Ownership But “muted” is not what I’m thinking right now as I stand in front of this absolutely stunning Frozen Dark Grey Metallic M4 GTS owned by Julian Rooney. The way that frozen finish holds the light across its shape on this glorious late summer’s day is quite extraordinary. The contrasting www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Power Feature - BMW M4 GTS

capability; although it’s certainly a bit of a handful in the wet on those Cup 2’s”. As we look around the car it becomes clear of the quality and attention to detail that BMW has lavished on the M4 GTS. The installation of the water tank and roll cage finishing are really very impressive, the coil over suspension adjustment kit is a work of art, and I can’t help being blown away by those orange and diamond cut wheels. Although as Julian points out, the limited clearance between the front brake callipers and inner alloy is so tight that it can lead to stones being trapped and scoring the alloy which has occurred on one of the wheels; I can’t say I much envy the poor guy or girl who has to refurb and match that wheel finish… Climbing into the driver’s full carbon Recaro seat, specified as part of the Club Sport package, I realise just how well these seats grip the driver in all the right places, and yet this is done whilst being obviously comfortable. And Julian backs this up by confirming he has made several five-hour journeys with no issues. It’s a great cabin to be in and instantly familiar to anyone who has sat in an F8X M3 or M4 CS, only the steering wheel with its M Performance LED race shift lights and GTS badging differentiating the surroundings. The steering wheel itself feels chunkier than normal, but wrapped in Alcantara it’s a special thing to be holding on to and fully complementary to the noise that exhaust is making out back.

them well and we are quickly making some seriously rapid progress. With the Cup 2s now warming up the poise this GTS is carrying down these roads and the grip that is available is staggering; that trick suspension is incredibly impressive. Like all great fast road car suspension, it is that initial inch of travel that is so impressive and plush, keeping that Michelin rubber firmly glued to the tarmac, that really breeds driver confidence to push on. But whilst my backside and brain are appreciating the ride and grip, it’s actually my ears which are having the greatest time. But that enjoyment is not coming from the outstanding induction noise from under the bonnet like previous M Car legends such as the E46 M3 CSL,

no, this time all of the joy is coming from those four titanium exhaust tips. The noise is truly epic, with a fantastic range of pops and burbles on the overrun; whoever designed that exhaust system deserves a medal, it defines the character of this car perfectly. As we head on to larger and smoother roads Julian demonstrates the explosive acceleration of this M4, and in doing so also exposes one of the cars’ rare weaknesses. On full bore acceleration in Sport mapping and up shifting from second to third, the warm Cup 2s break traction, overwhelmed by the torque of the engine. And to repeat, this is on warm Cup 2s. Whilst the break is momentary it is enough to halt that last percentage of forward momentum and can undo some of that confidence so wonderfully provided by the suspension. To fix this should be a simple mapping change to the throttle and gearbox; interestingly the M2 CS I drove only the month before had exactly the same issue, that was fixed by changing the throttle mapping to Comfort, but really, the Sport setting should be able to take the torque, let’s not forget, there is an even more aggressive Sport Plus setting too. Other faults are few and far between. Yes, the front splitter is low for our UK

Driving With the static shots finished, we head out on to the rural Sussex roads. These single lanes are not forgiving, the quality of their surface is broken and they undulate significantly, but Julian knows

28 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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roads and is prone to grounding now and again, and Julian mentions that the electric steering is “not very GTS-like”, but that is an unfortunate trait of many of the electric power steering systems; with each new BMW generation improving over the last. After waving to the supercar spotters at Buckbarn on the A24, we finally join the A272 and are able to stretch the GTS’ legs along some of southern England’s finest driving roads. It gets a lot of attention, this GTS, and for all of the right reasons, it just looks like a very special car. As I switch to my Z4M which is acting www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

as a camera car today, it gives me plenty of time to stare at the GTS from all kinds of up-close angles and watch the way it goes down the road. Just the way it sits and glides over the surface, that race car stiffness evident, tells me it is one very capable car. As we take a break between the rolling shots, I can’t help but ask Julian which of his fast road cars he prefers, and perhaps cheekily which one he’d sell first, the Porsche 991.1 GT3 or the M4 GTS? After a pausing briefly for thought, he then smiles, “I’d keep the GTS and sell the GT3. Finding another GTS wouldn’t be easy, and I’ve had it from new and it’s, well, it’s more special”. High praise indeed. But what I most admire about Julian’s M4 GTS, and in fact all of his cars, is his absolute conviction that all of them should be driven regularly and driven properly. This GTS has over 3,000 miles on it already, and that should tell

you all you need to know about how far away this particular, albeit mint, example is from being a Garage Queen. As we head back across the now busier Sussex roads, I give some thought to the place of this M4 GTS within BMW’s M Car legends. It feels unlike any other that I have driven and very different from an E46 M3 CSL, for example. It is for sure rarer, but it is also a more hard-core track focused machine. And please don’t read that as I’m belittling the CSL, I wouldn’t dare do that, but I do think the GTS is on a different level again, and in my mind, that makes it quite a special thing indeed. A massive thank you to Julian Rooney for not only sharing his M4 GTS with us for the day, but for sharing his huge enthusiasm about all things automotive; a true functioning car addict if ever there was one. BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Feature

No longer available – a thing of the past Words and photography by Andrew Coles

‘If you can dream it, you can do it.”

don’t know what it was that gave Walt Disney cause to make that famous quote, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t referring to the emerging technology of 3D printing obscure old car parts that are no longer available. But still, the quote holds true. Well, it does with some limitations, and

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the specialists at Elusive Parts are working hard to remove as many of those limitations as possible. Straight Six recently joined Elusive Parts’ Chris Bradshaw at the workshop of past BMW Car Club Chairman Richard Baxter, for the test fitment of some prototype parts made for some of his restoration projects. But more on that in a minute. Additive manufacturing has been around for some time now and is a process that is rapidly becoming hugely relevant to modern engineering. The concept is simple – a ‘printer’ takes a 3D CAD file and builds layer-upon-layer of material up on a base to create a three-dimensional part. The benefits are numerous, but largely lay in the fact that you don’t need to invest in costly tooling to produce a small run of parts, and you can manufacture lightweight components that are otherwise impossible to cast or machine using traditional processes. Until recently 3D printed parts have been restricted to non-structural plastics but rapid advances now mean that certain steels, alloys, aluminium, and titanium can be printed. The Koenigsegg One:1

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Feature hypercar has used a 3D printed titanium turbocharger housing for some years, and the Czinger 21C relies on the process for many of its critical structural components, including its chassis. Technology is moving quickly but it hasn’t quite caught up with demand just yet. Home 3D printers are affordable but the quality is low and the operator first needs to acquire or build a CAD model. Meanwhile, the equipment required to produce OEM-quality automotive parts is out of reach for home users, and machines capable of printing structural metals are still the domain of Formula One teams and automotive OEMs. The problem now is the gap between classic car owner and the technology, and this is the gap that Elusive Parts is seeking to close. Elusive Parts have invested in their own scanning technology which enables them to build a full CAD model from a part in your hand in under an hour, either in their London office or on site. They then refine the model and make improvements where needed, for example adding an extra rib to a known weak point, and then send it for production, choosing whichever chosen partner is most suited to make that particular part. It’s still early days, and Elusive Parts are working to find the right balance of turnaround time, quality and cost. They’ve figured out small plastic parts, and have now turned their attention to more complex components. Chris sees a bright future, but there’s a lot to learn. “Our goal is to build a library of tens of thousands of parts, allowing owners

to simply order what they need from our website and have it made and delivered to them in just a few days. And if we don’t have the part in our library, an owner can send one to us for scanning and then earn a royalty from any sales made off it in the future. “We’re still figuring it all out, but at the moment we want to work with car clubs and model experts to build out the Venn diagram of parts that are no longer available but in demand, and suited to the technology as it evolves. We want to learn

32 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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Feature

about what works and what doesn’t, and hopefully we can help some owners along the way.” It is this that brings us to Richard’s BMW-filled toy shop on a brisk November morning. We won’t give everything away as many of these projects are deserving of a Straight Six feature in their own right, but there are two projects in particular and they are both E30 M3s. The first is a road car. Well, two road cars. One is Richard’s Brilliant Red 1990 Sport Evo, a car he has owned for decades and is a veteran of hundreds of Nürburgring laps but has been restored to showroom condition. The second is a derelict example awaiting restoration. Both cars have Recaro SR seats and there is a particular one-way plastic clip that must be sacrificed in order to re-trim the seat. These are no longer available from Recaro, and Elusive Parts were able to scan a broken clip, rebuild it and manufacturer new ones. It’s a similar story for the plastic floor mat clips, which are BMW-branded with the roundel but are famous for breaking. Arguably, the more exciting car is Richard’s current restoration project, a factory built E30 M3 touring car that was raced in a single Italian Touring Car Championship season and then put into storage for three decades. It was never crashed, modified or updated through its life, and is totally unique in being a completely unmolested example of the first generation of E30 M3 touring car. We’ll save the details for a future www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

feature, but Richard is restoring it to asdelivered specification, and every detail is important. The headlamp plug housings are specific BMW Motorsport items, and are one-way components designed to be broken on removal. Unsurprisingly, BMW Motorsport does not stock these anymore, and BMW themselves retrofit an E36 plug when restoring the race cars. But by scanning a removed clip and then ‘repairing’ it in CAD, Elusive Parts were able to reproduce the part and ensure Richard’s car is correct to the tiniest detail. Chris says that the part cost would probably be about £25 per unit to the customer, which is mere pennies compared to the thousands required

to make an injection moulding tool to reproduce parts like this. Chris has come to the BMW Car Club hoping for more situations like this, where Elusive Parts can use their technology to help members and learn about the process along the way, while building out their library. If you have any components that are no longer available, please contact Elusive Parts to see if it is suitable for reproduction using their technology. Email hello@elusive.parts or call 07768 806507. If you can dream it, perhaps Elusive Parts can do it for you…

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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36 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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Alpina B12

Words by Drew Ferguson Photography by Andrew Coles

Alpina B12 – King of the Motorway Drew Ferguson’s 1998 Alpina B12 5.7 e-kat is one of just 16 UKsupplied examples, and surely one of the very few still in regular use. After hankering for an E38 for decades, Drew finally acquired the grand-daddy of them all in 2017 and shares his story with Straight Six. ‘Don’t do it!’ ‘It’ll be a total money pit!’ ‘What is a B12, anyway?’

his was just some of the ‘advice’ I was given back in 2017 when I was offered the opportunity to purchase an incredibly rare 1998 Alpina B12 5.7 e-kat. These cars don’t come up for sale very often, and when they do, heart should always rule over head. After all, these cars don’t just go up to 11, they go all the way up to B12! This story truly begins way back in the late 1990s, when I was an up and coming young businessperson. For years I enviously watched the partners of my firm arriving each morning in their executive motors, and I promised myself that one day, when I had blossomed into a more financially successful executive, I too would own a BMW 7 Series. Back in those days a BMW 7 Series was a striking, purposeful and beautiful looking car, unsullied by anything that Chris Bangle was dreaming up for the E65. And so, this is the car that imprinted itself on me, the glorious E38. Some years later in 2010, with funds finally in place, the search for the right 7er

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BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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began in earnest. So, which one to buy? The 728 has the fabulous M52 straightsix engine (almost all BMWs should have straight six engines, of course unless there is a very good reason for it not to), but in my opinion 2.8-litres is a little underpowered for such a big car. The eight-cylinder models have the fantastically energetic M60/62 quad cam V8 and are plentiful in the classifieds, but even the top-spec 740s are often missing key options that I particularly wanted â&#x20AC;&#x201C; heated contour seats, the Sport body kit, and electronic damper control. That left only the V12-powered 750, which is certainly a very different ownership proposition to a 740. I confess that I was initially a little biased against the M73 V12, because a single overhead cam engine with two valves per cylinder was far from cutting edge, even in 1994. However, all of this E38 navel-gazing was for nothing, as I would be armtwisted into buying an E39 Alpina B10 V8S Touring, which is another story entirely! But roll on 2017 and I was back on target to finally find an E38. The V8S had found a new home, and a very tentative feeler I had put out for an E38 B12 was surprisingly answered by a very tentative maybe, from the long-term owner of B12 5.7 e-kat number 130. I later found out that my timing in

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this was exceptionally lucky. E38 B12s are rare cars (there were only ever 16 UK-supplied cars, and fewer remain on the road) and they generally rest in longterm ownership. As a result, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much more usual for a prospective B12 buyer to spend years tracking a car down and then persuading the owner to sell. Even more fortuitously, the car was only 50 miles away and I quickly went to visit it. On arrival I was offered coffee and biscuits, which is all very pleasant but I noted that there was no sign of an

Orient Blue E38. After a few minutes of car chat it became clear to me that this was going to be the type of purchase where a hopeful buyer would be vetted before being allowed to even see the car, to establish if they are worthy of custodianship. So, it was only after I had established some sort of BMW and Alpina credentials did we head out to the garage, and I at once knew this was the car for me. Cosmetically this B12 was a bit tired in many places. It had several paint and www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Alpina B12

trim issues, car-park dings in all four doors, and some flaking paint on the front splitter, but the overall impact of the car was unmistakeable. Big 20-inch Alpina alloys, quad exhaust, acres and acres of leather. I knew I could do something good with this car and erase some of its 150,000 miles. The test drive revealed a gearbox on its last legs, but even that couldn’t put me off as the surge of torque was so intoxicating. The comprehensive history file showed that this car had been pampered by credit card, but perhaps the reassuringly big bills in the folder should also have given me a premonition of what kind of damage a car like this can do to one’s bank balance! Anyway, a deal was done, and the drive home gave me a first impression of how the other half experience motorways. Double-glazing and tall gearing means near silent cruising, 560Nm of torque means effortless overtaking, and the front grill of my newly acquired 7 Series meant that the outside lane of the M40 miraculously cleared in front of me like the Red Sea parting, all the way home! The seller had already mentioned that travelling by B12 means that you generally arrive at your destination an hour earlier than you expect and naively (and coming from my B10) I had assumed that this was all about speed, power and acceleration. But in reality, it’s simply www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

the fact that lesser cars (all of them) pull over into the middle lane as soon as they see the 7er’s kidney grills appear in their mirror. So, what exactly is an Alpina B12? The B12 badge was first applied to Alpina’s take on the E32 7 Series in 1988, and then on the E31 8 Series, with the B12 5.0 and B12 5.7 models. The E31 B12 5.7 is especially exciting as it is based upon the already superrare and totally iconic 850CSi. Amongst other tweaks, it boasts a modified S70 engine, upping the power from 380bhp to 416bhp. The next final evolution of this engine, the 627bhp 48-valve S70/2, famously found a home inside the gilded engine bay of the McLaren F1. The first E38 based B12s came in 1995 and for these cars, Alpina enlarged the 5.4-litre M73 to 5.7-litres, and then

finally to 6.0-litres. The 5.7 makes 387bhp which gives a 0-60 time of 6.1 seconds, and the 6.0-litre (making 430bhp, compared to the base car’s 326bhp) lowers that to 5.6 seconds. Along with those engine modifications, Alpina refined the chassis with improved springs and dampers, fitted its signature 20-spoke, 20-inch alloys (making it the first production car to run 20-inch wheels), and attached an understated body kit which incorporated (for the E31 and E38 cars) a tasty set of quad exhausts. The other benefit of owning an Alpina B12 e-kat is the comprehensive list of E38 options generally ordered on the base car – first owners usually had very deep pockets! And what is the e-kat bit all about? This is proper pub-quiz geek territory here and I almost hope that none of you

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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know the answer! This is the world’s first production car to be fitted with an electrically heated catalytic converter, which is why (you guessed it?) this fact is proudly announced on the boot lid. Apparently, such technology reduces emissions. Arguably, a more effective way to reduce emissions would be to avoid installing a 5.7-litre V12 in the first place, but where’s the fun in that? Ownership of my B12 has been a mixed bag, as it usually is with classics. As expected, the gearbox needed a full rebuild early on in my custodianship which provided another reassuringly large bill to add to the history folder. But many other fixes sat well within my own spannering ability. I have rebuilt the wing mirror mechanisms to restore full memory function, repaired the PDC wiring loom properly where a garage looked to have (dare I say it) bodged it, replaced a cracked headlight glass, renewed various bits of tired trim, rebuilt the self-levelling headlight system and given the leather and wood interior some much needed love. But however much I enjoy the spanner jobs (and I do enjoy them), the real joy of the B12 is found when driving it. This is a car that needs to be driven to keep it healthy, which is fine by me. Its main task is long-haul duty on family holidays

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and, as we rarely fly abroad, it gets its legs stretched on a regular basis. This summer was supposed to see us all on the Portsmouth to Caen ferry for a family trip to Brittany, but Covid-19 put paid to that unfortunately. Hopefully next year? Driving the B12 is always an event, it really does feel every bit as special as I had hoped, and even after three years of ownership it still feels exceptional and very much something out of the ordinary. And it’s not just me, as the kids love it too and are always wanting to take the B12 on every journey. Part of this love for the big Alpina will be the toys; certainly, the back seat of my Dad’s Austin Maxi didn’t have reclining heated seats or window blinds to play with on long journeys, let alone a telephone with which to contact one’s stockbroker and place a trade! But as well as the toys, I’m sure that they

also sense the style and presence of their Dad’s prized B12, and the extra kudos they get on the odd occasion when I drop them at school in it. This may all be my wishful thinking however, perhaps it’s just another old car to them! On the subject of driving a B12, it’s probably worth noting that, despite being capable of getting to 60mph in six seconds, E38 B12s are not really 0-60 sprint cars. If you want to boot it off the lights then it will indeed fly, but its real trick lies in the effortless and rapid accumulation of pace. Joining a motorway for example, it will accelerate smoothly from 30mph to whatever speed you like without any commotion or noticeable effort. Care must be taken, as at 30mph it is smooth and near silent, just as it is at 100mph and over. It is always worth keeping an eye on the

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Alpina B12

speedometer. As well as being a consummate milemuncher, its other party trick is A-road overtaking. At 40mph, stuck behind a caravan heading down to Devon on the A303, it will be in top gear, cruising at 1200rpm. If a gap in the traffic opens up and a liberal dose of right foot is applied, it will drop three gears and head very rapidly for the horizon. Such a swift takeoff is rarely (perhaps never?) necessary, but that is entirely missing the point, as it is of course hugely good fun! www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

And what’s next? During lockdown I have been able to spend some quality time at home with the B12, and I have had the wheels refurbished and some panels painted. I also had the time to polish and detail the paintwork from stem to stern and a very skilled craftsman did an excellent paintless dent removal job on all the doors: no more parking dings. Now that the body and paint is finally in tiptop condition I hope to add the missing Alpina Deko-Set pin-striping next spring, as the original buyer of this amazing car

(unbelievably) neglected to tick this option from new. I also need to replace the other headlight glass as the brand new one on the nearside is now highlighting the light hazing affecting the offside glass, however I need to find a new-old stock Bosch glass for the driver’s side, rather than use the later Marelli versions. Yes, it matters! Obviously most of our family holidays this year have been postponed or cancelled, and so the Alpina has not covered many miles in 2020. Hopefully next year will be different, and we have already re-booked trips to the Lake District, France and Scotland. However, Covid and Boris permitting, the B12’s next big outing will be its annual tour of England in celebration of Christmas; to Newcastle upon Tyne, Bristol and Huntingdon. And at this point who knows what 2021 will have in store? Hopefully no more lockdowns: fingers and toes crossed. BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Revisiting The Classics – No. 8 – BMW E10 2002

The original compact sporting saloon… Words – Jeff Heywood/Richard Stern Photos Jeff Heywood/BMW Press

Launched by BMW in 1966, the compact saloon christened the ’02 quickly garnered favour with the motoring press and public alike, who enthused over the diminutive two-door saloon’s practical nature and sporting driving style, especially once the 100bhp+ two-litre M10 engine was installed.

MW were already beginning to reap the rewards of the Neue Klasse cars in the early 1960s, and the 2002 was the icing on the cake, selling in large numbers and providing the finance for BMW, who, buoyed by the 2002’s initial success, expanded their empire as a car manufacturer by purchasing the Glas Car Company in 1966. Even more importantly, it allowed them to secure Glas’ Dingolfing Factory so they could increase production at a stroke for a relatively small outlay. As early as 1963, BMW’s management team had been discussing the possibility of introducing a new and smaller twodoor BMW model. Thoughts began to focus on a short wheelbase version of the Neue Klasse saloon, and this plan had particular merit because it would help to re-establish the sporting image that BMW had enjoyed in the 1930s but had never recaptured since. The shorter wheelbase would bring handling advantages while the lighter body would improve performance, and of course the two-door configuration would look more sporting

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than the four-door Neue Klasse type. BMW’s management were enthusiastically supportive about introducing this ‘sporty’ two-door saloon, but hesitated because of a lack of production capacity. The Munich plant was running at full capacity building the Neue Klasse saloons, and if the new compact model was successful they would need another way of meeting demand. The two-door model was finally given the go ahead and was relatively simple to design. The Neue Klasse wheelbase was shortened from 100.4 inches to 98.4 inches, Wilhelm Hofmeister restyled the passenger cabin to suit, and the front of the car was given a minor facelift. Most of the running gear came directly from the existing four-door saloons, although there was a narrow track rear axle, which made front and rear tracks equal on the two-door model. The decision was made to launch the car with the M10 1,573cc “1600” engine, named the 1600-2. The additional figure ‘2’ stood for its two doors, distinguishing it from the four-door 1600 saloon.

The 1600-2 was announced in March 1966 and was immediately proclaimed a winner. The lighter body made the car nearly as fast as the 1800 saloon, while the excellent handling added a sporting ingredient, which was lacking in the larger car. BMW also announced the takeover of the Glas Car Company in 1966, allowing them access to an experienced pool of engineers and other personnel. Glas was developing an overhead cam-design engine with a timing belt that came as part of the deal, but the real diamond was the acquisition of the factory and large parcel of surrounding land at Dingolfing. It provided BMW with the added manufacturing capacity it so desperately needed for a very modest outlay – excellent business indeed. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

The motoring press were unable to contain their enthusiasm for BMW’s new sporting two-door, and comparisons with Alfa Romeo’s famous sporting saloons were made. At the Frankfurt Motor Show in the autumn of 1967, BMW announced an even more sporting version - the 1600ti - with a 105bhp twin-carburettor engine, which was immediately popular. Despite the success BMW did not sit on their laurels, as they were already considering the possibility of giving their two-door vehicle yet another engine in the shape of a two-litre derivative of the 1600ti. With sales exceeding BMW’s expectations, they introduced a Convertible model built by Baur, powered by the 1600 engine. Not long after the first 1600-2 was announced, Alex von Falkenhausen already had a two-litre engine fitted to www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

a 1600-2 for his own use. Completely independent of Falkenhausen, BMW’s Planning Director Helmut Werner Bonsch had exactly the same conversion carried out for his car. Neither man knew of the other’s car until one day in mid 1967 when both cars were in the workshops together at BMW! Both were enthusiastic about their two-litre two-doors, and between them decided to put a formal proposal to the BMW Board that such a model should be considered for production. Their cause was greatly helped by developments in the USA. BMW had never found success in that market before the mid 1960s, and the marque had been imported only in small numbers. The company was well aware of the value of sales success in such a large market, and until this point they didn’t have a model

which appealed to American tastes. In 1966, that all changed. The new two-door 1600-2 models received rave reviews from the American motoring press and suddenly sales started to gather momentum. Wanting to capitalize on this success, importer Max Hoffman urged the Bavarians to let him have another model in the same vein, and preferably one with even more performance. The only model in that range was the 1600ti. Unfortunately, the twin-carburettor engine could not be modified to meet the new Federal exhaust emissions regulations, and could not be sold there. However, the 100bhp two-litre engine in the 2000 coupe had already been modified to meet the regulations. The solution was simple, BMW Sales Director Paul Hahnemann was well aware of the US market requirement, and so supported BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Revisiting The Classics – No. 8 – BMW E10 2002

The revered M10 engine that powers all 02 models

A later Jade Green (078) 2002 tii with the rectangular tail lights

Falkenhausen and Bonsch’s proposal for a two-litre version of the two-door car. Despite some opposition, the trio’s argument won the day and the 2002 was born. 1971 was a pivotal year for the 2002 – first the fuel injected 2002tii was introduced with Kugelfischer fuel injection and 130bhp. It was the real firecracker of the range (except for the Turbo) and replaced the single-carb 100bhp 1600-2 and the twin-carb 119bhp 1600ti. The Touring model was also launched in 1971 with a three-door hatchback design, although it wasn’t hugely popular with just 25,827 finding customers before production was discontinued in 1974. The Convertible model was given a two-litre engine in the same year, making for a full 2002 model for the first time. There were three distinct generations of the BMW 2002 range during its eight and a half year production cycle. The first generation cars were built between 1968 and 1971 and are easily distinguishable by their round rear tail lights. The second generation, or ‘model 71’ cars, were built between 1971 and 1973. And the third generation, or ‘model 73’ cars were built between 1973 and the end of production in 1976 – these cars were fitted with rectangular tail lights. Within each of those generations, the 2002 range was further subdivided into a variety of different models. In total 401,947 02s were built. Although this guide is mainly covering the 2002 saloon models, most of the items mentioned in Buyer’s Guide also applies to the three-door Touring and Convertible as well.

and indicator housings. Mud and other road debris can collect on the inner-wing supports and rot out the front wings; also check around the wheel arch and where the wings meet the A-post, whilst also checking where the front wing joins the sill. Next on the checklist is the bulkhead and around the heater air box, making sure that the drains aren’t blocked. The sills are prone to rot, especially at the rear where they protrude into the rear wheel arch, and where the rear subframe is mounted. Be vigilant around the differential area, too. Peel back the floor carpets, especially on Convertible and Targa models, which are more prone to water leaks, and check the floor pans, particularly where the inner sill meets the bulkhead. Inspect the front chassis rails for rust and damage, usually caused by inexperienced mechanics jacking the car in the wrong place, and check the rear subframe and chassis rails above the drive shafts. Inside the boot, pay particular attention to the rear spring mounting plates, the inner wheel arches and the spare wheel well. The edges of the boot, bonnet and door bottoms are prone to rot too. All cars are prone to rust, most of the mechanics and cosmetics are far cheaper to replace than the structure itself.

Fuel Systems Standard engines have one single-choke carburettor, and ti models have twin carburettors (Non-UK). tii versions have Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection and the Turbo models have an additional KKK turbocharger, plus stronger brakes and suspension. An in-line fuel filter for the single-carburettor system should be replaced every 24,000 miles, and failure to do this can lead to the main jet blocking. The tii has an aluminiumbodied fuel filter fitted under the battery tray, and should be renewed at the same interval with a similar type, costing around £10. Check the fuel tank for corrosion around its middle where the two halves meet, and clean and protect the area accordingly. Inspect the fuel lines periodically. Carburettor models have a plastic pipe that threads its way through the offside of the car, which can become brittle and damaged, leading to a smell of petrol in the cabin. Injected models have a steel feed pipe that can corrode, and a plastic return pipe that’s also prone to becoming brittle or damaged. If single-carburettor engines run poorly and resist successful tuning, inspect the throttle spindles for play. The throttle bodies have a tendency to wear badly, requiring removal, machining and a new throttle spindle. Alternatively, renew the carburettor with a replacement item or upgrade to twincarburettors for more performance. The Kugelfischer injection system is pretty reliable as long as the car is regularly used. If it sits idle for long periods, one of the pump plungers is likely to stick. The remedy is simply to drive the car more often. tii’s can suffer from poor running, but this is usually caused by wear in the ball-joint linkage between the fuel pump

Things to watch out for… Bodywork 2002s, like many BMWs of the 1960s and 70s, have issues with rot. Most cars that have lived in a cooler, damp climate with snow and salting of roads will suffer from corrosion in varying degrees, from the easily repairable to major work that requires serious surgery. Starting at the front, the box section below the radiator can rot out from the inside, as can the boxed sections behind the headlamps

44 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

A very early 1600-2 from 1966 www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

A nicely restored 002 Colorado Orange 2002 ti

and the throttle-butterfly. To set up the system, it’s necessary to lock the throttle and pump in relation to each other but if the joints are worn, that’s impossible. Replacing the worn parts is the only remedy, followed by regular lubrication. Ensure the pump is topped up with engine oil (details in the Jaymic injection bulletin). High-mileage injection pumps can suffer from a worn metering cone, and while the components can be sourced in Germany, finding someone to strip and reassemble the pump is another matter. It’s certainly not a DIY job. There are different views as to whether ’02s can use unleaded fuel, but to be on the safe side, it’s best to use premium-unleaded with a good quality octane booster which contains a lead additive. The long term remedy is to have the cylinder head removed and have the valve seats hardened. Mechanicals Each model in the BMW 02 range derived its full name and its power from an ironblock four-cylinder overhead-cam engine given the BMW code name M10: the 1600-2 and 1602 models had a 1573cc version, all 2002s had a 1990cc unit, the 1802 (which was never imported into the UK) had a 1793cc variant, and the 1502 economy model introduced in 1975 had a 1573cc version with lower power due to utilising a lower compression ratio of 8.0:1, enabling the use of lower octane fuel. This economy model had reduced trim and continued in production until 1977, although the rest of the 2002 range was replaced by the E21 3 Series in 1975. Engines last for at least 100,000 miles as long as they’re well looked after. They require an oil service every 3000 to 5000 www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

miles, depending on how much the car is used; a good tip is to drain the engine oil after a run when the oil is hot and thin. Replace the sump plug with a new washer and refill the sump with a good quality oil no thinner than 15W/40. Replace the oil filter at the same time, preferably using a genuine BMW item especially if the car isn’t used regularly. The screw-on canister embodies a return valve: if it’s faulty, the oil can drain back into the sump leaving the bearings starved of oil on start up. Early cars used a paper element filter. The ’02 range has exceptionally good spares backup. BMW is able to supply most parts but some can prove costly, and they also commission remanufactured parts as necessary. Specialists such as Jaymic are also able to supply OEM and aftermarket spares, and German company Wallothnesch can supply many hard-to-find bits. The engine has an iron block and an aluminium head, the latter of which is prone to corrosion. Use a top quality anti-freeze with a corrosion inhibitor and change it regularly – the antifreeze component doesn’t usually degrade, but the corrosion inhibitor does, so follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. The M10 engine really is bulletproof. However, if an engine seems to run sweeter with the oil filler cap removed, it’s more than likely on its last legs. If the car isn’t used frequently, the water pump can leak but replacements only cost around £50. Check that the oil isn’t milky, this could be a blown head gasket. After 60,000 miles or so, 02s are renowned for burning a little oil on the over-run. The only remedy for this is to renew the valve stem oil seals, either by removing the head or by using a

proprietary method of retaining the valves while the springs are removed. High mileage engines are also prone to a topend rattle. First check the valve clearances, but if the adjusting rollers have run out of travel, it’s more than likely that the rocker shaft and rockers have worn. After many thousands of miles, the distributor bearings can wear, particularly on the tii models, causing timing inaccuracies. An electronic ignition module, costing around £150, should alleviate the effects of this wear, or budget around £120 for a replacement distributor. At the time of writing, BMW are no longer able to supply tii exhaust downpipes, although after-market systems are available. Jaymic and Fritz Bits are able to supply top quality stainless exhausts for little more cost than the standard BMW mild steel system. The gearbox and differential give no problems as long as they’re maintained regularly. Frequently check the oil levels in both units, draining them every 24,000 miles and refilling with a good quality EP 80/90. Early gearboxes suffered from worn mainshafts resulting in the units jumping out of gear, but by now most have been rebuilt or swapped for the later gearbox which is much stronger. The later E21 gearbox also fits and is a recognised upgrade. The differential should be silent, but a noisy one is likely to continue reliably BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Some describe the 02 interior as austere but I see it as period correct, with very few cars having plush interiors in the 1960s and early 70s. It is very ergonomic and tactile; many owners re-trim the seats in leather to give the interior a lift if it becomes a little threadbare

for many more miles. A suitable oil-additive may help matters. The diff itself is rubber mounted, so look for any perishing or delamination and replace accordingly. A worn centre prop bearing can produce a rumbling vibration from underneath, so don’t confuse it with a worn diff. While underneath, check the rubber prop shaft joint on the back of the gearbox, which is also prone to oil contamination and degradation. The gear-linkage is located on rubber mounting blocks, which can become oil-contaminated and weak, producing unwanted side-to-side gear lever movement. The rear drive shafts are immensely strong and require little maintenance, other than to check the CV joint gaiters for splits. Suspension and Brakes If possible, jack up each corner of the car and rock the wheels, looking for any excessive wear in the wheel bearings and/or suspension joints. The front wheel bearings are of the taper-roller variety, so there should be a little movement. These need regular greasing. Remove the wheels and visually inspect the dampers for leakage, the springs for damage and the suspension joints for wear. Carefully inspect the front strut spring plates, as they can rot right through, allowing the suspension to collapse. At the rear, the box-section trailing arms are also prone to corrosion, so be very vigilant. At the rear, also check the condition of the subframe and differential mountings. Replacing the rubber components with polyurethane ones will resist oil contamination and reduce play.

46 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

A small amount of play in the steering box can be very carefully adjusted out. Be careful, however, as you can easily damage the box or cause bad tight spots in parts of the lock. Also make sure that the steering idler isn’t seizing up. The suspension is more than adequate for enthusiastic driving, but it can be significantly improved by fitting an uprated set-up. Fitting front and rear anti-roll bars to the 1502 and 1602 will improve the handling, as will swapping the standard bar for the Turbo’s bar on other cars. The brakes are very good, as long as the pistons in the four-pot callipers and the rear wheel-cylinders aren’t seized. Clean and operate each piston if the car isn’t used regularly to ensure they’re free to move. Front brake callipers can be expensive but are still available. The rear drum brakes require regular adjustment at the back-plate, using a 17mm spanner. The adjuster can seize, so don’t round off the hexagon head if it doesn’t move. Instead, remove the drum and shoes, douse the adjuster with penetrating oil and lever it back and forth with a handheld vice-grip. When free, copper-grease it to prevent further seizure. Check the handbrake cables for corrosion and lubricate them. Change the brake fluid every two years. Rear brakes can be upgraded to the bigger tii and Turbo brakes without too much trouble, and again an aftermarket option of rear discs can be fitted. All UK cars had a twin-servo set up, again these are expensive and difficult to source, so thoroughly check the braking system out on any potential car. For hard driving or extra stopping power, it’s possible to swap the front

uprights for the tii units fitted with E21 hubs and vented discs. You can also use 5 or 6 Series callipers but make sure your wheels have adequate internal clearance; alternatively it is possible to fit aftermarket modern callipers from companies like Wilwood and Hi-Spec. Wheels Alloys were an option for all models and most are still available, 5.0J and 5.5J are really the correct wheels to fit to an 02 (6J on the Turbo), any wider and your tyres will start rubbing the arch lip and inner wing. Arch lips can be rolled by a specialist, but fitting wider tyres will make the steering heavier, especially under load. Trim and Interior Generally, the trim is hard wearing but cars are now all over 45 years old and you’d be very lucky to find a mint original interior. Black door cards can still be found but no other colours are available at present, a good trimming company should be able to help. Early cars only had vinyl seats with wider headrests; later models had the option of cloth trim with the narrower head restraints. Cabriolets had a check cloth pattern with vinyl at the tops of the seats for weatherproofing. Some owners have fitted the later Recaro front seats from a 3 Series car, some have been brave enough to fit 6 Series rear bucket coupe seats. Make sure to check any chrome interior trim as it is expensive to re-chrome and finding replacement chrome trim is difficult. “Lux” models came with wood trim, velour seats, tinted windows, centre rear armrest, delay wash wipe and a few other goodies. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Revisiting The Classics – No. 8 – BMW E10 2002

A nice Golf Yellow (070) 02

Electrics Points, condensers and spark plugs are cheap and easy to replace if the engine is misfiring. Pinking can be caused by poor fuel octane rating, or perhaps the timing needs adjusting for modern fuels. Aftermarket contactless points are an excellent upgrade. Headlamps or headlights only working on the main beam are usually caused by a bad contact on a fuse. Clean all of the fuse contacts, not just the headlamp ones. If that doesn’t do the trick, check that a wire has not come off the back of the light switch on the dashboard. If the dashboard warning light stays on, it’s probably the switch at fault behind the handbrake lever. Flickering instruments indicate a bad earth. Check the soundness of the following wiring earth points (brown wires) – By the battery, engine fire wall (front bulkhead) on the tii and turbo, behind the glove box and in the boot area under the petrol tank cover board, and last but not least the large earth lead to the engine block. tii’s have the additional injection wiring loom and relay box that can cause poor starting problems, but Jaymic do supply an injection set-up guide that helps pinpoint any problems. Conclusion Although all 2002s are at least 45 years old by now and some have celebrated their 50th birthday, all 02s handle well and if properly sorted mechanically have a fair turn of speed, especially the two-litre cars and the turbo. When launched in 1966 the world was still in the throes of recovering from the economic effects of WW2, so most cars up to this point were quite mundane and basic, built to ferry a family around and no more. But here BMW had launched a car that was fun to drive, a sporty small executive saloon which would ignite the fire to a segment of the motoring industry that would burn bright to this day and lead to the birth of BMW’s own 3 Series and rivals from Mercedes Benz, Audi, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo.

The 02’s boot is quite voluminous and easily accessible via its large opening, perfect for a summer weekend away

afford, because rusting chassis and body panels cost far more to repair than any mechanical items that require repair or replacement. Take a competent specialist with you who knows the cars intimately and you can’t go far wrong. The tii with fuel injection is the car everyone wants but there aren’t cars for everyone, so you may have to settle for a nice carburettor car. The exotic turbo model provides scintillating performance but it is now a specialist vehicle that requires a lot of care and a lottery win to purchase. How much should I pay? This is a really difficult question to answer, because you can’t value them just by engine size – is a mint 1602 worth less than a shabby tii? This is the trouble with classic cars when they get to a certain age. Our advice would be to buy on condition only, unless you’ve really set your heart on a specific model like the tii. If so, you’ll just have to sit tight and wait for the right car to come up, but don’t forget, you won’t be the only person waiting for that ‘special’ car. If you intend to use it as a true classic, bringing it out for car shows and the odd weekend run when the weather is fine, then buy a car in excellent condition and enjoy it – what does it matter if it’s producing 130bhp or 80? You can still find tatty non-runners for under £3,500, tatty runners start at over £3,500. Decent daily driver examples that

need bodywork tidying cost from £5,000, although the tii models have started to form their own pricing structure like the Turbo models, so this is a very vague price guide. Good cars can cost from £7,000, although for tii’s you are looking at £15,000 and up. Excellent cars that are genuine cost from £10,000, although again with the tii you can at least double that amount. Concours examples needing no work either bodily or mechanically start at £15-20,000 for a 1502/1602, whilst a tii is going to start around £35,000. If you are looking for a Touring model, prices usually follow the saloon’s prices mentioned above, but are usually a few thousand less than a similar saloon. Turbo models are in a different league, with tatty non-runners fetching £25,000, middling examples (which always seem to have niggling issues) cost from £45,000, and excellent concours quality cars are £100,000 and above for the very best. When looking to purchase a classic car, that old saying ‘caveat emptor’ is always at the back of one’s mind, more so when looking for an 02, mainly because of the many models available. Because they are known to rot, a bit like their E9 Coupe cousin, finding the right car can be a bit of a minefield. It’s not uncommon to find that cracked dashboards have been switched with third gen dashboards. Front seats are a favourite to have been swapped over, sometimes not from a BMW. So be careful and take a marque expert with you when viewing a car, and if this isn’t possible, at the very least take an experienced mechanic or bodywork person with you, they could save you thousands! Don’t let this put you off though because the 2002 is a fabulous car to drive, just ask our long standing and ever enthusiastic 2002 Register Captain Richard Stern, who has kindly helped put this article together.

What to buy? Now that all 2002s are over 45 years old, our advice would be to go with the most solid, rust free example you can A wonderful shot of Malaga Red (021) 2002 tii ‘roundie’ www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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Feature

Simples

The sheer complexities of the modern world have arrived upon us, it seems mostly through the wonder of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;chipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This micro device saves us weight and does all these clever things at the speed of a millisecond creating so called efficiencies at mind boggling speed.

Words: Richard Baxter Photographs: Top Gear

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

Feature

In my recent capacity of operating a car storage and detailing facility we have access to all manner of new and classic cars. One can only marvel at the new technological and electronic interface that is the latest Audi Q8, termed by Wikipedia as being a “medium sized crossover vehicle” (oh crikey, what would be a large sized crossover vehicle?) and one of which arrived last week for a ceramic surface detail. With its 21-inch wheels, gargantuan overall dimensions of 5 metres by 1.7 high by near-enough to 2 wide, and 2,200 kg in weight, it’s a salesman’s dream (to the prospective technophobe owner). He or she can proudly demonstrate the myriad of new features for the driver, who sits within a space rocket cocooned cabin soaking up the massive array of fingertip control features, I mean, the features list runs to two A4 pages…. I kind of get this vehicle in the good ol’ US of A: big roads, big spaces, big parking lots, all to carry, well, big people. But in the UK it is certainly good only for the ‘dent devil’ franchises who work off the back of the dents at circa £80 a panel, when the large doors inflict their size on the miniature vehicles who may be parked up in their generous shadow. Otherwise one notices that their often

52 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

timid drivers have difficulty getting out of the vehicle when parked, difficulty in navigating through narrow streets and difficulty in finding long enough spaces in which to park! In fact the wife of the owner has now refused to take this to do her local shop as its sheer size makes it utterly impractical. So when and why did we sign up to these oversized, overweight, over complex behemoths? When did ‘because we can’ become more important than ‘because we need to’? Jump into one of these vehicles to simply move it and it takes an age to work through the systems that bleep and flash that won’t allow you to remove the key until you figure out that one safety device overrides another. Screens light up to show you a picture of the rear and the front corners because you can no longer see or judge the outer limits. You live in a world of unreal vision where you are forced to believe what your eyes cannot see! The demands on the driver to carry out the most simple of actions has slowly crept up as surely as walking down a firm grassy bank into soft ground, and before you know it your boots are being sucked into gooey mud, all the while

demanding your attention when really it is quite disproportionate to expend so much energy and activity on a simple task. Having finally navigated the Q8 into its parking bay with all its flashing lights, screens and bleeps finally silenced, and having extricated myself from the ‘on high’ seat, the next key in my pocket was for a diminutive E21 316i coupe. With significant ease I was able to start the engine, steer the car in a neat three point turn and reverse park it into an inch perfect slot, having at the same time operated the windscreen wipers, set the heater blower to demist the windscreen - all in a half the time with double the confidence in my ability to perform the task. This is a car that by comparison would be so easy to live with on a daily basis. Beautifully built with simple switches and knobs that are quick and intuitive to use and with all four corners of the car instantly visible, enabling one to thread one’s progress on the roads and within tight parking spaces. And, to my knowledge, not a single microchip exists within this most simple of mechanical cars – long live the Sharknose range of vehicles, they actually do all you could wish for and provide soul, confidence and yes, style, to a simple daily life.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Safe driving into the winter months

eading into the winter months, road conditions are likely to vary considerably. Whether this is due to rain, snow or mud, the way we drive will change as a result. Simple aspects such as steering input, acceleration, braking and keeping a safe distance need to be considered to ensure safe driving in difficult road conditions. The most common aspect of wet weather driving is spray, which is particularly apparent on busy motorways and affects visibility as well as provides additional hazards on the road. Reducing speed in heavier rain is a good way to prevent unnecessary risk, while making sure windscreen wipers and in-car climate control are in perfect working order also goes a long way to ensuring maximum visibility. An area of wet weather driving which is most hazardous is aquaplaning, which can be prevented by checking your tyre pressure and wear levels; these levels will tell you if your tyres are fit for purpose. Fitting the correct seasonal tyres to your BMW can equally help to reduce the risk. Heavy steering inputs when

54 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

aquaplaning are not recommended, as this may have larger consequences once the grip levels return to normal – usually after mere fractions of a second. Aquaplaning can occur even at 30mph, making the car float and lose direction. Releasing the accelerator and lightly touching the brake pedal is the best reaction as it transfers the load of the car to the front axle and therefore restores the steering control quickly and safely.

Tyre tread depth is also one of the key factors to consider to maintain safe driving in wet conditions. Stopping distances are greater when the road surface is wet, meaning that the lower your tread depth gets, the more distance that is required to come to a stop. Make sure you have the right tyres for safe driving this winter. Visit www.pirelli.co.uk for more details.

Pirelli fuel gift card offer BMW Car Club members can benefit from an exclusive offer of a Pirelli fuel gift card. Available only when purchasing Pirelli tyres from a Pirelli Performance Centre or official BMW dealer, the card’s value depends on the size and quantity of tyres purchased as follows: Rim Size

Two Tyres

Four Tyres

16” and below

£10

£30

17”

£30

£70

18” and 19”

£50

£100

20” and above

£60

£120

Where can you get your tyres fitted? Visit pirelli.co.uk/bmwcarclub for nearest participating dealers. Terms and conditions apply.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

CHOOSE PIRELLI AND BE REWARDED

16” & BELOW

£10

FOR 2 TYRES

£30

FOR 4 TYRES

17”

£30

FOR 2 TYRES

£70

FOR 4 TYRES

18” & 19”

£50

FOR 2 TYRES

£100

FOR 4 TYRES

20” & ABOVE

£60

FOR 2 TYRES

£120

FOR 4 TYRES

Pirelli and the BMW Car Club of Great Britain are delighted to offer members a pre-paid Mastercard when they purchase two or more Pirelli tyres* from a Pirelli Performance Centre or BMW dealership Visit www.pirelli.co.uk/bmwcarclub to find out more and submit your claim

*Claim up to eight tyres per year

crossword BMW Car Club (UK) Crossword

Across 1.  7.  8.  10. 12.  14.

It's Christmas! (8) Something to look out for at this time of year (3) BMW electric and SUV designations - 9 in Roman numerals (1,1) …Alcorn, ...Maskell: BMW Car Club ALPINA and 3 Series Register Officers (5) Christmas icon - a three-pointed one is also the Mercedes-Benz symbol (4) Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan were the last people to walk there (4) To get away quickly - also the term for emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor (5) Layers of paint, probably at least 6 on your BMW (5) Wanders - also technical term for what your mobile phone does when you take it abroad (5) To graft or inoculate - also where dust and insects might end up if you ride a motorcycle without goggles or visor! (5 / 2,3) Not far (4) Could be North Essex Garden Communities? (1,1,1,1) The…: The longest-running British children's comic magazine (5) British motoring organisation famous for its distinctive yellow vehicles (1,1) …Tuning: Ohio US-based supplier of performance parts for BMW and other German marques. Sold in the UK by various distributors (1,1,1) A polite word of or sign of welcome (8)

Sponsored by

Across Down 1. It’s Christmas! (8) 1. BMW blue paint colour named after the Abu 16. 8 9 7 17.  1. Something to look out for at this time of Dhabi Grand Prix circuit location [code B68] (3,6) year (3) 21. 2. Shortform for a luxurious large saloon car (4) 11 12 13 10 22. 2. BMW electric and SUV designations - 9 3. Vehicle designed for frugality - the E28 525e 25. 26.  in Roman numerals (1,1) was a creative take on this (7,3) 14 15 27.  28.  10. …Alcorn, ...Maskell: BMW Car Club 4. Number of cylinders in the BMW S85 engine 29. ALPINA and 3 Series Register Officers (5) (3) 16 Down 12. Christmas icon - a three-pointed one is 5. Open circuit! (10) 1.  BMW blue paint colour named after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit location [code B68] (3,6) also the Mercedes-Benz symbol (4) 6. An addition to what is usual or necessary e.g. 17 18 19 20 2.  Shortform for a luxurious large saloon car (4) 3.14. Harrison Vehicle designed for frugality - the E28 525eCernan was a creative take ondelving this Schmitt and Eugene into the BMW options list (5) (7,3) 4. Number of cylinders in the BMW S85 engine (3) were the last people to walk there (4) 9. …Siddeley: British engineering group that 21 22 24 23 5. Open circuit! (10) 6. 15. To Anget addition to what is usual or delvingfor into the BMWproduced luxury cars and aircraft engines, away quickly - necessary also thee.g.term options list (5) 9. emergency …Siddeley: British engineering that produced luxury cars andabsorbed into Rolls-Royce in 1966. Also the 26 25 shutdown of agroup nuclear reactor aircraft engines, absorbed into Rolls-Royce in 1966. Also the surname of the first man to step foot on 14. Across (9) (5) surname of the first man to step foot on 14. 11. Initials for a bi-directional interface. Also a moon of Jupiter (1,1 / 2) 13. Could be the Association of Accounting Technicians? (1,1,1) 28 27 16. Layers of paint, probably at least 6 on Across (9) 15. Could be Single Carburettor? (1,1) 18. …M: Highly-rated BMW (E82) Coupe that even Jeremy Clarkson liked (3) your BMW (5) 11. Initials for a bi-directional interface. Also a 19. Commonly-used initials for German producer of electrical equipment 29 founded in 1883 and now part of Electrolux, including the abbreviation for 17. Wanders also technical term for what moon of Jupiter (1,1 / 2) shareholder-ownership (1,1,1,1,1) 20. Commonly-used initials denoting a BMW with a package of optional extras your mobile phone does when you take it 13. Could be the Association of Accounting (1,1) 23. Could be European ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) Safety Institute? (1,1,1,1) abroad (5)of the BMW-driving former Chief Executive of Polly Peck thatTechnicians? (1,1,1) 24. Initials Winner of last month’s crossword Duncan Otridge in 1990, who in 2010 controversially returned to the UK to face 21. Tocollapsed graft 15. Could be Single Carburettor? (1,1) trial (1,1) or inoculate - also where dust December 2020 26.  Symbol of Manchester (3) All entrants for Crossword December’s issue crossword must be and insects might end up if you ride a 18. …M: Highly-rated BMW (E82) Coupe that received into the office by 11th December. Winner will motorcycle without goggles or visor! (5 / even Jeremy Clarkson liked (3) be announced in next issue. The first correct crossword 2,3) 19. Commonly-used initials for German producer chosen at random will receive Meguiars Goodies. 22. Not far (4) of electrical equipment founded in 1883 and now Please email all completed crosswords to 25. Could be North Essex Garden part of Electrolux, including the abbreviation for office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk or post it to BMW Car Club Communities? (1,1,1,1) shareholder-ownership (1,1,1,1,1) GB, Unit 5h, Glan Yr Afon, Aberystywth, SY23 3JQ 26. The…: The longest-running British 20. Commonly-used initials denoting a BMW with Answers to November 2020 Crossword children’s comic magazine (5) a package of optional extras (1,1) Across: 1. Valencia, 7. AVO, 8. BA (British Airways), 9. Neo, 10. 27. British motoring organisation famous for 23. Could be European ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) Beef, 11. Oversquare, 13. SES, 16. ETB, 18. Hofmeister, 21. its distinctive yellow vehicles (1,1) Safety Institute? (1,1,1,1) UCCA (Universities Central Council on Admissions), 22. VAR (Video 28. …Tuning: Ohio US-based supplier 24. Initials of the BMW-driving former Chief Assistant Referee), 23. LE (Limited Edition), 24. Eno, 25. Chamonix of performance parts for BMW and other Executive of Polly Peck that collapsed in 1990, Down: 1. VANOS, 2. Lanes, 3. Ever, 4. Noose, 5. Imbue, 6. Safe, German marques. Sold in the UK by various who in 2010 controversially returned to the UK 8. Berate, 12. Veloce, 14. Smash, 15. Five M, 16. etron, 17. Bronx, distributors (1,1,1) to face trial (1,1) 18. Hull, 19. FC, 20. Sano 29. A polite word of or sign of welcome (8) 26. Symbol of Manchester (3) 1

15.

socialmedia #NEXTGen Reset the Mindset. BMW are inviting you to join their streamcast experience and be part of the road ahead. #NextGen and its web series give you an exclusive look behind the scenes into the stories that create the future of mobility, and beyond. What better than to use social media as a way to show the next generation of the BMW range, and there is a plethora of news, articles and videos available to watch from BMW’s website www.bmw. com/en/events/nextgen/index.html. So far they have revealed the new BMW iX, met fashion designer KITH, and talked about innovations and technologies such as virtual collaboration, Artificial Intelligence, and Electric Drive.

56 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

BMW Press

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

CLASSIFIEDS

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FOR SALE: BMW E36 318i SE Saloon. R798 DTM.

FOR SALE: BMW Alpina B10 3.3

1998 Black bodywork, Black leather interior. Sunroof, Air-con has recently been re-gassed. 143K miles. New clutch at 106K miles. Tow bar used to pull a light trailer only. BMW roof bars, BMW alloy wheels including spare. Current owner has maintained car for eight years. Service history file, and bills available. V5 present. Long MOT till October 2021. New front callipers. The saloon is the lightest out of the E36 range. Impeccable handling, future classic. Fog lights. This is a reliable car that is a good daily driver. A few minor defects, but very good for 22 year old. It must go to a good home before Christmas. £1,495 O.N.O (all offers considered for a quick sale). Contact Glenn Ball on 07974 870431. Sevenoaks, Kent.

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yourletters “WE WILL BUILD YOU A NEW ENGINE” I read with interest the article on the pair of 8 Series in the October edition of Straight Six. I feel compelled to write as repetition of “fiction” often leads us to assume it is “fact” several years after the event and, having seen it mentioned in Straight Six twice this year, I wish to set the record straight. The fiction in this case is that the S70 V12 engine used in the 8 Series was the basis of the McLaren F1 V12 engine. It wasn’t. The fact is that the then evolved BMW V12 was “too big and heavy” for McLaren. In response, Paul Rosche asked what Gordon Murray wanted, to which he responded he needed big displacement in the smallest package – an engine no longer than 600mm long, 550+ bhp, a maximum weight of 250kg, and rigid enough to act as a structural member. This was not the 850 S70 engine. Rather, Paul, when hearing this, said “We will build you a new engine”. The outcome was the F1’s similarly titled but completely different S70/2 V12. All best, Clive P.S. I got this from GM himself and it’s also in “Driving Ambition”. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

A USEFUL TIP Hi Richard [Stern], l am a BMWCC member with an E38 7 Series. I have some information that may be of help. I use “Ethomix Ethanol Corrosion Inhibitor Additive” to protect my car from problems caused by Ethanol in petrol. I use “Sta-Bil Fuel Preservative Stabiliser” which protects the fuel in the petrol tank when the car is stored, keeping the fuel fresh and stopping corrosion of the tank. Also, if a car is not in use all the time it keeps fuel fresh, I started using this when l had a car that ran on L.P.G. gas, as the petrol in the tank was only used on start up so the fuel could be in the tank for up to 12 months and still be fresh. I hope this is of help as many members will be getting ready to put cars away over the winter. Both additives can be obtained from www.frost.co.uk. They also supply many items for car restoration. I do not have any commercial interest in this company, it is just local to me. I hope you are the correct person to send this information to so you can pass it on to club members, it will be of interest to more members in the future as there is talk of increasing ethanol content in fuel to 10%. Best Regards, Michael Leader. BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

BMW M3 Saloon DCT

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regionalnews Central/Thames Tony Skerrett central Region sponsored by

07879 404648 central@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Barons Bedford

As of Thursday 5th November, any proposed Regional meetings went by the board for both Central and Thames Regions. But the recent Club AGM, which I attended via the Zoom link, was a reasonable success, so based on this will attempt to host Regional Zoom meetings as soon as possible. Full details will be available later this month.

01234 362 400

www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw BARONSCC20133 = 15% discount code

This takes me to the never-ending dream of owning an E30 M3, or at a pinch, an E46 M3! It seems that for any BMW fanatic there’s an undeniable allure to the idea of owning an E30 M3. It’s something I’ve found impossible to avoid myself. As the winningest car in touring car history, the E30 M3 has cemented its place in the archives of motorsport, and for a countless number, it’s a machine that represents an all-consuming fantasy. I have desperately sought to collect together a few spare BMW parts before coming to the conclusion that perhaps buying makes better financial sense so I hope to be chasing that dream long before summer 2021. For any BMW fanatic, there’s an undeniable allure to the idea of owning an E30 M3 race car. It’s just that I now am definitely coming to the conclusion that buying does indeed make sense; if the deal is sweet enough that is. Future Events With an unsatisfactory end/curtailment to the end of this year it is now my overriding ambition to arrange a few Zoom Regional Meetings so as indicated above please wait more news on this.

Central West Dave Evans Central West Region sponsored by

07800 616500 centralwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Autobahn Servicing Ltd Unit 11, Pitcairn Drive Halesowen B62 8AG Tel 0121 585 9146 www.autobahnservicing.co.uk info@autobahnservicing.co.uk

Well! At the time of writing this, England has just gone back into lockdown along with Central Scotland, Ireland and Wales is just coming out. It’s been a year to remember for all the wrong reasons but I’m sure going forward we will all appreciate what we have, which in the past we took for granted. As for our social gathering they have been few and extremely limited, however it has been good to see some of you during the small windows of opportunity that have been presented to us. We were hoping to be able to have some sort of a Christmas get together to finish the year off on a bright note, but alas that’s off the agenda now. Unfortunately all planned events have been cancelled and we cannot plan any further events until government guidelines permit. We will endeavour to keep you updated. The Club office has continued to operate throughout the year and plans are being made for the events calendar next year, so fingers crossed we will be able to resume all our activities where we left off!

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Rybrook Wolverhampton 01902 457000 rybrookwolverhamptonbmw.co.uk

We would like to wish you and your families a happy safe Christmas and a brighter New Year. Best wishes, Dave, Dean, Theresa & Jan

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

regionalnews

Cheshire & Staffs Steve Cooper Cheshire & Staffs Region sponsored by

cheshireandstaffs@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Blue Bell

Blue Bell Fourth Avenue, Weston Road, Crewe Cheshire. CW1 6XH. Tel:01270 212525

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Cornwall Jim Husband

Knights Bede Road, Radial Park, Stoke on Trent Staffordshire. ST4 4GU Tel:01782 572100

cornwall@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hello to all members of the Cornwall Region. I hope this newsletter finds you all safe and well. With nothing really happening in the Cornwall Region there is, once again, not much to report I’m afraid. The pub and coffee meets will be restarted just as soon as we possibly can and I will let everyone know via email and the club magazine and website. If you are a Facebook user please check out the BMW Car Club GB – Cornwall page. Details of meets and events are posted on this page along with any last minute changes and updates. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very safe Happy Christmas and New Year. Hopefully the lockdown will be eased so we can enjoy time with our friends and families. I hope 2021 things will return to normal where we can enjoy our cars together and attend meetings and events.

Cotswold Martyn Goodwin Cotswold Region sponsored by

cotswold@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Cheltenham BMW Cheltenham MINI Cheltenham Motorrad Cheltenham Parts Cheltenham Service Hereford

Cotswold Motor Group www.cotswoldgroup.com Corinthian Way, Cheltenham, GL51 6UP Roman Road, Hereford, HR1 1LN

01242 335 335 01242 335 345 01242 335 355 01242 335 365 01242 335 375 01432 375 555

Cumbria James France

Available to members presenting current valid membership card

cumbria@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hello to all Cumbria Region members old and new, and a Merry Christmas to you all. Another lockdown in England announced as I write this which has come as no surprise, some of you will have ran out of things to do so go clean the car again! I will be working most of the time so will have to wait until the weekend, that said car stuff has taken a back seat now as the Salmon fishing season has been at its peak and I am in the process of a complete refit in the shower room at home. My E46 Touring has gone up to Scotland hopefully to a good home! I still have my X3 and my Mini Cooper S R53. gearbox oil in my hair along with a full swear box, too. I have a hankering for an E38 7 Series again having already Hope to catch up with you, if you are a new member please owned two, a 735i followed by a 728i Sport so I am trawling the feel free to come along to our meets and events.

classifieds. I have someone bending my ear to sell them the Mini which would finance the move. No meets in the near future due to Covid restrictions again, hopefully things will improve and restrictions are lifted. I will look to put another Sunday morning meeting on weather permitting as it will be an outdoors affair, so keep an eye on your e mail inbox in the New Year. Hopefully 2021 will be kinder to us and we can get out and about in the cars to some events. Check out the new BMWCC Region stickers available from the Club Shop. Be careful, stay safe and be kind. (It’s free!) Again Merry Christmas and a Happier New year to you all. Phone 07799 620 381 or email jimfrance1@hotmail.co.uk Regards Jim.

regionalnews

KathyJemfrey Jemfrey Devon DevonKathy

01626 330436 330436 01626 devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Devon Region sponsored by

INDEPENDENT BMW & MINI SPECIALISTS

ItThe hasSidmouth certainly Car beenShow the most strangest of years and I thank you has been cancelled, however if anyone all for continuing support Region. All being Box well,End January wishes to attend,towe will be our attending the Crash of will see us at Hare Hounds, Kingskerswell Season Carcontinue Show itto is meet at Lady’s Mile&Holiday Park, Dawlish, on (at the rear of the pub in THE GARDEN ROOM) unless we have another total lockdown. George Champ

East Anglia East Anglia Region sponsored London Anthony Mason by Barons Cambridge & Stansted London Region Hisponsored everyone, by

Cotswold Motor Group offer members: Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range Discounts on approved used vehicles in stock 15% plus discount on parts and accessories, 10% discount on all service work and labour (15% on vehicles 4 years old plus)

Hare &27th Hounds certainly haveuntil put 4.00pm. everything in place Sunday September 10am Come andto gokeep as us customers safe and the welcome is there. youasplease. Wishing all in Devon Region a Merry Christmas and a Happy Take care and see you all soon. New Year. 07514 216660 Stay well and safe and happy motoring. eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

www.barronsbmw.co.uk Cambridge Stansted

: 01954 784 500 : 01279 755 906

Barons offers members • Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range london@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk • A minimum discount of £500 on approved used cars in stock • 15% discount on parts and accessories 10% off servicing, excludes Value Line Servicing which applies to cars over 4 yrs old.

BMW Park Lane, 70 Park Lane London. W1K 7TT www.bmwparklane.com car but I always felt the BMW was a bit ‘sportier’ and less mail@bmwparklane.co.uk 020 7514 3559 ‘company car’. To say 2020 has been a strange and difficult year would be an Scouring the local magazines and papers I found an interesting understatement, nonetheless say we still Barons but Watford 01923I am 700delighted 217 andtoBorehamwood 02089 512 600 looking E34 540i for sale near Watford. The advert mentioned an have new members joining the Club, so welcome to you all, the www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw interesting previous owner but did not give any more details. A good times will return. In the meantime as I remind you all every phone call was made and a trip to Watford arranged. month, keep up to date with your respective Facebook pages 60 Carreading Club Magazine December 2020and think about sharing your www.bmwcarclubgb.uk The car was a beautiful Forest Green E34 540i with a andBMW enjoy the contributions parchment leather interior and filled with ’toys’ such as a remote stories and photos with everyone as well.

BMW PARK LANE

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East Anglia George Champ East Anglia Region sponsored by

www.barronsbmw.co.uk

Barons Cambridge & Stansted

Cambridge: 01954 784 500 Stansted: 01279 755 906

07514 216660 eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Barons offers members

• Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range • A minimum discount of £500 on approved used cars in stock • 15% discount on parts and accessories 10% off servicing, excludes Value Line Servicing which applies to cars over 4 yrs old.

Within the guidelines of Covid-19, it’s time to wish you all a very “Happy Christmas and New Year” and to thank all our hard working Branch Reps and Assistants and those who manage our Facebook pages for us. Despite the lack of events everyone has continued to work tirelessly on our behalf, and also a big thank you to those of you who have contributed lots of items to our Facebook pages for us to enjoy. Here’s another of my short stories below: Full on AC Schnitzer Mini Cooper S pictured in all its glory about 8 years ago taken from the balcony of the BMW UK suite at Brands Hatch. An amazing 226 bhp and 151 mph capability with phenomenal acceleration and was in fact the show car exhibited at Excel in London. Its capabilities was one of the reasons but not the only reason why I decided to sell it. Sadly, after taking the photo several hours later that day whilst driving home and stationary at the Dartford crossing it was hit in the back. Very extensive damage to the MINI but thankfully it was not written off and was perfectly repaired. However we never felt the same about the MINI again afterwards and sold it, but still have fond memories. It was one of the best looking MINIs I have ever seen both inside and out even to this day.

Eastern Paul Rice Castle Howard After the cancellation of the Father’s Day event at Castle Howard, much work has been done behind the scenes by both the organisers and the team to implement measures for the October event. Although not the hottest of days it was good to see the display field was dry and solid, a surprise after the wet week leading up to the event. Adhering to the necessary Covid restrictions, we had a brief meet up at Café 64 about six miles from the event. At what turned out to be an end of season show and with all the uncertainty it was great to see such a good turnout of vehicles of all makes and ages. It was pleasing to see some variation from the normal with cars as diverse as the ready to race Ultima to the immaculate Series 1 Transit. We did our bit with members bringing their pride and joys for

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

all to see. First arrival was Luke with his newly acquired E39 540 followed by my E85 Z4 and the two E89 Z4s of Rob and Denise. Paul Noble with his F10 528 M Sport, Martyn’s E46 M3, Paul Wade’s E46 M3 Convertible, Justin’s E90 335i, Steve Bostock’s E46 M3, Viv Bostock’s E36 2.8 Schnitzer and Martin with his E65 7 Series completed the line-up. The usual arena and prize giving took place and following up from Darren Wilson’s success at Thoresby, once again we had success in the sports car class with Steve Bostock and his immaculate E36 M3 taking the Castle Howard best sports car award. With qualification as a winner for the best in show award Steve was once again in the running, unfortunately not a win this time. The best in show award went to a beautiful Aston

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

regionalnews Martin DB3 Coupe in attendance with an equally impressive DB3 Volante. One special award went our way with the Club stand of the day. Big thank you and hats off to all our members and their well-presented cars. A great way to sign off the very limited 2020 show season. Car of the Month Steve Bostockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s E36 M3 seen here looking resplendent in front of the Atlas Fountain. Following some routine maintenance and cleaning, the Atlas Fountain is back up and running. The South Parterre at Castle Howard has been dominated by this massive piece of Victorian sculpture and engineering for nearly 170 years. Along with the house a great backdrop for Steveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s M3. Merry Christmas and Happy New year As this will be the last Eastern report of 2020, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and more importantly after the trials and tribulations of 2020, a very happy New Year. Keep safe everyone.

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regionalnews

North East Nick Thomas

northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

We are now coming to the end of a tough year. Most of the events we had planned for the year were cancelled, often after being rescheduled then cancelled. Regional events often take about a months’ worth of planning, so having to cancel at the last minute really hurts. Many thanks to everyone who has been involved with either cancelled or replacement events this year. Happy Christmas to all of you, and I’m hoping for a much more normal New Year for everyone. Recent Events Reintroduction of Covid restrictions forced us back into a virtual Zoom meet for October. About 8 of us met up to chew the fat over BMW stuff, and life in general. Congratulations to John Rawsthorne for winning Car of the Month, and Mike Milbourne for acing the quiz!

channel for a video of these photos. The Durham Dash was won by Hollie Robson by matching the score of four other teams on the questions, and then snatching away the prize with the best photograph of the day posted in our Facebook group.

In late October we ran another treasure hunt – the Durham Dash. This saw Simon sending the teams around County Durham looking for destinations and finding answers to the questions. There were also bonus points for photos taken at the destinations, check out the ‘BMW Car Club GB North East Region’ YouTube

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Forthcoming events As I write the events most likely to occur are the Monthly Meets on Sunday 13 December and Sunday 10 January. More ideas of our 2021 plans will be available in the January issue of Straight Six. Car of the Month October Car of the Month was awarded by Mike Milbourne to John Rawsthorne with his 3 Series Touring (although it may have gone to the mobility scooter in the background!).

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North Wales David Allen

northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

I missed out last month’s North Wales news, not a lot going on but very busy! I hope all our members are safe and well and looking forward to a better next year. It certainly has been a strange and difficult year with just a few shows and we have missed out on socialising due to restrictions affecting different parts of the country.

North West Jeff Heywood

07801 506632 Search for: BMW Car Club GB North West Twitter: @BMWNW northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Welcome to December’s North West News, and yes, we’re back in Lockdown! Here’s hoping we don’t experience ‘Lockdown creep’ and the 2nd of December date isn’t extended nearer to Christmas. We’re still planning to go ahead with our NW Christmas Lunch – see below, if rules allow. That just leaves me to wish you all a wonderfully happy and merry Christmas, and more importantly, a healthy one. Stay safe and hopefully we’ll be able to get back to attending car shows and club events sometime in 2021! Trade Recommendations Class Alloys who offer a mobile visiting service. They repair and refurb alloy wheels, all finishes including chrome shadowline. Covers most of NW. Discount given to club members – contact Steve on 07594 018525 – Facebook - ‘Class Alloys’ Darren Wood BMW Specialist (0161 425 7403) Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2QB. Offering BMW repair and servicing.

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David Tully Bodyshop (Tully’s), Rochdale, for all body/paint requirements – 01706 643866 - www.davidtullyltd.co.uk Express Dent Removal for those niggling dent/dings to your BMWs bodywork. Speak to Simon Robinson on 0800 998 9828 or 07767 832255 – or visit www.express-dent-removal.co.uk Car Detailing Centre for car detailing/valeting - give Darryl at the Car Detailing Centre a call on 07415 945979 www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews

Graeme Lynch’s beautiful Sakhir Orange F13 M6 is this month’s NW Lockdown Car of the Month

NW Lockdown Car of the Month – Graeme Lynch’s F13 M6 This month’s Lockdown CotM is Graeme Lynch’s stunning, 8,000 mile F13 M6, finished in B50 Sakhir Orange metallic with a full black extended Merino leather interior. Built at BMW’s Dinglofing Plant, the car was first registered in February 2012 and is chassis No 903 – 900, 901 and 902 were test mules, so Graeme’s car is the very first production right-hand drive F13 M6! The car was first owned by BMW UK and was the car that appeared at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it resided in the Supercar Paddock and was seen running up the Goodwood hill, driven by Tiff Needel. BMW UK then loaned the car to BMW in Munich where the car was used as a display car when not being (sparingly) driven by a prominent BMW director and UK citizen – BMW will not confirm who ran the car whilst it was in Munich, but there has only ever been one Brit who sat on the BMW Board... The M6 returned to the UK in 2018 and was passed on by BMW UK to the BMW Dealer Network. The car was ‘acquired’ by Williams Stockport and Graeme purchased the car in May 2018 with the odometer showing an amazing 3,600 miles; the Williams sales team none the wiser of the car’s unique history, and rarity – it pays to do your homework! Since the purchase Graeme has added less than 5,000 miles to the M6, and keeps the car in pristine condition, as can be seen from the photo. The car is well equipped as one would imagine, with extended Merino leather, B&O Sound System, Surround View Cameras and the 07ME M Drivers Package, which means this 560bhp missile has the standard 155mph limiter ‘lifted’ to 190mph, although the car has a theoretical top speed of 210mph. At 202mph, a second gearbox limiter cuts in to stop you going any faster, although Graeme hasn’t explored the furthest end of the speedo – yet! He does enjoy driving the M6 though, driving the M Powered beast back to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed. He is particularly enamoured by the wonderful build quality, the effortless, mile-eating performance from the twin-turbo V8, and the feedback received via the chassis, felt through the seat of www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

the pants and steering wheel – Graeme says “it is the ultimate grand tourer with sports car performance!” Forthcoming Events 13th December – NW Christmas Lunch Our NW Christmas Lunch at the Kilton Inn on Sunday 13th December is still going ahead, Lockdown rules permitting. We will be giving away a quality Christmas Hamper in our prize draw, kindly supplied by Darren Wood BMW Specialist, and we would like to thank Darren and his team for their continued support during these difficult times. There will also be a prize for the Festive Car of the Month, with a selection of car detailing goodies kindly donated by the Car Detailing Centre. We have reserved the Kilton’s (large) conservatory just for our group and full social distancing measures are in place with tables spaced apart as per government guidelines. There are a couple of places still available, so don’t delay and give Jeff a call ASAP to secure the final table. If we do have to cancel the lunch, we will endeavour to rearrange it for a date in either January or February 2021.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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South East Ian Bryant South East Region sponsored by

Chandlers Brighton 01273 423 312

southeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hailsham 01323 844 032 Worthing 01903 784 147 www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw

BARONS CC20133 =

15% discount code

Since the last update we managed a further Sussex Micro meeting on the 25th October, our second visit to “Billy’s on the Road” at Billingshurst. A parking area was provided for Club members and seating in groups of six reserved. There were 35 cars that attended, with a really good assortment of models. The weather was rather mixed but even a bout of heavy rain did not deter us. With the new lockdown measures in place there will not be any further Micro Meetings in 2020. My Z4M is now SORNED for the winter, with tyre pressures increased, near full tank of fuel with stabiliser and battery on trickle charge. I keep the Z3 running in case of any opportunities to use it in good weather. It was not the year any of us were expecting, I would like to thank members for their continued support through this particularly difficult period and hope that next year brings the opportunity to meet more frequently. Stay safe and keep an eye on the South East Region home page at: www.bmwcarclubgb.uk/regions/ south_east.html

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South Wales Jonathan Bamford Welcome to our South Wales Region December news. I hope everyone is well and enjoying the lead up to Christmas? There is not much to report on this month, mainly due to it being ‘out of season’ for car shows and dreaded restrictions that we have all endured this year. Back in late October, I did take a run out around the Gower Peninsula, and stopped off for some photos at some beautiful locations. It was a last-minute decision and I was joined by Peter Sherratt. We passed through some great winding roads that the Gower has to offer, stopping at Port Einon and Oxwich Bay, and ending up for a coffee in Rhossili. It was a great few hours out of the house and I was thankful that everywhere we visited, fell within Swansea and our boundary restriction. During these winter months, I will continue with more of the

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

southwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

same. We are currently restricted with our travel and told to remain within Wales, so let’s enjoy it. Car of the Month This month I would like to share with you MY new toy! I made the decision to change my car early October and, after initially looking for an M4, I got a close up look at the M2. I just couldn’t resist the look of the M2 Competition. It’s the first new car that I have ever owned and it is a great feeling, especially when the car carries that much coveted ‘M’ badge. I have yet to stretch its legs as I have to complete the 1,200 mile run in period, so sensible driving for me. I look forward to showing it off at the next gathering, whenever that may be.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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Wessex Tim Maltby

Snows BMW Snowsgroup.co.uk/bmw

07885 252448 wessex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Our parts department is open 7 days a week. Posrtmouth: Eastern Road, Portsmouth, PO3 5FF 02392 657500 Isle if Weight: Forest Road, Newport, PO30 5QJ 01983 522555

Barons Farnborough 01252 883 565

Barons Hindhead 01428 853 357

Using that familiar turn of phrase used by many… ‘sh--t happens’, I am of course referring to the lack of events and pub meets during October, first as limited by the Rule of Six and then Covid Lockdown v2.0! We remain optimistic and are putting some ideas together for events in 2021. Your ideas are always welcome! I wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Forthcoming events - 2021 These are all suggestions and dates need to be confirmed, some of which were planned to take place this year but have had to be rolled over to 2021. Please have a look at these and if interested contact Eric Thompson (ericthompson429@gmail.com) to register your interest, on a first come basis in the event of number restrictions. March - Thruxton Go Karting. This is on an outdoor track so could be entertaining if damp! April - Either a visit to watch or take part in a BMW Car Club trackday or attend one of the rounds of the BMWCCR as a spectator. Contact Tim Maltby on timsharknose@outlook.com for this one. May - Solent Sky Museum, Southampton June - Swanage Steam Train Trip. This was an idea raised by Ray Powell and initial planning ensued with the help of Martin Hockey, but sadly didn’t take place due to Ray’s untimely death

Western Nigel Smith Well here we go again, at the time of writing this we are entering another lockdown, who knows how long for this time but I think we can safely say that 2020 has been a total write off. Let’s hope that the government helps our businesses so we don’t lose too many people’s livelihoods. Maybe next year will improve, let’s hope so anyway. I’m sure some of you may be struggling with it all and missing out on your BMW events and chats etc., and expect some may have lost a bit of enthusiasm, but look on the bright side, we’re not in a war so I’m sure we can get through this and look forward to coming out of it all. Maybe give a thought for all that suffered worse during WW1 and WW2 to bring into some perspective. Anyway, I wish you all well and hope you have a great Christmas and New Year. Bring on a better year with 2021. On another note we have kept our same committee for another year, myself Nigel Smith as Chairman, committee members consist of Robert Scanlan, Dan Wood, Scott Walters, Robin Hammet, and Ron Parish. I have asked our committee members to do a short write up to add to our Regional news and hopefully give a bit more content during this difficult time to find anything to write about. This month we have a write up from committee member Ron Parish; “For those Club members who don’t know me, my name is Ron Parish. I have been a Club member for 14 years. In my time I have run the Pub meets for the South West Region and the Western Region. I also previously held the position of E30 Model Rep. During that time, I organised the E30 21st Birthday at Rockingham Raceway. My last position was Western Regional

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in July. We plan to run this under the title of Ray’s Day. July - Mottisfont Abbey and Gardens, Romsey - stunning display of roses especially. Sculptures by the Lake, Dorchester. Large park with sculptures by Simon Gudgeon set in landscaped garden, art gallery and café, with an option to picnic. July/August - Silverstone Classic. September - Gurston Down, Hillclimb It goes without saying that I must thank Eric and his Bournemouth working group for coming up with these ideas and organising said events. Cheers guys! 07885 252448 western@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Chair. I am now a committee member of that Region. I have owned three BMWs, the first a 1989 E30 316i, the second was a 1990 E30 325i Sport (the one I should never have sold). I now own a 1999 2.8 Z3. Car of the Month – Ron Parish Z3 So, to my 1999 Atlanta blue 2.8 Z3 affectionately known as “Iris” after my late mother. I purchased this car on the 10th September 2007, this just happened to be my birthday! It was in reasonable condition, but in my eyes it was in need of a very good clean. There was 76,000 miles on the clock, it is now 100,000 miles. It’s not my day to day car but my wife and I like to get out with the top down as often as possible. It has been very reliable - the two most expensive repairs have been recently; new clutch and a new throttle body. The other was new shockers in 2018. Other costs have been the usual servicing MOT and tyres. As for the body; no real issues, I dealt with some rust at the end of the side skirts. Unfortunately, we were on our way out for a drive one day and a car failed to stop at side road and ran into the front offside. Due to the cost this was almost a write off, but our Chairman Nigel Smith of Autospray saved the day. New front bumper and full respray of the bonnet.” www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

registernews 02 Richard Stern

07770 443373 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. Bavaria Tour 2021. Looks like some Brits got in on next year’s event, a lot of people were disappointed sadly. I am not so sure it will actually take place although driving isolated in your car of course isn’t too risky with the ongoing virus outbreak. We’ll just have to wait and see. Classic and Car Club events are a big part of my year and I thoroughly enjoy them, but of course 2020 has been virtually written off and it looks like 2021 will be much the same sadly until a proper vaccine can be found and there’s no guarantees then either. The recent Hero 3-day challenge had an E21 323i Cabriolet come third place – well done to Angus McQueen and Mike Cochrane, more information on the Hero site. Normally I’d be talking about preparing your classic for winter, but of course this year a lot of cars have been parked up for some time. Remember to still look after them, protect any bare metals (applying Vaseline to chrome is apparently a good protector), grease and oil, all moving parts, check oils and fluid levels, make sure tyres pressures are good and if stored for longer periods pump them up just over normal pressure. Check hoses and coolant (anti-freeze content is good). Rotate the tyres/wheels whenever possible, check and pump brakes, and if possible

keep the battery on a conditioner. If you take your car out when the roads have been recently salted then try and wash it off and underneath before garaging. New Car of the Month on my site, if you’d like to see your 02 featured just drop me a line; www.bmw2002.co.uk/car-of-themonth/ there’s been a few from Thailand and I have to say what I have seen are incredible what they do and restore these cars. Check it out. Tail pipe: Don’t know what to buy an 02 fan for Christmas? Two new beautiful prints produced exclusively for Jaymic Ltd, limited to 25 of each. Signed and numbered by the artist Paul Howse, former McLaren designer (P1 and 720S) and classic BMW owner (including a 2000 touring and Z1). The first based on a very rare 1970 Colorado BMW 2002 ti converted to RHD and the second based on Hans Joachim Stuck’s BMW 3.0CSL Batmobile. Printed on high quality 300gsm, Hahnemühle paper. Paul’s A3 size prints usually retail at £95, Jaymic’s special price is £80 including VAT and postage. www.jaymic.com or call 01263 768768 to order www.paulhowseart.co.uk to see Paul’s gallery of prints or enquire about commissions

3 Series Simon Maskell

3series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

This month’s article is going to be a bit of a short one, with time pressures ever present etc. What I would like to draw your attention to is the upcoming trip the Register is organising. Autofahrt Munich is due to take place in June 2021, please visit bmwcarclubgb.uk/news/all/2020/11/09/autofahrt_munich_2021.html for the full itinerary.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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3 Series E9x Julian Pickering As we have now reached the December edition of Straight Six, it is appropriate to write a review of the year and look back at all the exciting events and meetings that we E9x owners have attended and the happy memories that they have brought. ?*!!**? Well that’s that out of the way! I accept that this may be the ramblings of the Grumpy Old Man (I fit the job description perfectly) but in truth there have been a few more special moments. For me the highlight was the acquisition of my E46 M3 convertible but even this has had its down points – I have a small pool of brake fluid by the rear nearside wheel on my garage floor as I write this. The E93 has been faultless but, with its MOT coming up next month, I am reminded of just how few miles it has done in the last 12 months. We have managed a small number of events in the Wessex Group this year. One that I enjoyed particularly was our day on the Thruxton skid pan back in April. We all had two runs initially, one with a front wheel drive Mini Cooper and the other with a rear wheel drive car (can’t remember what it was – it was a Japanese something-or-other) to demonstrate the different characteristics. After this, there was the opportunity for us to drive our own cars and so it was time to try out the E93, as shown in the photograph. It was certainly very slippery, particularly with DSC switched off, but it responded surprisingly

3 Series E30 Neil McDonald I came into ownership of F65 AFY in May last year, which was a completely unexpected buy! About seven years earlier I saw an elderly lady driving a Dolphin grey 325i Sport into a local supermarket car park. I stopped to chat and reminisce about these cars (it was a rare sight back then, even more so now!), as I had previously worked at a BMW dealership in the late 80’s/early 90’s as a technician. Back then these were the dogs berries, and to carry out a PDI or service was a real pleasure, and test driving them (aged 20) probably involved a longer than usual route! My parting words were “if you ever want to sell would you please let me know”. Fast forward to May 2019 and I received a text message from Joyce, asking if I was still interested! I couldn’t believe my luck, let alone that she had kept my number! Joyce had owned the car for 19 years, but sadly due to health it was time to sell her beloved car. I went to view PPV 110 (its then registration number that Joyce had transferred from a 1962 Mini she once owned). I paid the asking price and became the fifth owner, collecting a few days later, I couldn’t wait! One thing that really stood out was the originality of the car, it has always been kept totally standard (except for a period alarm and immobiliser), and was totally unmolested, exactly how I like a classic car to be. A stack of paperwork, the original hand book pack and original sets of keys also accompanied the car. PPV hadn’t covered many miles in the last few years, and although Joyce had kept it MOT’d it was in need of some welding, repairs and TLC. It did look quite neglected, something which Joyce realised but she wanted the car to go to a good home. Since then I have set about bringing the car back to its former glory, tackling the worst of the corrosion (being a new outer and inner rear wheel arch, which I was again very lucky to find). A new clutch and hydraulics were fitted, and a full service together with the important cam belt have also been done. The engine sounds as good now after 158,000 miles as they did when I

70 BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

e90register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

well. Maybe this had something to do with our personal driving skills that were improving from the experience with the other cars. It was also a good opportunity for me to experience the E93’s DSC in action as I don’t think I have ever seen it working before. So, all in all, a great day out and one that I would recommend to other Club members. It may also prove useful if we do have any seriously bad weather this winter. It only remains for me to wish you all a happy Christmas. I hope that you are able to spend time with family and friends and, most importantly of all, let’s hope that we can get our club back into action in 2021. Best wishes for the New Year!

e30register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

worked on these when new. Many people complain that the M20 engines sound ‘tappety’, yes they do but that’s a characteristic and as technicians back then we found it better to set the valve clearances hot and on the loose side, set them too tight and they’ll run rough. The driver’s seat outer bolster covers had the www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

registernews usual wear, and were replaced with those from a passenger seat, new BMW badges and a freshen up of the wheels have been amongst the many little but pleasurable jobs I have done. I felt the car deserved to be proud of its age, and so its original registration was reassigned. I have kept PPV 110 and my 4 Series now wears this with pride. Ultimately the car could ideally do with a full respray and when time and funds permit I would like to have this done, but for now I’m enjoying the car as it is. I kept in touch with Joyce and visited her some months later, she was delighted to see the car! Sadly though Joyce passed

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

away at the beginning of this year. Her family kindly invited me to the funeral, which needless to say I attended in ‘her’ car. I will always be indebted to Joyce for keeping my number and allowing me to buy her car, certainly a very remarkable lady. I have traced and met up with the third owner, a gentleman who only lived a matter of miles from Joyce. I would love to find the original owner of this Liverpool registered car, from BMW invoices I know their name but so far have not been able to locate them. Simon French

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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3 Series E46 Simon Maskell

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The regular readers will remember that I recently sold an E46 330i SE saloon, well the new owner Paul Lewis has kindly written about his new car and perhaps given some ‘outside perspective’ on owning and running an E46. My life leading up to an E46 330i As a child growing up in the 70’s and 80’s I was fascinated by BMW’s. Back then they were rare cars. At my school of 900 students only one parent had a BMW and that was a 518i! Thank goodness then that my uncle used to visit in his various BMW’s to rescue us from a world of Ford and Vauxhall blandness. He used to buy a new BMW every 6-12 months when his current BMW got to 50k miles. He had a long commute as a TV news reader and used to rack the miles up daily between London and Cardiff. His E3 3.0Si was the first car I remember being in at 100mph, I clearly remember Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band blaring out of the radio so it must have been around 1976. That car sealed my fascination for the brand which was cemented by his subsequent E12 M535i resplendent in Ice Blue with blue corduroy Recaro seats, then an E23 735i, E24 633CSi, E24 M635CSI and an E32 730i before he switched to 911s. The pick of the bunch for me was the M635CSi (The M535i was not far behind though). A car I decided I would own one day, and that dream finally came true in 2013 when I bought a gleaming Henna Red example which quickly turned into a nightmare, but that’s for another time. My own previous BMW experiences had been an excellent E34 525i touring and an E24 635CSi. However two cars turned me away from the brand, which were my E24 M635CSi and an equally wallet-draining E39 M5. A seven year period without a BMW in my life was to follow. That was until 2019 when I had enough of my B8.5 Audi S5 daily driver. For sure it was fast, refined and comfortable, but oh so dull. I started looking for alternatives and tried all the usual suspects; an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Golf R, AMG A45, RS3, Megane RS, M4 and even a Polo GTi but none of them tickled my fancy. I am not a fan of new BMW styling (where’s the sharknose gone!) and I was still ‘off’ M cars. But I could not get BMW out of my head, my school boy experiences still pulling on my heart strings. I always quite liked the E46 and I began to think that the 330i (not an M3) might be a good daily car. My

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mind had settled on an E46 330i. When I saw Simon’s white 4-door 330i manual come up on the Collecting Cars website in as good as new condition with only 13K miles, I knew it would be as close as I was going to get. I knew that chances like this didn’t come along often so I registered to bid. I was in no doubt the car would be in A1 condition with no nasty surprises. So I eventually won the auction but it did get a bit bumpy and turned into a two horse race, which of course was good for Simon! I am now 1,000 miles in with my 20 year old (now 14k) E46 330i and it’s a lovely daily driver. So far I have had a full inspection service, four brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, a new heater motor resistor and window regulator. Both specialists who have had the car say it’s the best example they have seen! Downsides? The ride is great but a little too relaxed in

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registernews corners with the SE spec suspension, but that’s the trade-off for a good ride. The gearbox is not the best but apparently it’s a good one for an E46. I think I may have been spoilt by the gearboxes in my NA MX5, Lotus Exige 430 CUP and Porsche 981 Spyder. The fact that the E46 is used as a daily alongside these and my McLaren 675LT speaks volumes for the qualities of the E46 when compared to newer cars. Some people have suggested I am ruining the car by driving it and it should be used sparingly. I disagree, a car is meant

4 Series Paul Roberts I’m sorry to say that again I don’t have a lot to report this month. From last month I had my windscreen washer jets sorted out at the main dealer. Still had to cough up my excess of £100.00 on my warranty, but as we go into the winter at least they are working properly now. Can’t seem to keep the car very clean at the moment but I have bought a “ceramic kit” from Meguiar’s and will apply this soon. Thought this was a much cheaper alternative than a full blown job. However if any 4 Series owners know different then please let me know. I did get a call from the main dealer the other day to say they now have a new 4 Series in the showroom, but given that we’ve

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to be driven and all my cars get driven all year long and in all weathers. Adding mileage doesn’t concern me. Memories are made in cars and they are worth much more to me in memories than locked up in a garage appreciating at a snail’s pace. Driving an ‘as good as new’ 20 year old car is a lot more fun than a brand new car and I do thoroughly recommend it. So seek out mint older modern classics and use them, don’t store them.

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now been told to go into lockdown until early December I don’t think I will be venturing there anytime soon. Think we’ve got a few days this week in Norfolk of reasonably good weather so hope to go out for a “top down” drive. One other thing that’s really annoying me at the moment however is a lot of creaking probably coming from my driver’s seat somewhere but I’m blowed if I can find the source. Again any 4 Series owners who have had similar issues, please get in touch. Well that’s it for another month. Stay safe and let’s beat this blasted virus so we can go out and enjoy our cars.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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5 Series E34 Manj Sandhu This month it is a privileged to dedicate my article space to a truly exceptional vehicle. Some of you may wonder what makes it so unique – Is it the colour? Is it the model? Is it the options and specification? None of the above – just look at the mileage. I am intrigued about the high mileage on this car. I thought I did well with 229,000 miles on my first car, the 520i 24v with one previous owner. I miss it every day. Imagine a one-owner car - well this fantastic E34 now has 483,000 miles, an incredible achievement. I will let the lucky owner David Anker take over from here. “The car is a 525i SE Touring. I acquired the car as a company car brand new in 1992 and used it daily to commute 70 miles round trip, visiting customers all over the UK, for holidays down to Spain and France, as well as when posted over in Germany near Frankfurt for two years or so. It has been a great workhorse, fun to drive (even now!). As well as shifting my family (two GB sports boys and all their gear) around, it has moved large amounts of fencing (roof bars) and old fridges, baths etc. Surprising what you can get in it and on it! In 2004, I had it revamped with Birds Auto in Uxbridge who gave it a Hartge workover. This gave the car a new lease of life! Mechanically, the engine, gearbox and diff are all untouched. Only one wheel bearing has ever failed. Over the years as you can imagine I have replaced lots of small stuff (heater motor, radiators, one ignition spark-plug coil, windscreen wiper bushes (known fault), suspension components, steering pump, re-engineered the double sunroof, bushes and seals, illumination lights in dashboard and switches, and lots of bits and pieces of bodywork). I do have an amusing story if you are interested: I was on my way home from a customer meeting one day coming back from Birmingham on the M40 – when between Warwick and Banbury, I noticed I was being followed by another grey BMW Touring some cars behind. Obvious thought was an unmarked police car so we played cat and mouse for a while (the previous week I had the same experience in the dark and eventually the police car went past. Phew!). Eventually, I got bored, as the car was still some cars behind me, so I put my foot down – and it pressed the pedal too and followed until I pulled off at Stokenchurch (some 30 miles on) and it followed me off. There were no lights flashing. I was intrigued but also a little on edge at the same time. The driver pulled up beside me on the off ramp, and signalled to talk. As it turned out he was from South Africa, he was taking his car (E39 Touring) to a customer there the following week, then he congratulated me on the car, and just wanted to know if I’d sell

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him the BMW roof bars! I said no, and he turned around and went back up the motorway! It has only let me down a small number of times (a couple of times being my own stupid fault!). Once it did overheat but luckily, the engine was all fine. Then on another occasion, the fan belt came off (the water pump bearings gave up) and the ignition key barrel collapsed. All part of the joys of owning an older car. I do most of my own work when I can – use a great bodywork guy (Walters Ash Coachworks – Dave Lynee), and a BMW specialist who used to work at Birds (J&D Vehicle Repairs – John – in Saunderton near High Wycombe) for stuff I can’t do. I am hoping to get to 500,000 and expect to do that last mile on the Nurburgring!” I hope the E34 gods continue to smile on you and your bulletproof machine David, and thank you for sharing this with us.

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7 Series Matthew Swanborough Hi all, as I write this we are going into lockdown again, I think that many of you like myself will be looking to our older cars to keep us busy. This month I’d like to share a contribution from some great friends of mine, whom I know through our shared love of the 7 Series and BMW in general. Here is Manoj and Trishul’s news this month: BMW E32 735iL – The second generation of BMW 7 Series, a true modern classic in the BMW world. Here at Clean & Low (C&L), Trishul and I love to see those character filled 1970s, 80s and 90s cars still on the roads of the UK. The BMW E32, in particular, is a car we have always thought as fabulous to look at, and to these eyes at least, one that has only improved with age. The trouble we discovered is, there are very few about these days and the ones that do go up for sale tend to be low-miles and in great condition, and therefore out of our budgets, plus we always look for a project or car that we can add our own passion and love into. So, here we present our latest acquisition, a BMW E32 735iL Japanese import. It started life in Japan for approx. 10 of its early years, then was imported and registered to the UK in 1999. The car had been dry stored by its UK owner for the past 10 years or so, kind of just put away for a while. Since the car originated in Japan, it is pretty rust free, which is a brilliant start with the older cars. With the help of Bavarian Modified in Leicester, our suspicions on non-starting issues were confirmed from the initial investigations to why she was turning over but not firing up, the fuel pump had seized. Luckily, these parts are still available at BMW, so we are keeping things original where possible. After installing a tank fuel pump along with fresh fuel and some service parts, then voila, she sprung into life straight away, purring like a happy big cat and ever so smoothly… big smiles all round. We love a 90s straight six and this M30B35 engine is one of the greats. This dolphin grey BMW E32 735iL oozes 90s luxury, it was designed, engineered and built by BMW for uncompromised comfort and being the long wheel base model makes it that extra special, and it offers a generous amount of room for both driver and passengers. BMW manages to balance ultra-comfort and the ultimate driving experience perfectly. Our journey with this car has just started, the next jobs include a complete major service, upgrade of cooling system,

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replacing various engine gaskets, renewing bushes and a gearbox service to start with, this will make her safe for the UK roads and enable a fresh MOT. Once we are happy with the car running perfectly, we will proceed to address the small bodywork corrections, which is in fair condition for age, then the interior. We are very excited for this project and we are happy to share updates. Happy Motoring. Please do get in touch with me anytime and follow me on Instagram @e38th or email 7series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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8 Series Debbie Blythe Hi everyone, I hope you are all keeping well. With no events on and a second lockdown underway, this is a big shout out to say please send me any articles, news, technical information, details of your car and stories for ‘Car of the Month’, or indeed anything you feel might be interesting to our fellow owners. Just send me an email at 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Car of the Month Delwar Hussain’s E31 This fantastic 840Ci, first registered in 1999 and finished in Santorini Blau 2 is just one of 17 840Ci Sport Individuals made in that colour, and one of only 3 in the UK. Being the owner of a 1992 850i 6 speed manual and my brother Delwar owning a 1998 Oxford Green 840Ci Sport Individual, we couldn’t resist it when the owner called me to see if we were interested in the Santorini 840Ci. We met the owner straight away and were excited to take it for a drive. Sliding into the cockpit, surrounded by a wealth of buttons, it was clear to see why this car was considered revolutionary in the nineties. There is a single cassette-deck to mark the era, and an auto box

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below with sport modes, you can guess which one it stayed on for our drive. The throaty V8 and custom made exhaust came to life with a roar and we pulled away. It’s been a pleasure to own this car with the rest of our range of classic and retro BMWs. Overall, 30,621 were made worldwide, with just 3,040 of those finding their way to the UK. Numbers on the road have been steadily decreasing over the last five years, with just over 1,000 remaining today in the UK, so it’s fair to say they’re becoming harder to spot these days! One of the most appealing things about this car is the way it looks; an absolutely timeless masterpiece. It’s enormous, wide body, low slung nose and sweeping silhouette still commands such a presence on the roads today. She’s been detailed and completely ceramic coated by Topaz recently. We were lucky enough to have it showcased next to the new 8 (G15) at its launch in December 2018 in Sytners Harold Wood. We absolutely love this car and it is incredible fun to drive. The sleek body shape turns plenty of heads when driven alongside the generic Euro-boxes of today, and prices are only going to head one way. If you’re in the market for a 90s GT with a huge presence on the road then we’d certainly recommend you take a look at the 8 Series. It really is unforgettable!

How many E31s are left? Have you ever wondered how many of your particular models are left on the road and also for that matter, off it? Well there is a website dedicated to letting you know, it is called, believe it or not, How Many Left and you can find it here www.howmanyleft.co.uk

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Individual Experience Dhaval Bakhai Amar’s collection is like seeing BMW through the years. The E9x range of BMW’s were produced between 2007 and 2013 in all body types with each one having its own designation, unlike previously where all body styles were known as the E46. The E90 (saloon), E91 (Touring), E92 (Coupe) and E93 (Cabriolet) became the new designations that have continued ever since. The E9x range was special as BMW reintroduced the turbocharged petrol engine for the 335i, and this N54 engine was the base for the Alpina B3 and B3S in all body styles. The B3 was already fettled by Alpina, using the N54 engine from the 335i but with lower compression Mahle pistons, reprogrammed software and higher boost amongst other changes. The B3S further enhanced this by improving cooling and airflow ducting. The performance of the Alpina was more akin to the M3 rather than the 335i, hence the common comparisons of the B3S to the M3 of the era. However, the M3 was extra special being the only M3 with a V8 and the last of the naturally aspirated M3s. If you speak to B3 owners, many state the reason for choosing one over an M3 of similar price is the understated performance, comfort, refinement and usability. These are the reasons why Amar bought not only this B3S, but also another when it came up for sale, resulting in him owning two of the four right-hand drive cars made for the UK market! Alpinas to date have not naturally followed their M counterparts to become as collectable or have gone to the same dizzy heights of classic car pricing, but will this change soon? Well, in this case I can well believe it especially if Amar adds to his extensive collection of BMWs with more B3S’, there will be hardly any left for anyone else to acquire. Among a large collection of desirable BMWs, the B3S is a firm favourite as it does everything required from being a family car to chauffeur his little girl around in, to having a Sunday blast down the A roads with the icing on the cake being he is unlikely to ever see another on the road whilst enjoying his. Whilst talking with Amar it became evident his love affair for

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BMWs started 25 years ago when his father first bought an E36 320i. It is very clear Amar has been influenced by his father’s taste for BMW and the tradition now continues with the addition of new cars as and when feasible for his daughter to enjoy in the future too.

BMW Car Club Magazine December 2020

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X Series Greg Lyons & James Brigginshaw With everyday life dominated by a pandemic, this magazine provides a chance to indulge in our motoring passion more than ever. I’ve been chatting to one of Lister’s BMW sales execs in Boston who told me that cars have been running out of the showroom like Usain Bolt donning a new pair of spikes. Not just run of the mill stuff either, high end X’s making up a chunk of the numbers and not just locally, we’re talking deliveries to all parts of the UK. Some of the Straight Six readers will no doubt be the lucky ones showing off their new wheels. Some may be thinking about it over this period of lockdown. Over the coming months Greg and I will be reviewing some of the X cars out there that are available to buy, the mighty X Ms and also the diesels and other mainstays of the range. It is not just new cars though - we have had some reviews of members’ own Xs sent to us and they got me thinking about what people prefer – old or new? I’m not debating classics v brand new, just a car of ten years-ish that is worth boatloads less than a new one. Sounds daft, surely newer is better, but I’m not sure the ownership experience is. I love having an E70 X5 worth far less than the incredible new G05. We can chuck our family and / or work life into it and not worry about scuffs or spillage. The dog can clamber in and the whole thing can look like it has been driven round a mud bath for weeks as the cleaning schedule has not been religiously adhered too. The service might go a month over and the salt spreading lorry cruise

Z3 Register Alan Jones Welcome to the December issue of Straight Six. My car is now tucked up in the garage, as I’m sure that many others are for the winter months, connected to a battery charger till the better weather of next year. I’d like to ask if anyone would like to become more involved with the car club and become a Register Captain? There are a few vacancies available within the ‘Z’ section, with the Z Register, Z4 and also the Z8 Register Captains all being vacant. Anyone wishing to take on any of the roles please contact the club office - it really isn’t that difficult, if I can do it, anyone can!

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passed chucking its paint killer all over it and it doesn’t have to be parked light years away from the front door of a supermarket. New might be technically better but it can be a royal pain in the butt… Really, the aim is to get fellow X fans thinking so that over the lockdown period you send in your X musings and reports on your motoring thoughts. z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

I’d also like to remind anyone who would like their car published in this section to contact me, as I have had feedback that many readers enjoy reading about other member’s cars. Send me some information about your car, 500 words or less, plus two or three pictures. While you are off over the Christmas period and are bored with nothing to do, why not write a short piece on your car and send it to me. Finally I’d like to wish all readers and their families a great Christmas, and hopefully a great car season next year!

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