Bmw car february 2017

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Driving all generations of BMW’s executive express

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1 Series M Coupé Buying Guide

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CONTENTS

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very year there’s a little bit of a panic trying to get this issue completed before we all slope off for the holiday season and while I’d love to say that this year it was an absolute breeze… I’d be lying if I did! Still, the reward of some time off with family and friends made it all worth it and as much as I love BMWs it was a relief not to have to think about them for a few days and concentrate on the more important matter of whether to have brandy butter or custard with my Christmas pud.

There’s no rest for the wicked, though, so now 2017 has dawned it’s back to the grindstone in our quest to find you all the best that the BMW world has to offer. As I type, the midnight peals of Big Ben are almost still ringing in my ears (although that might also have something to do with the few sherberts I may have imbibed that evening) and BMW has just announced some of the new technology it will be showcasing at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Over the last few years this has become the event at which to show off your new wares, or at least wares that companies think will be coming into our cars and homes in the coming years. To be honest, some of it still seems a little bit like cloud cuckoo land and the question that I can’t help asking is whether manufacturers and companies are giving us a glimpse of all this stuff because the technology exists or because it will actually be useful?

Take gesture control for example, as fitted to the new 5 and 7 Series. While it certainly has the allimportant wow factor when you’re showing it off to your mates, does it really bring all that much to the driving experience? I’d argue not as you can simply press a button on the steering wheel or use voice control instead… both of which you can do without removing a hand from the steering wheel.

On the other hand you could argue that gesture control is just the start of things, and with BMW revealing its HoloActive Touch at the CES it argues this system fuses the advantages of the BMW Head-Up Display, BMW gesture control, and intuitive touch-screen functionality. It uses a new interface between the driver and vehicle that consists of a free-floating virtual display which is projected in the area above the centre console. It’ll be coming to a car near you soon… but do you want it? Would you rather see the return of hydraulic power steering, normal tyres and screaming naturally aspirated straight-sixes? As ever we’ll do our level best to bring you a mixture of the ancient and modern over the coming year and if there’s something we’re not covering that you think we should be, then please get in touch and let us know. In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Bob Harper, Editor

Editor Bob Harper Sub Editors Christian Shelton, Rachael Harper Senior Designer Lorna Mansford Designers Dave Powney, Kelly Rodgers Junior designer Jon Lawrence Controller Tom Jackson Retoucher Laurence Green Managing editor Bob Harper Contributors Elizabeth de Latour, Robb Pritchard, Chris Nicholls, Jeroen de Laat, Dan Bevis, Mark Williams, Shane O’ Donoghue, Zach Todd, Steve Hall, Andrew Everett, Dave Smith, Darren Maybury, Elliott Stiling, Guy Baker Advertisement Sales Manager David Lerpiniere, Tel: 01732 445325 Email: david@talkmediasales.co.uk Production Manager Jo Claydon-Smith Production Assistant Georgie Lewis Accounts Claire Brown Financial Director Helen Lawson BMW Car, Unity Media plc, The Manor, Nepicar House, London Road, Wrotham Heath, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 7RS Tel: 01732 748000 Fax: 01732 748001 Website: www.bmwcarmagazine.com Email: Editorial: bmwcar@unity-media.com Production: jclaydon-smith@unity-media.com Subscriptions: subs@unity-media.com BMW Car is published on the third Thursday of every month

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CONTENTS ISSUE 272 FEBRUARY 2017 T H E U LT I M AT E B M W M A G A Z I N E

006 News A new Art Car, Frozen paint, motorsport plans and virtual reality.

011 New Products Exhausts, styling, brake lines, remaps, and a clay mitt.

014 Behind the Wheel We take a well-spec’d 440i Coupé for a spin and re-evaluate the X1 xDrive20d M Sport.

019 The Generation Game Sampling all seven generations of the 5 Series – BMW’s illustrious executive express.

028 Fun Factory AC Schnitzer works its magic on the wonderful M240i Coupé.

038 Estate of the Union BMW never made an E46 M3 Touring but if it had, it should have looked like this one.

044 The Delinquents The maddest and wildest of M’s creations, the bonkers M3 GTS and M4 GTS go head-to-head.

054 Market Watch This month we have a look at E9 CS Coupé values.

056 The Eighth Wonder A stunning M1 that started life as a Procar, was then a road car, and is now a road-going Procar!

064 Simply the Best The story behind one of Australia’s most well-known race cars, the very last Group A JPS 635CSi.

070 Life or Death in the Andes A lovely 2002 that was saved from an ignominious end in Ecuador.

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078 Racing Nirvana Classic racing doesn’t get much better than at the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the ‘Ring.

082 Buying Guide BMW’s best modern classic, the wonderful 1 Series M Coupé.

090 Tech Focus: Timing Chains If you’re feeling brave, we show you how to replace your N42’s timing chain.

094 Longtermers A round-up from the fleet plus repairing a damaged E90.

104 Postbag Queries, questions and conundrums from our loyal readers.

106 BMW Buyer Everything that’s going on in the new and used BMW marketplace.

108 Technical Tips Our tame tech roundsup the latest from the workshop floor.

112 Art Cars The 13th machine in the series: Sandro Chia’s E36 Touring Car.

BMWCarMagazine @bmwcarmag

FEBRUARY 2017 5

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NEWS

19th ART CAR TO RACE AT DAYTONA The 19th BMW Art Car by John Baldessari celebrated its world premiere at the Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach at the tail end of 2016 where it was announced that it will take part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona at the end of January.

Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America said: “It is an honour to add this new masterpiece by John Baldessari to the BMW Art Car Collection today. As one of the most important contemporary artists working today, John joins an incredible group, from Calder and Hockney to Warhol and Koons, that has contributed to this collection over the past 40 years. He has used his signature aesthetic combining colour, shapes and text to create a visually stunning work which will stand out at both the museum and on the race track in Daytona early next year.”

“I have done only one work in my life involving a car before, and that was an image of a car,” commented Baldessari. “So for the BMW Art Car project I entered uncharted territory, not just in terms of the subject but also moving from two- to

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three-dimensional art. A challenge I did enjoy! The ideas all came at once: for instance, the red dot on the roof, so you can see it from above, FAST on one side, and a picture of the car on the other side. I like the ambiguity, having two-dimensions and threedimensions at the same time. Considering the car as an icon of contemporary life, my concept turned out playfully satirical but it also highlights some of the trademark ideas that I use. So you can say the BMW Art Car is definitely a typical Baldessari and the fastest artwork I’ve ever created!”

Launching its 19th Art Car was a slightly odd move from BMW as what it is calling its 18th Art Car (which will be designed by Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei) won’t actually be revealed until the summer of 2017.

As well as taking part in the Daytona 24-hour race Baldessari’s Art Car , run by BMW Team RLL, will be entered in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC). Bill Auberlen, Alexander Sims, Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler will share driving duties.

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NEWS The origin of BMW’s Frozen paint Shane O’ Donoghue chats with BMW’s design boss, Adrian van Hooydonk, who reveals the story of the company’s distinctive ‘Frozen’ paint finish.

Sitting in Munich, informally discussing the design of the new BMW 5 Series with Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President, BMW Group Design, he murmurs agreement when we suggest its subtle new design details are probably at their best when in one of the ‘Frozen’ colours. He then revealed for the first time the history behind the stylish matt finish.

At the time, van Hooydonk’s daily driver was a metallic black E92 M3 Coupé, and he was very keen to introduce a matt paint to BMW buyers.

However, he was met with resistance from his sales and marketing colleagues – they told him it couldn’t be done in series production as it required a skilled painter to apply the finish manually. That didn’t dissuade the affable Dutchman. He visited the factory paintshop for himself and talked to

one of the more experienced painters on the line, asking him if he’d paint his own M3 to demonstrate it could be done. What van Hooydonk didn’t realise was that the painting robots were ‘taught’ various painting techniques by watching a skilled human and repeating the motions. His car was duly painted and, in the process of doing so, the painter trained the robots how to do the task. Still the powers that be were not convinced. They worried about longevity and how the finish could be matched in the case of a crash repair. It turns out that polishing and scrubbing the Frozen paint is a non-issue, as it’s a ‘clearcoat’ finish like any other,

but van Hooydonk went as far as bringing his (now matt black) M3 to a local BMW dealership and asking it to respray a front wing. Bemused they may have been, by the incongruous job of spraying a perfectly good and undamaged component, but they did the work and van Hooydonk says it was impossible to tell which wing had been resprayed.

His colleagues were finally convinced and following a successful introduction on various limited edition models, Frozen paint is now part of the standard mix of options on BMW’s latest models. Indeed, buyers of the new 5 Series can choose from four standard Frozen colours, or, through the Special Request option, pay for any colour they wish with or without the matt finish.

BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show BMW will provide another glimpse into the interior of the future at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with a selection of trailblazing technology. The BMW HoloActive Touch system (that will make its debut at the show) is an interface between the driver and vehicle that acts like a virtual touch-screen; its free-floating display is operated using finger gestures and confirms the commands with what the driver perceives as tactile feedback. BMW HoloActive Touch is part of the BMW i Inside Future study, which gives visitors to CES an impression of the mobility experience set to be offered by seamlessly connected and autonomously-driving cars in the future.

BMW HoloActive Touch brings together the advantages of the BMW Head-Up Display, BMW gesture control, and direct touch-screen operation and adds extra features to create a unique form of user interface. For the first time the functions can be controlled without any physical contact with materials but the technology still enables the visible and tangible driver/vehicle interaction familiar from conventional touch-screens. BMW HoloActive Touch displays flexibly configurable control pads and is visible to the driver next to the steering wheel at the height of the centre console. A camera detects the driver’s hand movements within this ergonomically userfriendly area, and registers the position of their fingertips, in particular. As soon as a fingertip makes contact with one of these virtual control surfaces, the relevant function is activated.

FEBRUARY 2017 7

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NEWS

BMW’s 2017 motorsport programme BMW will focus on a broad spectrum of motorsport events in 2017 that will include the DTM, IWSC, GT and endurance races, customer racing, Formula E, and the FIA WEC. There will be a slight scaling down of its DTM attack with two teams instead of four but each team will now field three cars instead of two, making a total of six M4 DTMs taking part, with Marco Wittmann keen to retain his title. Wittmann’s M4, along with those of Timo Glock and Augusto Farfus, will be run by BMW Team RMG, while BMW Team RBM will field cars driven by Tom Blomqvist, Maxime Martin, and Bruno Spengler.

Across the Pond in the USA BMW will once again

field a brace of M6 GTLMs in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC).

Home-grown drivers Bill Auberlen and John Edwards will be paired with Great Britain’s Alexander Sims and Germany’s Martin Tomczyk respectively, and these four will be ably supported

by Farfus, Spengler, Kuno Wittmer and Nick Catsburg for the endurance events in the IWSC. In 2017, BMW Team Schnitzer will return to endurance racing to enhance an already strong BMW setup. The team, headed by Charly Lamm, will compete in races alongside ROWE Racing and Schubert Motorsport and will be doing its best to record the 20th overall win for BMW in the classic

24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Schnitzer is also scheduled to compete with the BMW M6 GT3 at the ADAC GT Masters. The three teams will also represent BMW at many other GT events – such as the VLN Endurance Championship and the Blancpain GT Series.

Meanwhile preparations will continue for BMW’s entrance into the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2018. BMW Team MTEK will spend the coming season on a comprehensive test and preparation programme for competition in the following year. The drivers in this phase will be Martin Tomczyk, Alexander Sims and António Félix da Costa.

X1 and 2 Series earn ‘Top Safety Pick’

Chauffeuring gong for 730Ld The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the USA has named the 2017 X1 and 2017 2 Series a ‘Top Safety Pick’, continuing BMW’s long-standing commitment to offering class-leading safety with each new model. In order to earn the ‘Top Safety Pick’ title a car must receive good ratings in five different crash tests covering small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints, among other considerations.

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The 730Ld Saloon has been crowned Car of the Year at the Professional Driver Car of the Year 2016 awards, while also taking the title of Chauffeur Car of the Year.

The 7 Series was commended for its unrivalled mix of comfort, driver satisfaction, and outstanding features, making it the ideal chauffeur car both for the driver and their passengers. Mark Bursa, editor of Professional Driver magazine, said: “The new BMW 730Ld registered one of the highest average scores for any car we’ve ever seen in the history of the Professional Driver Car of the Year Awards. Factor in some impressively low running costs and some great manufacturer back-up, and you’ve got an exceptional car.”

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NEW PRODUCTS

CodeClean clay mitt Sterckenn carbon fibre products Sterckenn might be a new name to the BMW tuning market but it has recently launched a wide range of carbon fibre accessories for top end M models such as the current M3, M4 and M5, with the M2 soon to join that list. The company claims that its focus on top quality is what differentiates Sterckenn from other companies and it promises new levels of quality in terms of design, engineering and manufacturing of carbon fibre aero parts.

All Sterckenn products are made of top-of-the-range pre-impregnated carbon fibre and have been designed using advanced 3D scanning technologies and CAD and CAS software.

For more information about the brand and its current range go to either its website or Facebook page.

Contact: www.sterckenn.com or www.facebook.com/sterckenn

CodeClean has released a Luxury Clay Mitt, which it describes as a revolutionary prep mitten that replaces the traditional clay bar and claying process. It has a deep-pile micro fibre coating on one side and an advanced polymer rubber layer bonded to the other. The company claims all you need to do is wet the vehicle or use the associated Clay Mitt Lubricant and you can remove all surface-embedded contamination faster and more effectively than a clay bar. It reportedly lasts long enough to clay 30 cars, too.

Price: Clay mitt – £30.00, lubricant – £6.94 Contact: www.codeclean.co.uk

M Style E9x M3 Vanguard exhaust M Style is now importing Vanguard Titanium performance exhaust systems from California. Vanguard’s BMW E9x M3 Titanium exhaust system is a proven performer; it is made from high grade titanium alloy for maximum performance and offers a weight saving of 36lb (16.3kg) over the OE exhaust, plus the exhaust tips are adjustable for perfect alignment. This is a fully bolt-on system, specifically designed and manufactured for the M3. Its twin canister design provides both a deep rumble as well as an aggressive high rpm tone without drone or excessive idling noise. According to Vanguard the exhaust has achieved a power gain of 15hp+ and over 5lb ft of torque measured at the wheels in rolling road tests.

M Style can provide fitting at its Romford HQ. Price: £4139, fitting £90 Contact: 020 8598 9115 or www.mstyle.co.uk

Challenge accepted.

ACS2 Sport (BMW M2).

FEBRUARY 2017 11

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NEW PRODUCTS Remus 340i/440i cat-back sports exhaust Remus has a long standing history of catering for BMWs of all shapes and sizes and its latest offering for the 340i and 440i is a sports catback exhaust with fully integrated valves that can be controlled from the cabin, and a selection of tailpipe offerings.

The core of the new Remus offering consists of a cat-back front silencer that Remus says has excellent gas flow properties and a note that manages to strike the correct balance between everyday usability and out-and-out aggression.

This leads to a Wolf Inside silencer with a shot-blasted finish and a choice of six different tailpipes, all with fully integrated valves. These have been designed to work with the BMW hardware already in place and give the driver complete control over the volume of the exhaust.

Price: Cat-back front silencer – £586.80; Wolf Inside rear silencer left/right with integrated valves – £820.80 to £1060.80 depending on finish Contact: www.remusuk.com or 01933 685 840

Tarox M3 and M4 brake lines Tarox has announced its latest range of steel braided brake lines for the F80 M3 and F82 M4. Tarox claims that upgrading to its steel braided brake hoses will provide a firmer, more reassuring brake pedal by eliminating the expansion that can occur in standard rubber brake lines. The result is a more immediate pedal response that is ideal for both spirited driving and track use alike.

Compatible with both DOT4 and DOT5.1 fluid the Tarox brake lines are constructed from the highest quality PTFE hose and stainless steel over-braid and are protected by PVC outer coatings. Each line features fully swaged stainless steel fittings and antiwhip collars which should provide years of reliable performance. All necessary fittings required to install the lines are included and each kit comes with a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser and full TüV approval.

Price: From £79.80 Contact: www.tarox.com

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AmD M2 tuning package The latest development from Milltek Sport is a new range of performance exhausts for the new M2 Coupé, available in both catback and turbo-back variants. AmD says the larger bore 63.5mm diameter twin pipes improve both performance and sound, while the light weight of the 304 stainless steel pipes (with a wall thickness of 1.2mm) reduces the total weight of the exhaust system. AmD says the combination of the exhaust’s smoother gas flow and reduced weight provides improved performance. However, with the addition of an AmD software remap the company claims its new system really comes into its own. Due to increased efficiency, the combination is said to create more power as the AmD remap has been designed specifically to work with the Milltek exhaust. AmD Tuning offers free fitting on all Milltek exhausts or, if you prefer to buy by mail order and fit it yourself, AmD will offer ten percent off and free delivery. Furthermore, if you buy an AmD Tuning performance remap at the same time as a Milltek Exhaust you can have the remap at half the usual retail price.

Price: POA Contact: 01708 861827 or www.amdtuning.com

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BEHIND THE WHEEL

X1LOOK LOVERS… AWAY NOW The editor was rather taken with the X1 when he tested it but contributor Andy Everett takes another look at the junior SAV and his glass is decidedly half empty…

MW’s X vehicles and myself have never had an easy relationship. When the original X5 arrived, I treated it with a similar (but far weaker) form of derision that I reserve entirely for the Active Tourer – at least the X5 had a purpose and did something the Range Rover P38 didn’t – i.e. start in the morning and complete a journey without AA assistance. So in that respect, the well-built, reliable X5 that also drove much like an E39 5 Series did a job, and very well. The X3? It was okay I guess, and I was far less scathing about it than many others were. The X1? Well, when I did my stint in BMW sales in 2009 and 2010, neither I nor my colleagues were remotely convinced. We saw the styling, looked at the price list, shook our collective heads and thought ‘good luck with that!’.

But BMW really does know what it’s doing and rarely drop the ball – look at the original 1 Series

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whose price list was regarded as German humour. It sold by the bucket-load and easily outstripped the E46 Compact. And so it was with the X1 that despite all odds, went on to sell an unfeasible amount – over 800,000 worldwide and 41,000 of those sales were in the UK. The new F48 model, launched in the UK in October 2015, is going the same way with overflowing order books and the Leipzig factory churning them out as fast as they can. BMW doesn’t need another glowing review for the X1 with these kind of sales figures which is just as well, because it’s not getting one from me. It’s an okay car, but not a brilliant one. It looks better than the old one, but that’s like saying Maroon 5 are slightly better than Travis. It’s decently built, but no better than an Opel Astra. It’s also noisy, and to my eyes it’s bloody expensive.

First things first though – you probably know

already that it’s based on the same platform as the 2 Series Active Tourer and the huge MINI Countryman.

That means the B47 diesel sits transversely with a driveshaft going to a rear diff on xDrive versions. We’re also offered a front-wheel drive only version – buy a Nissan Juke for half the price (really) if that’s what you want. 2.0-litres, both petrol or diesel are standard, and the entry-level front-wheel drive model, the sDrive18d SE, starts at £27,440 with the entry-level xDrive model (again a 18d SE) costs £28,940. If you want a more powerful version you’ll have to opt for xDrive as all the 20i/d-badged models are four-wheel drive and the entry-level 20d Sport sans options costs £31,290. For that you get 190hp which is enough to propel the X1 along at a decent rate – to my mind the more powerful versions aren’t worth the extra. Standard kit includes navigation, climate and a single slot CD player but when the spec list mentions extended

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F48 X1 storage, Halogen headlights (wow!), front and rear underbody protection and front foglights, you know that you can get a lot more elsewhere.

I borrowed this one, an xDrive20d M Sport with the eight-speed auto from Sytner BMW in Sheffield, my local dealer and who is always keen to help out. But get this: this car, that includes sports seats (heated), 18-inch wheels, leather, the usual M Sport bits – but not cruise control – is a shade over £37,000 on the road. That’s right – thirty seven thousand pounds.

Let’s put that into perspective. A 520d – still the doyen of executive cars even as Dingolfing winds down production after six tremendous years, is a shade over 30 grand once you’ve got the standard discount (good luck with that on an X1). A four-wheel drive Nissan Qashqai Dci 130 with all the toys is £27,000… again, before your standard ten percent off list. Christ, even the seven-seater 4x4 X-Trail starts at under £22,000 and that’s before you consider the Hyundai Tucson with torque on demand 4x4 and a five-year warranty – from £18,995. Is BMW having a laugh?

Still, being a BMW it’s going to be a great drive, right? The old X1 wasn’t bad despite having a poor ride, and the current 1 and 2 Series (the proper rearwheel drive one) are pretty good. The F30 3 Series has had a bit of a mauling due to the inert electric power steering and some interior plastics that must have been supplied by Lego. The X1 sadly falls into the same traps. Whilst the X1 corners well (as all BMWs do) with decent turn in, your main gripe will be

about the electric power steering that requires constant correction to keep it in a straight line – drive as I did through a contraflow at some roadworks, and it is hard work. As dead as a dodo in the straight ahead position, there is no communication or feel – it’s like a driving instructor who teaches you how to merely operate a car rather than actually drive it.

Because it’s an M Sport, the ride is okay but you can feel the stiff springs arguing with the 50 pence a corner dampers when what it really wants is some softer springs and dampers that are valved properly – remember how a Peugeot 405 used to ride and handle? Like a dream.

But the main problem is the road noise, which is frankly unacceptable. Big tyres might look good but on any surface, the tyre roar is just tiresome and whilst the B47 is quiet enough at idle, give it some work and it’s still a hoary old thing as all modern diesels are.

I don’t know – I wanted to like the X1 but I just couldn’t and knowing how good a BMW can be, I would feel short-changed at those prices. The last car I borrowed from Sytners was a 218d Sport Coupé with the manual ‘box and that was as close to my perfect car as you can get, whilst the 118d I rented in France was a real honey. Both of those cars are in the mid-20s price bracket and because you’ll never tire of driving one, they represent great value. To my mind the X1 is not a particularly great car that doesn’t do anything especially well. We of all people understand the lure of the BMW badge, but do yourself a favour, find the extra money and buy an X3 instead ●

X1 xDrive20d Sport ENGINE: Four-cylinder, 16-valve, diesel CAPACITY: 1995cc MAX POWER: 190hp @ 4000rpm MAX TORQUE: 295lb ft @ 1750-2500rpm 0-62MPH: 7.6 seconds (7.6) TOP SPEED: 137mph (136) ECONOMY: 58.8mpg (57.6) EMISSIONS: 127g/km (129) WEIGHT: 1615kg (1625) PRICE (OTR): £32,790 (£34,390) Figures in brackets refer to eight-speed auto as tested

FEBRUARY 2017 15

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BEHIND THE WHEEL: F32 440i COUPÉ

With a glorious straight-six, drop dead gorgeous looks and a rear-wheel drive chassis the 440i is an accomplished coupé. Just don’t expect it to be an M240i…

Words and photography: Bob Harper ’m feeling a little guilty as a couple of months ago I was a little rude about the 440i Coupé. As with many things context is king, and the context in which I was a little less than excited by the 440i was by way of comparison with the cracking M140i and M240i with which it shares an engine. The thing is, those buying a car with an M badge, albeit a diet one, are probably looking for a little more excitement that those buying a top-of-the-range executive coupé, hence the difference between the cars.

So, time for a brief revaluation of the 440i. Its vital stats are pretty impressive: 326hp and 332lb ft of torque endow our auto-equipped test car with a 0-62mph time of just 5.0 seconds and on the official test’s combined cycle it’ll return over 40mpg – which is a pretty impressive combination. At nearly £44k in auto guise it’s getting perilously close to a new M4 (if you believe the discounts that are being offered on the ultimate incarnation of the 4 Series) but it does offer a very different driving experience.

Our test car has been pretty loaded up with just about everything you could possibly spec on a 440i and its on-the-road price tips in at £56,485 – that’s definitely M4 money! Obviously, if you were buying you’d cherry-pick the items you’d want, but it’s quite sobering to see how much damage can be done to your wallet if you’re not careful. Tanzanite blue paint is a £845 option while the Individual Opal white Merino leather will set you back a further £1215 with another £1075 needed for the leather dash. Adaptive LEDs

I

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add £1600, while an M Sport plus package adds £1650 and along with a few other odds and sods you have a pretty comprehensive spec indeed. And it has to be said, when you slip into this F32’s cockpit the Opal white leather and leather-clad dash really add a dose of quality to the cabin. It might not be a practical colour but it has a wonderful ambiance that imbues you with a real feel-good factor. Given this is where you sit and spend all of your wheel time, why not make it as classy as possible?

While the other toys are nice what we really need to do is get to grips with how the 440i drives. It might be down a few horses in its 440i application compared to the M240i but it’s still buttery smooth and offers a real punch no matter where you are in the rev range. Torquey bottom end, punchy midrange, or zingy top end – the choice is yours – and making the best of the engine is child’s play thanks to the excellent Sport version of the eight-speed auto and its steering wheel-mounted paddles.

On a back road blast the 440i really flows. It’s not as sharp or involving as either the M140i or M240i but then you shouldn’t expect it to be. It’s aimed at a different buyer with a different set of priorities. Up to about nine tenths it feels very accomplished, but if you push it to the limit it doesn’t feel so comfortable with the car’s weight and size eventually telling against it. But as a blend of speed, handling and comfort it’s hard to beat. Just choose those options carefully and don’t expect it to be something it’s not ●

F32 440i M Sport Coupé ENGINE: B58 straight-six, 24-valve CAPACITY: 2998cc MAX POWER: 326hp @ 5500rpm MAX TORQUE: 332lb ft @ 1380-5000rpm 0-62MPH: 5.2 seconds (5.0) TOP SPEED: 155mph (155) ECONOMY: 38.2mpg (42.8) EMISSIONS: 172g/km (154) WEIGHT (EU): 1615kg (1630) PRICE (OTR): £42,235 (£43,755)

017 BMWCAR 0217 19/12/2016 13:42 Page 17

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Words: Shane O’ Donoghue Photography: BMW

5 SERIES

The launch of the seventh-generation BMW 5 Series allowed us the opportunity to drive some of its great predecessors

T

he launch of a new 5 Series isn’t only a big deal to BMW; it’s a momentous occasion to car buyers around the world that ‘get’ the 5 Series concept and are keen to know what the next

generation will bring. At the international launch of the G30 model in Lisbon last November, BMW Car was fortunate enough to be allowed in an example of every one of the previous six generations, from the lithe E12

right up to the still modern-looking F10. It offered a unique perspective on the evolution of the genius and will certainly be to blame for increased late-night activity scouring the classifieds for well-looked-after examples.

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E12 528

E12 528 automatic – 1975

LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4620x1690x1425mm ENGINE: Straight-six, 12-valve CAPACITY: 2788cc MAX POWER: 165hp @ 5800rpm MAX TORQUE: 176lb ft @ 4000rpm 0-62MPH: 9.5 seconds TOP SPEED: 123mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1385kg HOW MANY (528): 37,501 HOW MANY (ALL E12s): 700,000

The 5 Series came to life in 1972 with the E12, replacing the ‘New Class’ that comprised the 1500, 1800 and 2000. First up were the 520 and 520i, powered by four-cylinder engines of, as the names suggested, 2.0-litre capacity. The 525 arrived a year later with a six-cylinder engine and 145hp. Some 700,000 examples of the E12 were sold.

Having spent the best part of two days in the brand-new G30 BMW 5 Series, it’s a bit of a shock to the system to begin our journey through the model’s history at the very start, in this exquisite yellow/green E12, a 528 automatic. It was launched in 1975 as the range-topper, with a carburettor atop the straight-six 2.8-litre petrol engine. Sounds like a recipe for fun, but the maximum power output of 165hp seems puny these days, and so it proves on the test-drive, despite the relatively low 1385kg weight of this car.

A closer look at the tech specs reveal that the peak power is produced at 5800rpm, which seems cruel to do to such a beautifully maintained classic as this. Saying that, this engine clearly thrives on revs. What’s more surprising is how unrefined, loud and, well, raspy it is. This is not a cultured and quiet six-cylinder experience. Further aging the car is an awful three-speed automatic transmission with a clunky and spindly shifter. Indeed, there’s nothing in the cabin to link the E12 with the new car – BMW logo aide. We even had difficulty trying to work out how to do simple things like turn on the rear

It’s a car to enjoy for its originality… it marks the start of the 5 Series story

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window demister, as the few controls there were labelled in German.

However, thanks to slender roof pillars, large expanses of glass and high-set seating, this 528 feels very spacious and airy. The chairs are comfy, squidgy and wide, while the skinny-rimmed steering wheel has a laughably large diameter. The rim is firm and unyielding and it’s attached to a power steering system that’s slow and not exactly pleasantly weighted. Nonetheless, on greasy wet roads there’s decent feedback from the high-profile tyres and through the rim to your hands, telling you that there’s mild initial understeer if you take a corner too quickly.

This does give way to a little rear-end slip but it’s nothing to worry about despite the lack of traction control. It’s only because the weather was so bad that we got to experience loss of grip at all, as most wouldn’t drive a classic such as this fast enough in the dry. It’s a car to enjoy for its originality and that it marks the start of the 5 Series story in the sand.

We see an even more interesting example of the E12 hanging around the launch venue – the ultra-rare M535i with its front and rear spoilers and BMW Motorsport stripes. BMW Motorsport GmbH was created in 1972 and it produced the very special 218hp M535i in 1980, just before the second generation of the 5 Series was unveiled. Sadly, we were not allowed test this one, no matter how much we begged.

019-026 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 13:45 Page 21

5 SERIES

BMW introduced more modern electronics including anti-lock brakes and electronic fuel injection E28 524td BMW knew it was on to a winning formula so stuck to it for the second generation and, at a glance, there’s little other than cosmetic tweaks to separate the E28 from its predecessor. It was all change under the skin, though, where BMW introduced more modern electronics including anti-lock brakes and electronic fuel injection. The suspension was all-new, too, with a double-joint front axle and semi-trailing arm rear axle.

Eclipsing the M535i was the very first M5, revealed in 1984 with 218hp from its BMW M1-derived straight-six with six throttle butterflies. We’re gutted there’s not one of them present to try but there is an example of the E28 generation here that is far more appropriate, the 524td, the first diesel 5 Series. This lovely red specimen has nearly 50,000 kilometres on the clock and although it’s clearly a diesel, the fact that it’s a straight-six engine (codenamed the M21) brings some smoothness to proceedings. Unlike the high-performance six-cylinder diesels we’re now accustomed to, the 524td had to make do with 115hp and 155lb ft of torque, the peak power produced as high as 4800rpm, a level we really don’t want to take this classic engine to today. And

apparently you’d need every one of those horses to repeat the glacial 0-62mph time of 12.9 seconds, in spite of a pretty trim 1355kg weight. There was an even slower version of this engine offered without turbocharging, which doesn’t sound very ‘BMW’ to us.

In 1987, a year after the example we have here was produced, mechanical injection was replaced by electronic control, allowing the fitment of a smaller, more responsive turbocharger to give a higher torque output of 162lb ft.

The interior is not drastically different to its predecessor’s, with its large glazing and slim pillars for an excellent view out, but the detailing is clearly more modern, as is the switchgear – even I can operate the heating controls. Though all black, it’s somehow less austere and minimal inside. The seats are virtually unchanged in structure though, even if the colour scheme is more subdued, so it’s a comfortable cabin.

The major difference is the presence of an awkward looking five-speed manual gear lever.

BMW shifted about 722,000 examples of the E28 before it was replaced – nearly 75,000 of them accounted for by the diesel variant.

E28 524td LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4620x1700x1415mm ENGINE: Straight-six, 12-valve CAPACITY: 2443cc MAX POWER: 115hp @ 4800rpm MAX TORQUE: 155lb ft @ 2400rpm 0-62MPH: 12.9 seconds TOP SPEED: 112mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1355kg HOW MANY (524td): 74,602 HOW MANY (ALL E28s): 722,000

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E34 540i This third generation car, the 1994 E34 540i, was my favourite steer of the day. Hardly surprising when it’s powered by a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine. BMW quotes 286hp at 5800rpm for this freerevving unit and though it doesn’t feel as frisky as that might suggest, it’s still a lot of fun. Crucially, it’s very usable power that’s easy to mete out – even in verging-on-torrential conditions we experienced. With such power on tap, it should be no surprise that it’s easy to break traction in this car, but it’s wonderfully controllable thanks to a more manageable steering wheel size and longer wheelbase. In fact, the traction control system is impressively quick-thinking, too.

Because of its well-judged driving controls, this car genuinely shrinks around you, making it feel more compact than its predecessors. The stats say otherwise, as the E34 is considerably larger – it’s about 100mm longer and 50mm wider than the E12

E34 540i LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4720x1751x1412mm ENGINE: V8, 32-valve CAPACITY: 3982cc MAX POWER: 286hp @ 5800rpm MAX TORQUE: 295lb ft @ 4500rpm 0-62MPH: 6.8 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1650kg HOW MANY (540i): 24,025 HOW MANY (ALL E34s): 1,300,000

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and E28, and, in this specification, a whopping 350kg heavier. Although it’s usefully bigger on the outside, it doesn’t feel larger inside due to the more modern cosseting wraparound design of the dashboard and doorcards. It’s positively festooned with buttons too, from the clunky electric window switches in the centre console to the tiny switchgear for the trip computer and period radio/cassette player. It’s more obviously luxurious in comparison to the older cars here too thanks to ruched leather, horrid shiny ‘wood’ panelling and even individual temperature controls for driver and front seat passenger. The shifter for the five-speed automatic transmission is not all that dissimilar to that fitted to the E12 I tried earlier, but the gearbox itself is on a different level in terms of smoothness. Even so, I must admit to using it to stick in second and third gears the whole time on a twisty section of mountain road to make the most of the engine’s output.

This V8 model wasn’t introduced until 1992, four years after the E34 was launched. In 1988, all variants came with a catalytic converter and electronic fuel injection as standard and all had six-cylinder engines (including the 520i, 525i, 530i, 535i and 524td). The M5, with 315hp, also made its debut in 1988. An entry-level model, the four-cylinder 518i, arrived in 1989, while the six-cylinder engines were upgraded with four valves per cylinder and Vanos variable camshaft control.

More firsts for BMW and the 5 Series came in the form of optional electronically controlled dampers, Servotronic speed-sensitive power steering, ASC stability control, four-wheel drive (in some markets) and the Touring estate model, introduced in 1991.

That alone accounted for 125,000 sales, while the E34 found an incredible 1.3 million homes. My favourite, the 540i, was sold to over 24,000 buyers.

It’s wonderfully controllable thanks to a more manageable steering wheel size and longer wheelbase

019-026 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 13:45 Page 23

5 SERIES

This example is as tight as a drum, giving it a notably more modern feel than the cars it succeeded E39 528i After the V8 fireworks of the E34 540i, this modestly powered E39, of 1998 vintage, was initially a bit of a let down, but it soon wormed its way into my affections. Its straight-six 2.8-litre petrol engine is creamy smooth and sounds fantastic, much better than the E12’s and though it ‘only’ produces 193hp, it makes very good use of it. In fact, one major advance of the E39 over the E34 is widespread use of aluminium, meaning, for instance, that this 528i, at 1515kg, is usefully lighter than the E34 540i. That’s in spite of another dimensional increase – the E39 is 55mm longer, 49mm wider and 24mm higher than its predecessor. It doesn’t look it, though. While the weight reduction doesn’t necessarily manifest itself in a straight line speed comparison between the two, the 528i certainly is more composed on the road.

Indeed, this example is as tight as a drum, giving it a notably more modern feel than the cars it succeeded.

There’s not a rattle or hum out of place and noise suppression is top notch. Some brand-new cars are not as refined as this 528i. Indeed, BMW made a big noise about the E39’s increased torsional stiffness

when it was unveiled, so perhaps this tightness is a welcome result of that.

The interior design gives the game away of course, but it’s clearly from a more recent era than the E34.

Saying that, there’s still shiny wood on display… Take a closer look at the pictures and you’ll also find satellite navigation, an integrated car phone (yes, that thing between the seats that looks as big as an armrest) and even a television. Oh, and check out all those buttons on the steering wheel – something we take for granted now.

BMW launched the E39 at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show and its most obvious distinguishing feature was the glass covers for the traditional double round headlights. These would evolve to include the distinctive Corona Rings daytime running lamp graphic in 2000; a look that continues today. In 1998, the brilliant 400hp M5 was launched, with electronically controlled individual throttle butterflies. The E39 notched up 1.47 million sales before it went out of production in 2004, an outstanding 261,000 or so of them being the middle-of-the-range 528i.

E39 528i LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4775x1800x1435mm ENGINE: Straight-six, 24-valve CAPACITY: 2793cc MAX POWER: 193hp @ 5300rpm MAX TORQUE: 206lb ft @ 3950rpm 0-62MPH: 7.5 seconds TOP SPEED: 147mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1515kg HOW MANY (528i): 261,119 HOW MANY (ALL E39s): 1,470,000

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E60 545i You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’ve missed out a generation, so radical looking and tech-laden did the E60 become. It was very much a Chris Bangle car, the American designer that is loved and hated in equal measure by BMW enthusiasts the world over overseeing the style of the 2003 model. That didn’t seem to affect demand, however, as well over 1.4 million versions of the E60 5 Series were sold – counting the four-door saloon and the Touring estate.

Here we have a 2004 545i in very modest looking specification – it’s even de-badged. Yet under the subtle exterior (it may have looked radical in 2003, but 14 years later, we’re all familiar with the lines) lies a 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine putting out a healthy 333hp. Nonetheless, the E60, due to lots of new equipment and yet another dimension increase, was heavier than its predecessor, so this car is more of a luxury model than an outright sports saloon. That was left to the madcap V10-engined M5, which is a story for another day. The E60 did mark the introduction of an aluminium integral rear axle, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), variable ratio power steering (Active Steering) and Adaptive Drive with electronic damper adjustment and anti-roll stability management.

Naturally not all of this was ever standard.

However, inside, BMW’s initially controversial iDrive controller was fitted to all variants of the E60 5 Series.

This provided the interface to its myriad infotainment systems through an inset dashboard mounted screen, which itself formed part of the flat dashboard for the first time (i.e not angled toward the driver). Journalists at the time were highly critical of the system and the latest iterations are a million times better, but BMW did update it in 2007 during the LCI update.

At the same time, ‘EfficientDynamics’ was introduced to the world, touting to increase the efficiency of the 5 Series while also enhancing its dynamics. The timing was perfect as it coincided with a move to taxation based on CO2 emissions for many countries and BMW stole a clear march on its rivals.

The 520d went on to be a huge sales success, initially mixing 55.4mpg economy with 177hp. It was never as smooth to drive as this 545i, alas.

E60 545i LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4841x1846x1468mm ENGINE: V8, 32-valve CAPACITY: 4398cc MAX POWER: 333hp @ 6100rpm MAX TORQUE: 332lb ft @ 3600rpm 0-62MPH: 5.8 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1705kg HOW MANY (545i): 25,909 HOW MANY (ALL E60/1s): 1,400,000

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Under the subtle exterior lies a 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine putting out a healthy 333hp

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5 SERIES F10 535i

F10 535i

LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4907x1860x1464 mm ENGINE: straight-six, 24-valve, turbocharged CAPACITY: 2979cc MAX POWER: 306hp @ 5800-6000rpm MAX TORQUE: 295lb ft @ 1200-5000rpm 0-62MPH: 5.8 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1675kg HOW MANY (ALL F10/1s): 2,200,000 and counting

While the E60 was the first 5 Series to feature a turbocharged petrol engine, the 2009 F10 made it its own, more so after the 2012 LCI update, when fourcylinder 2.0-litre petrol engines using twin-scroll turbocharging were introduced. The 2011 M5 was powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, while the six-cylinder petrol variant was the 535i featured here, putting out 306hp and 295lb ft. It’s a lovely engine, smooth in its delivery and too quiet to be sporting, but fast enough for anyone all the same. The performance is disguised by the flat torque curve, but even so, this is a hugely satisfying car to drive.

The interior of the F10 is still modern but next to the G30’s cabin it looks old-fashioned already. Its quality makes up for that, and there’s little difference between the two when it comes to accommodation.

An admission here: BMW didn’t allow us drive the F10 on display in Lisbon. However, cast your mind back to the October issue where we tested the preproduction G30 in Wales accompanied by BMW’s

chassis engineers. To get to the test location, we used an F10-generation 520d M Sport on ‘comfort’ suspension and drove it over the same test route later in the day to get a sense of the differences. They were notable; the old car wallowing about on its springs more and exhibiting more vagueness when turning into a corner. Nonetheless, the F10 was the 5 Series that BMW focused on comfort in and thousands of owners’ backs will thank them for that.

As much as we love the 535i, the F10 cemented the importance of diesel to the 5 Series story and it was offered in no less than six different models from the 143hp 518d (upgraded to 150hp in 2014) at one end of the scale to the left-hand drive only M550d xDrive with 381hp at the other. Unsurprisingly, the F10 will go down in history as the most successful 5 Series to date. That will have been helped, no doubt, by its more restrained and less opinion-dividing appearance, which looks more like a natural evolution from the E39 than the E60.

Unsurprisingly, the F10 will go down in history as the most successful 5 Series to date

FEBRUARY 2017 25

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G30 540i Evolution is a word bandied about for the G30 5 Series, and that certainly applies to the new car’s design. However, park it up next to its predecessor and you can’t help but think that the F10 looks rather dumpy and bulbous next to the lithe, tight lines of the new car. That’s emphasised by the 7 Series inspired design, where the wider kidney grilles, high-tech new

G30 540i LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4935x1868x1479mm ENGINE: straight-six, 24-valve, turbocharged CAPACITY: 2998cc MAX POWER: 340hp @ 5500-6500rpm MAX TORQUE: 332lb ft @ 1380-5200rpm 0-62MPH: 5.1 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph WEIGHT (DIN): 1705kg

So where does the mighty 5 Series go from here?

It’s established as one of the most important models in the line-up, if not in sales terms, in how BMW defines itself. In some respects it will shadow the 7 Series, but it’s also as likely to be the vehicle BMW launches its next generation technologies in.

Expect lots more autonomous driving technology soon, for a start, but aside from that the 5 Series will spread its remit wider than ever.

On that score, we’ll soon have a plug-in hybrid iPerformance model, the left-hand drive only M550i xDrive, ultra-efficient 520d EfficientDynamics model and, of course, the 5 Series Touring and brand-new M5, probably with xDrive four-wheel drive and nigh on 600hp ●

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headlights and the lower, smoother, simpler bonnet all come together in one join line. Meanwhile, the Air Breathers behind the front wheels, while not to all tastes, certainly visually break up the bodywork and drag the height of the car down – as far as your eyes and brain are concerned.

Less obvious, but highly effective, is the joining of

the Hofmeister kink at the rear of the side glass with the swage line along the doors. The rear is less new looking, though slimmer LED lights feature, as do asymmetric exhaust outlets.

The interior is a world apart from the F10’s, using the best of the 7 Series such as a slender dashboard design and high-tech widescreen touchscreen infotainment. There’s a massive head-up display on the options list, gesture control and, more than that, the material selection and fit and finish warrant more comparison with the current 7 than they do the F10.

The climate control switchgear is a real treat, for example, as is the design of the new instruments.

Big news here is the new suite of driver assistance technologies, meaning the 5 Series can steer, accelerate and brake for you in certain restricted circumstances. It’s all very clever and smooth. Nothing radical has happened under the bonnet as yet, with the familiar diesel and petrol options, many tweaked for more power and less fuel consumption, but the core platform has been lightened by 100kg and it’s all much stiffer too, to the benefit of refinement and dynamics. And the G30 really moves the game on in those measures, being far quieter and smoother than before, just as comfortable and yet, somehow, a little more agile. It remains to be seen if the basic 520d M Sport retains all that without the launch cars’ myriad driving options, but we have high hopes.

027 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 10:25 Page 27

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FUN FACTORY AC Schnitzer has taken one of BMW’s finest cars, injected it with an additional dose of adrenalin and the result is an exceedingly impressive miniature missile Words and photography: Steve Hall

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AC SCHNITZER ACS2

FEBRUARY 2017 29

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ere at BMW Car, we’re huge fans of the M240i, which is no surprise really considering the level of affection we developed for the M235i, which like any good relationship, just got better the more time we spent in its company. Handsome, compact coupé, powerful sonorous engine up front driving the rear wheels; it’s a recipe that would be difficult to get wrong with such good base ingredients.

So 2016’s enhancements, which arrived when the 235 became the 240, were only ever going to deepen our desire for it. Adding 14hp and 37lb ft to a model which wasn’t exactly slow off the mark (that torque figure matches the M2) only serves to demonstrate what a fabulous engine the B58 is, combining more performance than the M235i’s N55 with greater efficiency, all the while allowing the driver to enjoy the – now unique in this class – pulsating straight-six music rendered by the B58’s machinations. At £36k it’s a hard package to beat.

It’d be fair to say we’re fans of Schnitzer too. We realise this won’t come as a shock. With an expansive (and expanding) range we’ve had plenty cause to visit Aachen this year, and are consistently left thumbing our dictionary looking for new superlatives to sprinkle into our road test assessments. It’s on a fine run of form, hitting that sweet spot that can prove the downfall of other tuners; delivering an OEM

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028-034 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 10:26 Page 31

AC SCHNITZER ACS2

The thunderous energy the ACS2 demonstrates in the mid-range leaves you in no doubt: an M2 would be easy meat

standard of quality in a package that offers tangible benefits. So dispatching an M240i to the Schnitzer skunkworks should result in a very special package…

Our final trip to Aachen of the year may be cold, but the forecast is bright and sunny. And with the whole day devoted to this shoot we’ve plenty of time to get to know the ACS2 4.0i. So it's a good thing our guide for the day did some diligent research (thanks Mario!) and has found some terrific roads for us to play on; one stretch in particular snaking its way along, then up a tree-lined mountain – the kind of road you imagine local petrolheads carving their way up and down in the quiet hours.

This being Germany, we have a good few kilometers of autobahn to blast down before we reach black top more akin to a British B road (okay, with a significantly better surface) and some towns along the way to explore every facet of the ACS2’s performance and dynamics. First though, lets take in some details, starting with the element which will most irk M2 owners; the small matter of an additional 60hp and 75lb ft of torque…

There has been much forum debate about the performance of the M240i vs the M2, given that the bona fide M car has 30hp more, identical torque and 30kg more weight. Factor in the M240i’s narrower shape and less aggressive aero and it’s easy to see why separating the junior car’s straight line performance would take a stopwatch marked in thousandths of seconds, and it’s debatable which car the exercise would favour. After Schnitzer has worked its magic, the stopwatch can safely be dispatched as the sheer thunderous energy the ACS2 demonstrates in the mid-range leaves you in no doubt: an M2 would be easy meat. With power and torque curves much the same as the standard car, power delivery mirrors the M240i – mid-range grunt swells as soon as 2000rpm is registered, by 4000rpm we’re really motoring, and the straight-six happily rips round to its 7000rpm redline with increasing vigour. But that 75lb ft of extra shove makes its presence felt everywhere, whilst the additional power sees the final flourish to the redline take the ACS2 into very senior company.

Schnitzer realise the extra horses with its tried and tested method of an additional control box which (as

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with last month’s M3-based ACS3 Sport) sits atop the existing ECU and manipulates the controls to allow an increase in boost pressure, whilst being easily and invisibly reversible. That Schnitzer backs this with its own two-year warranty speaks volumes for the thoroughness of its testing programme. It explains why its claimed power figures are consistently backed up in independent testing, which isn’t something that can be said for every tuned car on the market…

There’s a typical thoroughness to the Schnitzer approach in every element of the ACS2; the aesthetic updates address one of the few areas where criticism could be levelled at the M240i, and gives the 2 Series visual attitude to back up its performance. Not so much wolf in wolf’s clothing (that’s left to the M2), but for some there’s not enough to differentiate 218i from an M240i – not so with ACS2. The M240i’s demure aesthetic could be considered a selling point, but we think Schnitzer has struck a terrific balance by dressing the 2 Series in a smattering of high quality carbon trim pieces to complement its signature fivespoke AC1 forged alloys and the lowered ride height.

As befits the Schnitzer way, many of these confer subtle aerodynamic improvements have been verified in the wind tunnel. The differences may be marginal, but when you’re driving a 400hp coupé on a road devoid of speed limits, any added high-speed stability is a welcome addition.

Stability is aided by the Schnitzer suspension package which sits the ACS2 45mm and 50mm (front and rear respectively) closer to the ground, and waives the adaptive dampers in favour of a passive system which is mechanically adjustable in bump and rebound. The factory setup is so well judged, we doubt many will utilise the adjustment, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Some may be surprised at the omission of a locking differential even as an option, but in reality the few who would really make use of such an option are well served by some of the wilder Schnitzer products; and as we will see, this doesn’t stop the ACS2 being an absolute blast to drive on the right roads…

Thoroughly warmed up from our sojourn through the suburbs, we join the autobahn with the ACS2

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ready to demonstrate the full extent of its straight-line performance. There’s a few kilometres of built-up ‘bahn to negotiate before the derestricted sign hoves into view, during which the ACS2 proves itself just as adept as any 2 Series Sport at low speed cruising.

We leave the speed limit behind primed in third gear and take the opportunity to indulge in what seems to be a popular past-time in Germany – full bore acceleration when entering derestricted zones.

It’s something the ACS2 4.0i is extremely well equipped for, punching hard with acceleration

028-034 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 10:26 Page 33

AC SCHNITZER ACS2 AC Schnitzer ACS2 4.0i Coupé ENGINE: Twin-scroll turbo, straight-six, 24-valve CAPACITY: 2998cc MAX POWER: 400hp @ 6000rpm MAX TORQUE: 443lb ft @ 3000rpm 0-62MPH: 4.6 seconds 50-120MPH: 8.6 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph (limited) MODIFICATIONS: ENGINE: AC Schnitzer performance upgrade (additional control unit) AC Schnitczer engine optics ENGINE: AC Schnitzer tailpipe, Sport black

WHEELS AND TYRES: AC Schnitzer AC1 BiColour wheels, 8.5x19-inches (front and rear) with 235/35 R19 Continental WinterContact tyres all-round SUSPENSION: AC Schnitzer ‘Racing’ package, lowered 45mm at the front and 50mm at the rear, adjustable bump and rebound STYLING: AC Schnitzer carbon front spoiler elements, upper rear spoiler, carbon rear spoiler, carbon fibre wing mirror covers, rear skirt protection film INTERIOR: AC Schnitzer aluminium pedal set and footrest, handbrake handle, key holder and floor mats

All of the usual M240i traits are in situ, with the volume turned up to 11. There’s more precision, more control and more grip to manage the extra performance

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CONTACT: AC Schnitzer UK Tel: 01485 542000 Web: www.ac-schnitzer.co.uk AC Schnitzer (Germany) Tel: +49 (0) 241 5688130 Web: www.ac-schnitzer.de

seemingly unabated as we charge through fourth and fifth gears. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too busy to explore the upper reaches of the speed spectrum, but the point is made – you’re going to need an M3 to stay in touch.

We’re now on the roads I’d really been looking forward to. Roads which play well to the 2 Series’ compact size. We’re rolling on Continental WinterContact tyres, which may rob the ACS2 of the final percentile of precision, but do nothing to detract from the sweet balance innate to the chassis. All of the usual M240i traits are in situ, with the volume turned

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up to 11. There’s more precision, more control and more grip to manage the extra performance and on this road, winding its way up the hill interspersing 180 degree switchbacks with short straights, the ACS2 is indulgent fun. Traction proves surprisingly good, but with 443lb ft underfoot it’s easy to overwhelm the rear tyres at will – at which point the ACS2 remains a faithful, enjoyable folly. Buoyed by the crackle of the Schnitzer Sport exhaust, I take a few more runs up and down the hill than necessary; it’s that kind of car on this kind of road…

But then, what else were we expecting? The

marriage of Schnitzer’s talents and the M240i make for a five star car; of course they do. Every element of potential critique in the M240i has been addressed, so you have a more visually alluring package that sounds better, goes better and is a more pleasing place to sit thanks to the array of Schnitzer interior trim parts. And whilst we understand that the cosmetics are not to everybody’s taste, if we were to pick and choose, the performance and chassis elements are absolutely worth having, taking the M240i on to a level of performance and driving enjoyment to worry an M2 ●

035 BMWCAR 0217 19/12/2016 16:33 Page 35

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MANUFACTURED IN ENGLAND SINCE 1987 87

036-042 BMWCar 0217 03/01/2017 10:18 Page 36

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036-042 BMWCar 0217 03/01/2017 10:18 Page 37

E46 M3 TOURING

BMW never offered an E46 M3 Touring, that’s just an unfortunate fact of life. But if you saw Marc Norris’s Touring rolling down the road, you might find yourself re-evaluating what you think you know…

Words: Daniel Bevis Photography: Darren Maybury

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“When I build something, I want it to look like it just came out of the factory”

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E46 M3 TOURING

f you want to whip 3 Series fans up into a lather, try tossing the phrase ‘M3 Touring’ into the conversation and just standing back to see what happens. It’s a conversational grenade. You see, everyone with more than a passing interest in the Bavarian propeller badge wants a longroof version of the M3 to exist, and to have existed. Everyone. It’s just a fact of nature, as real as the tides and the inevitability of Monday mornings. Watch in amusement as they reel off phrases like ‘missed opportunity’ and ‘the best car that BMW never built’.

This is not without precedent, of course… the money-men at BMW HQ saw fit to greenlight a Touring variant of the M5 back when the E60 was doing the rounds, so what was wrong with the idea of shoehorning an S54 motor and some beefed-up chassis componentry into a 3 Series shell that was happy to swallow a wardrobe? Well, it’s just one of life’s mysteries.

Thankfully, for a miniscule but dedicated clique of enthusiasts, the question of ‘what was wrong with the idea?’ can bullishly be answered by the phrase ‘nothing at all, so I’m going to make one’. And that’s exactly what’s happened here: the car you’re looking at may not have rolled off the production line as a

I

bona fide M3 Touring, but it’s about as near as you’re ever going to get to happening across the genuine article. And it’s all down to the skills and dedication of a fella by the name of Marc Norris.

Now, Marc is an interesting guy to know. The powerhouse behind Bavarian Workshop in West Hills, California, what he doesn’t know about enhancing and enjoying BMWs probably isn’t worth knowing.

“My friends call me ‘the mad scientist’,” he grins, “so that should give you some idea…”

Seasoned readers may recall the M2 that Marc built a few years back, fusing a 2002 with the running gear from an E30 M3. “I modify everything I own,” he laughs. “I’ve built some fun cars, with that M2 being a prime example. I’ve built turbo cars, engine swaps… an S54 into an E28 M5, an S52 into an E30 sedan with six-speed and five-lug conversion… My big thing is subtlety – when I build something, I want it to look like it just came out of the factory.” Admirable sentiment indeed, and you can see why Marc is the ideal candidate to hand-craft ‘the best car that BMW never built’.

A little background, then, to see where this whole legacy of lunacy stemmed from. Bavarian Workshop, the hub of all of this Teutonic mischief, was founded

back in 1978, and Marc purchased the company 21 years ago. It’s primarily a service shop, although his entertaining modifying proclivities are neatly catered for by virtue of it being an official Dinan Engineering dealer too. “Modifications have always been a part of our DNA,” Marc eagerly confirms. “Along the way there have been many projects, big and small, as people found out about our capabilities. And this particular project was started here at the shop with the engine and trans swap, before I took it home and stripped the interior and some other mechanicals. I have a full shop at home, and am trying to expose my nine-year-old son to my madness!”

Okay, so why an E46, why now? “Well, I just love the E46 M3,” he says. “I mean, I love all M3s, as my garage would attest, but I’d sold an E46 a few years ago to get into a new house, and it stuck in my head – along with a comment a friend made years ago about the idea of an M3 Touring. It kept rolling around in the back of my mind. Something made me start doing some research, and then I found the pictures of the BMW Touring in the underground garage,” he says, referring to BMW’s own one-off M3 Touring Concept that lives in the mystery bunker beneath BMW M GmbH at Garching. “My wife’s

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“People walk by thinking it’s a standard car, but people in the know freak out!”

E46 M3 Touring

Touring’s transmission had given up the ghost a couple of years ago, and I got her an X1; I kept the E46, as the idea was there.” And there you have it, the kernel of a project. But it’s one thing to conjure up such a strategy – it’s quite another to spirit it into reality. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of work involved.

Still, Marc’s not afraid of a bit of hard graft. You have probably gathered that. And with the idea blossoming in his mind, he set about finding a donor, which soon arrived in the form of a 2002 M3 Coupé on Craigslist. The car had hit a pole, which took out the radiator and condenser, but on the whole it was in remarkable condition and presented itself as the perfect donor. The cherry on the cake was that its production date was only two months adrift from his Touring; for a man who prizes authenticity, this made it a no-brainer.

“So, the car’s sitting here at the shop, and I decide I’ll stick the drivetrain and suspension in while it’s here and then trailer it home,” Marc recalls, luxuriating in the story with the slippery ease of the seasoned raconteur. “That bit was just a straight parts swap, no biggie. The interesting part came when I got it home and started gutting the inside…”

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It’s a truism to say that the M3 is quite a focused machine, with lots of model-specific parts to differentiate itself from lesser 3 Series – that’s why they’re so celebrated, and command the premiums that they do – but if you really want this thrown into sharp focus for you, try stripping down the two cars in parallel and playing a bit of spot-the-difference.

Take the exterior, for example. It’s not just a case of unbolting the Touring wings and whacking the M3 items on there. Marc’s front wings are sectioned together with parts from both cars, to ensure that they mount properly while also having the correct M3 flares and grilles; the coupé items are a good inch longer, and that’s the sort of panel gap disparity that people would probably notice. And the rears? Well, obviously the station-wagon is a bit taller at the back, so the sportier bits have been cut straight out of the M3 and grafted into the Touring to follow its natural lines. The dedication to a factory-quality finish is total.

Another area that you might not necessarily think of is the boot floor – in this instance it’s been entirely removed and replaced with the M3 Coupé’s panel, which is rather flatter and thus allows the quad-tail M3/Dinan exhaust system to exit beneath. You see,

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION: S54B32 3.2-litre straight-six, Dinan high-flow air intake, Dinan free-flow exhaust system, Dinan software, M3 ducting, trim and radiator/condenser cooling package, M3 oil cooler and ducting, six-speed manual, M differential CHASSIS: 19-inch Apex wheels with 245/35 (front) and 265/35 (rear) Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Motorsport Hardware competition wheel studs, full M3 front and rear subframes including suspension and brake setup; Dinan/Koni Stage 3 suspension kit, reinforced rear subframe mounts EXTERIOR: Custom front wings sectioned together from Coupé and Touring items, LCI bi-xenon headlights, M3 CSL front bumper cover with carbon fibre winglets, coupé rear wings sectioned into Touring quarters, boot floor swapped for flatter M3 Coupé version, allowing fitment of Dinan/M3 quad exhaust, roof rails removed and factory delete covers installed and colour-matched, all exterior trim swapped to BMW Glanschwarz enamel, full repaint in Stahlblau (Steel blue Metallic) INTERIOR: Heated E91 Touring seats with functional active bolsters, M3 dials, BMW Professional Navigation, Harman Kardon stereo system, Bavsound complete speaker upgrade, BMW Bluetooth telephone integration, ‘Silver Cube’ trim from Competition package, M Performance gear knob, gaiter and handbrake handle, M3 steering wheel, BMW M door sill trim (front and rear), custom programming to show M logo on nav when entering car THANKS TO: World Class Paint and Body for the amazing factory-like work, Dinan Engineering, BavSound for the killer sounds, Motorsport Hardware, Chase, for all the help, and my wife Suzin for supporting my long hours in the garage

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E46 M3 TOURING

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“It really is amazing to hear how many people dig wagons”

once you start digging into a non-M3 E46, it’s surprising just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

For the sake of completeness, the roof rails were removed and factory delete covers colour-matched and installed, while all of the exterior trim was reworked in BMW Glanschwarz (Gloss black) to reflect the OEM appearance of the M3. And to top it all off, the finished shell’s been blasted in a fresh coat of metallic Stahlblau (Steel blue).

Naturally an M3 is more than just a mighty engine and some pumped up arches. There’s quite a lot going on under the skin. “I’d totally gutted the shell in the knowledge that I wanted to fit the BMW Professional Navigation, Harman Kardon stereo and, most importantly, my wife’s favourite – heated seats!”

Marc explains. So the car now features E91 Touring seats with functional active bolsters and heaters (because you have to do what the boss says sometimes), which are neatly complemented by the ‘Silver Cube’ trim from the Competition package and, rather brilliantly, a nav screen that’s been specially programmed to display the M logo when you get in.

42 BMWcar

The devil, as they say, is in the detail.

“I also wanted to convert it from auto to manual,” he continues, to the great satisfaction of driving enthusiasts everywhere, “as well as add the parts from the M3 running gear into the harness… so I had both cars at home and I stripped the harness out of the M3 and laid it out next to the Touring, taking out all the sections I needed to add those accessories.”

And when he uses terms like ‘parts’ and ‘accessories’, don’t take these words euphemistically – we’re talking about a full-on chassis conversion, with the M3 front and rear subframes swapped over complete with brakes and suspension, the latter of which was then upgraded to Dinan/Koni Stage 3 spec. When Marc says he wanted to build a factory-quality M3 Touring, he went all-in. “For all intents and purposes, this is an M3,” he says, and it would surely be churlish to disagree.

It really does sound as if this radical yet subtle custom is having the desired effect too. “I use the car as a daily driver to work, and it’s funny seeing people react, as most don’t know a car like this never

existed,” Marc smirks, mischievously. “When I go to car shows, a lot of times people walk by just thinking it’s a standard car, but the people in the know – they freak out! It’s so funny! And there have been more than a few times when someone will walk up and go ‘nice M3’… and then realise it’s a Touring. And then just have a cow! It really is amazing to hear how many people dig wagons.”

And that, of course, is all part of the fun. The original brief was to make the M3 Touring that BMW never did, and along the way he’s managed to interweave a certain frisson of specialness that’s endeared it to both his wife and the Californian BMW community at large. As his own State of the Union address, this M3 makes a pretty clear statement for Marc: sure, something may not exist, but that doesn’t mean it never can. The proof, in Steel blue, sits right before you ●

CONTACT Bavarian Workshop Web: www.bavarianworkshop.com

043 BMWCAR 0217 19/12/2016 13:44 Page 43

We build the cars that BMW didn’t.

2002 ‘M2’

ENGINE: 2.3 litre s14 from e30 M3, bespoke radiator with electric fan, custom 5-speed Getrag 260 transmission, 3.64 limited-slip diff, 2.5" exhaust, custom air filter housing | CHASSIS: 16" Alpina wheels, Ireland Engineering front and rear coilovers, adjustable top mounts, e12 front hubs, custom 5-stud rear hubs, Wilwood 4-pot front and rear calipers, re-engineered rear control arms | EXTERIOR: Body rebuilt from shell up, BMW Turbo flairs, Euro rear bumper, BMW Polaris Metallic Silver | INTERIOR: Reshaped Recaro front seats, all seats refoamed and trimmed in blue Nappa leather, new carpets throughout (including boot)

Bavarian Workshop

23710 Vanowen Street West Hills, CA 91307 USA

001 818.346.9363 BavarianWorkshop.com

044-051 BMWCAR 0217 06/01/2017 15:35 Page 44

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M3 GTS vs M4 GTS

These two bad boys represent the pinnacle of their generations but are we seduced by the V8-engined M3 or the turbocharged M4?

Words: Bob Harper Photography: Dave Smith

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fter briefly pressing the starter button a veritable cacophony of sound washes over me, reverberating around the cockpit and causing a wide grin to erupt across my face. They might not make them like this any longer, but boy am I glad they did when they still had the chance. I’m more or less convinced that the noise emanating from the white M4 GTS that snapper Smithy has simultaneously started isn’t giving him quite the feel-good factor that the Tango orange M3 GTS is giving me, and if we called it a day now I’d be awarding the gong for best GTS to the older M3…

That would make for rather a short feature, though, and with photographs to take I suppose we better drive them to our photo location. We’ve only a short window of opportunity with these cars as they need to go back to BMW’s HQ later in the day. So, without further ado, I slot the M3’s M DCT transmission into Drive and rumble away in a cloud of exhaust vapour.

Within the village confines we keep the speed down but despite that we’re attracting plenty of looks from pedestrians and I’m sure I can feel those curtains twitching as these two track refugees cut quite a dash, even when pottering about.

Two things immediately jump to the front of my brain: for the ultimate evolution of the E92 generation of M3 this track-orientated GTS is mighty easy to drive, yet it’s also having a huge impact on my senses. With the ‘box in auto mode and the change speed set in its most lethargic setting you really could just potter around in this car. There are no highly-strung engine histrionics, the steering weight is pleasant, and just about the only thing that spoils its practicality is the docking great spoiler blocking your rear view vision.

Easy to drive it might be, but all the while you’re being assaulted by information from the car. None of your fancy pants cosseting Electronic Damper Control

A

46 BMWcar

(EDC) here and the fully-adjustable coilover setup that BMW fitted to the car is very stiff indeed. You can almost feel every nuance of the road surface being transmitted trough the car’s structure and the knockon effect is that it makes for a pretty noisy cockpit, with the four-point seatbelt harnesses rattling against the roll-cage, along with a few creaks from the interior trim, too. Even at modest speeds that strident exhaust is making itself heard and the gumball Pirellis are flicking up every stone and road chip they can, flinging them into the wheel arch housings. With the lack of sound deadening you can hear each and every one of them.

Track refugee it might be but there are still plenty of creature comforts in the M3 GTS. We’ve got full climate air-con, the expected stereo, Bluetooth and steering wheel controls – there are even a couple of cup holders. Despite this there’s still a strong sporting ambiance with the carbon-clad dashboard (including a silver GTS production number etched into its surface) and swathes of Alcantara adorning the door trim panels, centre console and steering wheel. The seats themselves leave you in no doubt as to the car’s intent; they’re hip-hugging Recaros with a relatively plain black cloth covering that are designed to grip you in all the right places.

With the engine almost fully up to operating temperature we emerge from the village and are greeted by the familiar black and white national speed limit sign. Finally we can let the M3 off the leash a little. Flick the stubby gear lever to one side to engage manual mode, toggle the rocker switch behind the lever to endow the ‘box with faster changes, pull back on the left-hand steering wheel paddle to drop a couple of ratios, and bury the throttle. It might sound like a lot of faff to access the full performance but once you’re familiar with the car and the M DCT setup it becomes second nature to

make the transition between trundling and maximum attack modes.

And when you do you’re rewarded by a glorious V8 that bellows its approval the harder you rev it, a transmission that’s lightning fast and responds deftly to your every command, and a chassis that comes alive the faster you go. The feel-good factor this machine engenders has to be experienced to be believed – it instantly plasters a smile across your face and makes you want to head for the horizon. It feels monstrously quick but a quick glance in the mirror reveals that the M4 GTS is equally as rapid as it bobs in and out of view as you move your head up and down to see past that rear spoiler that seems to fill the mirror. While it’s tempting to just keep going we need to get the pictures in the bag and with every mile we travel on the slightly damp roads the cars are getting dirtier, which means more car cleaning for yours truly. And I hate cleaning cars on photoshoots so we notch back the pace, avoid the occasional puddle and head for our car park location.

On this grey autumnal day the brace of GTSs certainly liven-up the car park and draw lots of looks from the dog walkers exercising their mutts and the odd sales rep having a quick break between appointments. A kindly BT engineer offers to swap his Transit for the M3 and even ups his offer to include the ladders sitting on top of his Transit when I turn him down. Eventually I manage to get the cars cleaned to Smithy’s satisfaction and while he busies himself working out how his fancy new flash gun works I delve into my memory banks to remind myself exactly what went into the makeup of this most manic of M3s.

By the time the GTS was announced in 2010 there had already been a plethora of E92 M3 special editions, but as soon as we saw the first image of the Fire orange missile it was clear that this was no

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M3 GTS vs M4 GTS

You’re rewarded by a glorious V8 that bellows its approval the harder you rev it

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normal E92, tarted up with some fancy colours and trim. While it was very clearly aimed at the trackorientated buyer its limited production numbers (just 138 were made, 25 in RHD format) and stratospheric price (£117,500 in 2010) meant that the majority of these fine beasts were destined for collections. At the car’s heart was a thoroughly reworked S65 V8, whose capacity was upped to 4361cc via an increase in stroke to 82mm (up from 75.2mm). In combination with a titanium exhaust system this gave an increased output of 450hp at 8300rpm while torque was usefully swelled by 30lb ft to 325lb ft at 3750rpm.

Just one transmission was offered, the seven-speed M DCT, and even this was reworked with a modified oil capacity and GTS-specific software.

Underneath were a set of fully-adjustable coilovers replacing the traditional standard setup and there was no EDC option here. Ride height was dropped by 16mm at the front and 12mm at the rear and stopping was taken care of by upgraded brakes – 378x32mm discs up front clamped by six-piston callipers, with 380x28mm items at the rear gripped by four-piston callipers. Wheels were the Y-spoke M359 19-inch items – nine inches wide at the front and ten inches at the rear – and these were painted matt black and fitted with Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber of 255 and 285 widths, front and rear respectively.

Externally there were black kidney grilles and side gills along with an adjustable front and rear spoiler setup. In some markets you could spec no radio and no air-con for the full track car effect, but UK cars came with both of these items as standard. The rear seats were dropped – replaced by a half cage – and,

as we’ve already touched upon, the door trim panels were lightened, too. All in all it was a pretty mouthwatering prospect. And sitting resplendent here today there’s not much I’d change about it, although I do have a slightly irrational hatred of rear spoilers that are plonked onto the middle of bootlids… wouldn’t an M3 CSL ducktail item have worked almost as well? Or couldn’t it have been left in the boot, à la the original E9 CSL, for owners to fit if they were so inclined?

My first chance to sample the M4 GTS is a little frustrating as all I have to do is meander it around the car park while Smithy repositions the cars to his liking, but even so I can feel the M3 GTS’s genes in here, even if on first acquaintance they seem to have been given a slightly plusher finish. The ditching of rear seats and fitting a cage formula has been repeated, as has the swathes of carbon trim and extensive use of Alcantara. The seats themselves are somewhat plusher, although still of the racing bucket variety, but their outer sections are finished in nicely stitched leather as are parts of the dash. Lightweight door trim panels are retained and have rather natty little fabric door pulls with which to close them, but this does seem a little bit at odds with the full iDrive and sat nav being present in the car and also leave you nowhere to store your wallet and phone. All this immediately becomes a very minor gripe when you thumb the starter button, though, as this M4 GTS sounds like a standard M4 that’s been to the gym for months on end and taken a severe and lifethreatening dose of steroids, with a threatening metallic rasping sound emanating from its titanium exhaust system. I can’t wait to give it some beans, but

E92 M3 GTS ENGINE: V8, 32-valve, DOHC CAPACITY: 4361cc MAX POWER: 450hp @ 8300rpm MAX TORQUE: 325lb ft @ 3750rpm 0-62MPH: 4.4 seconds TOP SPEED: 190mph ECONOMY: 22.2mpg EMISSIONS (CO²): 295g/km WEIGHT (EU): 1605kg TRANSMISSION: Seven-speed M DCT STEERING: Hydraulic rack and pinion

48 BMWcar

SUSPENSION: Three-way M coilover suspension BRAKES FRONT: 378x32mm vented and drilled discs, six-piston callipers REAR: 380x28mm vented and drilled discs, four-piston callipers WHEELS: 9x19-inch (front), 10x19-inch (rear) Black Y-spoke M359 alloys TYRES: Pirelli P Zero Corsa FRONT: 255/35 ZR19 REAR: 285/30 ZR19 PRICE (OTR 2010): £117,630

for the time being I’ll have to make do with looking at the spec sheet while Smithy snaps away.

The M4 GTS’s additional power isn’t achieved with a capacity increase but with water injection to the intake system. This innovative set up allows the 3.0-litre turbocharged ‘six to work more efficiently at higher loads, the fine water spray being injected into the intake manifold plenum where it evaporates to significantly lower the temperature of intake air, down by around 25 degrees. The result is 500hp at 6250rpm and a torque output of 442lb ft at 4000-5500rpm – good enough to drop the GTS’s 0-62mph time to 3.8 seconds, half-a-second quicker than a standard M4 Coupé.

Like the M3 GTS, the M4 version has also been given a bit of an exterior makeover with an adjustable front splitter and another rear spoiler that’s been plonked onto the bootlid. According to BMW, at maximum chat (i.e at 190mph) these can provide up to another 93kg of downforce at the back and an additional 28kg over the front axel – impressive figures but not something that does much for the overall look of the car to my eyes. The bootlid and the shapely new bonnet are both constructed from carbon fibre to keep weight down and the Style 666M latticework alloys (new for the GTS) are also said to pare a little weight from the car, too.

I’m not quite sure who within BMW thought that ‘Acid’ orange would be a good hue for the highlights on the GTS but it adorns the wheels, roll-cage and front spoiler lip, and while it looks okay inside the car to my eyes it cheapens the exterior. Each to their own and all that. Those wheels measure 9.5x19 inches at

044-051 BMWCAR 0217 06/01/2017 15:36 Page 49

M3 GTS vs M4 GTS

F82 M4 GTS ENGINE: Straight-six, 32-valve, turbocharged CAPACITY: 2979cc MAX POWER: 500hp @ 6250rpm MAX TORQUE: 442lb ft @ 4000-5500rpm 0-62MPH: 3.8 seconds TOP SPEED: 190mph ECONOMY: 33.2mpg EMISSIONS (CO²): 199g/km WEIGHT (EU): 1585kg TRANSMISSION: Seven-speed M DCT STEERING: Electric PAS with M Servotronic

SUSPENSION: Three-way M coilover suspension BRAKES FRONT: 400x38mm carbon ceramic discs, six-piston callipers REAR: 380x28mm carbon ceramic discs, four-piston callipers WHEELS: 9.5x19-inch (front), 10.5x20-inch (rear) Silver/Orange Star-spoke 666M alloys TYRES: Michelin Pilot SuperSport FRONT: 265/35 ZR19 REAR: 285/30 ZR20 PRICE (OTR 2016): £120,500

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the front and 10x20 inches at the rear and are fitted with 265/35 and 285/30 Michelin Pilot SuperSports front and rear respectively. Nestling behind them are the tell-tale gold callipers that indicate that all M4 GTSs come equipped with the M Carbon Ceramic brakes – with whopping 400mm discs up front. Fade should not be a problem for the M4.

Like its M3 predecessor the fancy EDC system has been junked in favour of a fully-adjustable coilover setup and the anti-roll bars and the steering have both been recalibrated to take advantage of changes elsewhere. All in all it promises pretty devastating performance potential.

And now that Smithy’s satisfied with his static and detail images it’s time to put these two monsters through their paces for some moving pictures. We’re obviously not going to be getting any flat-out track action here, but given the value of both of these cars – each of them are worth considerably more than their initial purchase price – we don’t envisage that many owners ragging them round a circuit on track days. I elect to sample the M3 again first as I didn’t really give it the full beans on first acquaintance and, once again, firing up that glorious V8 sends tingles up my spine. It’s similar in volume to the M4 but I’d argue it’s a more cultured sound, busier and with a more organic timbre. The bottom line is that no matter what you do to a turbocharged lump, it’s never going to sound quite as glorious as a naturally aspirated one.

After several runs I’m familiar with the road and the M3 is thoroughly warmed through. I push a little harder than I’d been before. The engine thrives on revs and you need to keep an eye on the rev counter – not to check whether you’re about to over-rev it but to make sure you’re using all the 8300rpm that’s available. It feels unburstable and pulls harder and harder the further you go. The flip side of the coin is

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that while doing this you really need to make sure the road surface is completely dry – try it on one of the tree covered sections that are still damp and the M3 can become a rather unruly beast rather quickly, snapping sideways through full-bore gear changes… and that’s with the traction control engaged. It might only be six or seven years old but it feels like more of an old-school bruiser that needs to be treated with respect. As speeds rise the chassis that felt somewhat firm and recalcitrant at low speeds comes alive and you’re never in any doubt as to what the car’s doing underneath you – something that’s really helped by the hip-hugging seats which help to make you really feel part of the action. I’m glad of the air-con, though, as working the M3 hard gives you quite a workout and what with the occasional twitch from the chassis I’m starting to feel a little hot under the collar.

It doesn’t take long for the V8 to drain the fuel tank, though, so it’s time to swap cars and discover what the new car can bring to the party. Once again the noise impresses but it sounds like one hasn’t got quite the whole orchestra playing when you compare it to the V8 M3. It still sounds good, just not quite as awesome as the M3. At slower speeds it feels a little more comfortable, too. Not quite as agitated and hardcore as its predecessor but push a little further and it immediately feels like the quicker car, especially in the mid-range. It’s a little lighter than the M3 (by 20kg in road-going trim) and with more power and significantly more torque this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. It too can feel pretty unruly, though, and unlike the M3 this can happen more or less anywhere in the rev range thanks to the ‘six’s prodigious torque. Give the throttle an overenthusiastic prod when you’re on a damp patch and the M4 GTS will alter its course significantly… and not always in a good way. We may have become a little blasé about how good modern traction control

systems are but there’s only so much they can do, and you soon learn to respect the loud pedal in the M4. Gentle inputs are the order of the day if you want to keep looking through the windscreen. It seems to be a little more conservatively set up for road use and rides some of the bumps and troughs better than the M3. It’s not exactly cosseting but you feel your kidneys are getting less of a workout in the M4 GTS. Both cars offer a mix of modern and old-school engineering with their suspensions in particular eschewing the modern fad for electronic dampers to try and make the car all things to all men. No doubt these can be individually tailored to each driver’s requirements and I’m sure that they could be softened off a little more than in the configurations in which I drove them (which would certainly have suited the conditions better). On the other hand, their clever transmissions, different modes and throttle responses demonstrate everything that’s great about the modern performance car and really can’t be faulted in operation as far as I’m concerned.

Ultimately both these machines offer driver appeal and involvement by the barrel load. They’re an intoxicating mix of everything M knows about making its cars as fast and as exciting as they can possibly be and both reward the committed driver with an invigorating and involving driver experience. Neither of them will suffer fools gladly and in the wrong, or overenthusiastic, hands they could be a massive handful, but driven properly with the road conditions in mind they’re absolutely stunning and hilariously fun to drive. Forced to choose between them and I’d be stepping towards the Fire orange M3. To my mind it just seems that little bit more focused, that little bit more involving, and with that engine to play with I don’t think I’d ever get bored. We won’t see its like again for some time… ●

044-051 BMWCAR 0217 06/01/2017 15:36 Page 51

M3 GTS vs M4 GTS

Push a little further and it immediately feels like the quicker car, especially in the mid-range

FEBRUARY 2017 51

052 BMWCAR 0217 19/12/2016 13:37 Page 52

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053 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 11:56 Page 51

Classics

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ALL THE LATEST GOINGS-ON IN THE CLASSIC BMW WORLD

58 Stunning M1 Procar fit for the road.

54

Market watch We have a look at the ups and downs of the E9 Coupé market.

66

E24 JPS racer We chart the history of one of Australia’s most stunning race cars.

72

Restored 2002 A wonderful 2002 from Ecuador that was saved from a sticky end.

78

Oldtimer Grand Prix All the BMW highlights from Germany’s premier historic event.

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054-056 BMWCAR 0217 04/01/2017 15:12 Page 54

Marketwatch:

E9 CS Coupés This month we take a break from the auction floor and have a look at the E9 Coupé with the help of the BMW Car Club’s John Castle and Nick Hull from the club’s CS register t is now eight years since Nick and John restarted the BMW Car Club’s CS Register and over the ensuing years they have been able to add to the register’s knowledge and database by carefully sifting through remaining records on the cars while also looking at cars for sale and being informed of cars by the club’s members. It’s still incredibly difficult to place a firm value on an E9 Coupé as there are many factors to take into consideration and sometimes one begins to doubt the sanity of both buyers and sellers and the open market prices which sellers can ask for and buyers are prepared to pay.

I

The CSL Currently we are experiencing the steepest rise in values that John has seen since restarting the register. He puts this down to: the gradual increase in values due to inflation; the increase due to the relatively fixed number of cars being chased by more buyers; the increase in repair and restoration costs; and just possibly the limited number of fully restored cars coming to the market place through dealers. At the very top end of the market a small number of CSLs have emerged from extensive restorations with sellers setting their asking prices to recoup their restoration costs and

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054-056 BMWCAR 0217 04/01/2017 15:12 Page 55

CLASSIC FOCUS make a profit. Some of these cars are probably of a better quality than new due to modern paints and restoration techniques. There has also been the emergence of modified CSLs, where owners have used restorations to increase engine power, lower the suspension, improve the brakes and transmissions, and add aerodynamic aids. Whereas in the past alterations away from original specifications have lowered values, they are less likely to today as there is a growing demand for personalised CSLs which can be used regularly as an alternative to the concours garage queens.

With top values increasing, this is stretching the values of the mid-condition cars and, alarmingly, at the bottom of the range, the project cars. An example of this was seen at Bonhams’ Beaulieu sale earlier this year where what can only be described as a project car sold for an eye-watering £64,200. The car had the typical serious E9 shell corrosion and, at today’s prices, it would cost in the region of £35k to £40k to have it put right and to have the shell stripped, undersealed, cavity waxed and a period colour respray. Even if most of the trim is reused there is still the engine, transmission, suspension and brakes to restore – say another £20k giving and an all up price for the car, MoT ready, of around £120k minimum. Yet this is the current value of a concours CSL which will be almost perfect. So how does the CS Register treat a project value CSL in the table over the page? £20,000, which is what the register suggests, or £60,000 because we have a crazy recent example? It’s quite a conundrum.

Providing accurate information as to the surviving numbers of CSLs in the UK is still difficult, even with a plethora of information to go on. The one certainty is that 500 right-hand drive ‘City Pack’ CSLs were built.

A few were retained by BMW Munich but the register does not have an exact number. Of these 500 the register has 183 cars on which it has had some data since 1992. There are a further 50 cars and registrations from pictures and advertisements which cannot be linked to a VIN and must be considered unreliable because some might not be CSLs and are not therefore counted in the 183.

CSI/CSA After seven years of compiling the register, Nick now says he is at last seeing some conclusive results. One of the original aims was to get a clearer picture of the numbers of surviving cars in the UK – not an easy task given that there is no record of the numbers of E9s sold originally by BMW UK. This is in marked contrast to the CSL where the starting point of 500 UK cars was widely established, making the job of estimating the numbers of likely survivors today much more predictable.

The accumulation of data on specific cars means the register is also able to provide useful background information for new owners who join the register, such as previous rebuilds or colour changes undertaken during the car’s life. All this adds to the body of knowledge on E9s in the UK and is becoming a valuable asset for the classic car market in ensuring that E9 values continue to increase. For instance, now the register has established the scarcity of early 2800s

(just eight examples each of manual and automatic remain) and the 3.0CS manual (just 16 examples remain) this means the very best examples may well be set for a hefty price rise as soon as word spreads about their rarity.

With prices of CSLs reaching new highs, the formerly undervalued CSi is becoming recognised as possibly the nicest of the E9 series. With the same performance from the near-identical 200hp injection engine as the CSL, a less fragile all-steel body, and far better seats, it is also ironically much rarer in the UK than the ‘limited edition City Pack’ CSL with just 87 examples on the register’s records. Is that CSL VIN number really worth another £30,000?

Previously underrated CSAs appear to have found a renewed following, particularly later Phase 2 CSAs with the Borg Warner ’box. For today’s usage as a weekend classic car the auto CSA is a very satisfying drive. It’s not a CSL but it still turns heads.

Market Observations With a healthy interest in restoring E9s over the past decade, we are seeing fewer numbers of restoration cars coming on the market, and those that do are being swiftly snapped up on eBay for around £6000£7000. With rising values, it now makes more economic sense to take on such projects depending on condition, with a restored end value of possibly £25,000 for a CS/CSA being a tempting goal.

However, don’t expect that base price for an unrestored car to increase much since the balance of the cost of restoration and final value is still very slim, except for CSLs. However, existing owners should not become complacent about their E9s, particularly average condition cars, with some cosmetic rust, and slightly tatty interiors or doors that do not shut smoothly – always an E9 weakness. Cars that were competently restored in the 1990s are actually quite vulnerable now and are likely to need considerable sums spending to get them up to an acceptable saleable condition to achieve these latest valuations.

Expectations have risen accordingly. Prices achieved for the best cars reflect the need for the very highest standards of condition, with immaculate bodywork and unblemished or even new chrome parts.

Likewise, the engine bay, where standards of body restoration and welding of inner front wings are far

higher today than in the past and grubby-looking engines are now unacceptable. Interiors for the best cars are likely to have been fully restored and retrimmed, using new 2002-style carpet and trim materials now available through Jaymic.

A further word of caution for current owners. Rising prices mean you should regularly update the insurance value of your car. In addition, you shouldn’t skimp on maintenance now if you want your car to even maintain its current value. ‘Little and often’ is the key thing. For many E9 owners, suddenly your £30,000 asset is definitely worth forking out for on a decent service at a known BMW specialist, giving it some new discs or bushes in order to keep it up to scratch. Every £1000 spent on it now is likely to directly add to its ongoing value and avoids a big restoration bill at some point in the future when you do wish to cash it in – not to mention making it far nicer to drive too!

On this note, doing home maintenance on E9s is becoming far less of an advantage in this market since today’s buyers expect to see regular maintenance bills as part of the ongoing provenance of the car. You may have been proud of your ongoing maintenance skills since you bought it for a few grand some 15 years ago but don’t expect anybody else to trust your work when they buy it.

E9 Spares availability Sadly, there are an increasing number of key restoration items which are no longer available. The stock of pistons is dwindling and some sizes are no longer available although piston rings are. D-Jetronic fuel injection parts now have to be restored by licenced specialists at considerable cost, brake callipers are being rejected for restoration due to heavy corrosion and the stock of trim items is getting smaller.

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The Value Spread The register bases its values using three categories: high, medium and low. High values are those for cars which are used regularly, are carefully maintained with good provenance, but are not quite in concours condition, although easily within reach. Medium values are for cars which are used regularly, have an MoT and some provenance, but have minor blemishes which can be rectified in terms of mechanical or body work at a reasonable cost to move them into the high category. Low values are for cars, usually without an MoT and/or with mechanical and body shell defects, which need attention before the car can be used. In some cases these values will just be for parts where a bodyshell is beyond

recovery. Mileage really does not come into the assessment of value after 40 years – it is condition and provenance which is all important. Our estimate for a fully restored bodyshell nicely painted in an original BMW classic colour is now about £35,000.

In the register’s view the spread of prices is getting wider, with the value of cars at the top stretching away from cars with less provenance and lower condition due to the difficulty and increase in costs for putting things right. At the bottom of the food chain, the false market for project cars has, if anything, got worse with claims made in advertisements about the likely cost of repairs or restoration of bodyshell defects being downright misleading. We cannot stress

strongly enough the need for prospective owners to have a potential purchase carefully checked by someone who knows what to look for before parting with any cash and remember that provenance is king – you will be buying a car’s past and it is essential you have some evidence of how it has been looked after before you buy it ●

CONTACT: BMW Car Club CS Register If you have a CS, or know of one, that’s not known to the club John Castle and Nick Hull would be delighted to hear about it.

Email: bmwcsregister2@btinternet.com

UK E9 CS Coupé numbers and valuations MODEL

BUILD NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER ON HIGHEST PRICE SEEN HIGH MEDIUM LOW YEARS BUILT SOLD IN UK UK REGISTER IN PAST 12 MONTHS VALUATION VALUATION VALUATION 2800CS: 12/68-03/71 6283 ~100 8 – £25,000 £18,000 £5000 Notes: All built LHD. Converted to RHD by BMW Concessionaires, Dover. Value due to rarity.

2800CSA: 06/69-03/71 1949 ~100 8 – £22,000 £13,000 £4000 Notes: All built LHD. Converted to RHD by BMW Concessionaires, Dover. Value due to rarity.

3.0 CS: 04/71-10/73 4006 ~160 15 £40,000 £21,000 £17,000 £6000 Notes: All built LHD. Converted to RHD by BMW Concessionaires, Dover, although there is some suggestion that cars built after mid-1972 were built as RHD. Value due to rarity.

3.0 CSi (Phase 1): 07/71-10/73 6506 200?

87 (inc Phase 2) – £30,000 £22,000 £7000 Notes: All built LHD. Assumed to be converted to RHD by BMW Concessionaires, Dover, although there is some suggestion that cars built after mid-1972 were built as RHD. Values for RHD cars.

3.0 CSi (Phase 2): 11/73-11/75 207 200 87 (inc Phase 1) £35,600 £35,000 £25,000 £9000 Notes: All built RHD. A very popular and practical classic. Post ‘73 cars often higher priced due to Alpina wheels, leather interiors and sunroofs.

3.0 CSA: 09/71-11/75 4812 500?

65 £45,000 (ex-NZ car) £28,000 £20,000 £6000 Notes: All built LHD. Production numbers include post-10/73 LHD cars after which a UK RHD model was offered (see below). Pre-10/73 cars were converted to RHD by BMW Concessionaires, Dover. Less popular than the CSi due to three-speed auto transmission.

3.0 CSA: 11/73-11/75 215 200? (included above) – £28,000 £20,000 £6000 Notes: All built RHD with vinyl roof and Alpina wheels. Changed to three-speed Borg Warner gearbox 3.0 CSL (City Pack): 09/72-01/73 500 500 183 £120,000 £110,000 £80,000 £30,000 Notes: All built RHD. Very few low condition (projects) examples about. Mostly high condition and a fair number of medium condition examples.

3.0 CSL (LHD)*: 09/72-07/73 429* Not known ~2 None sold in UK £120,000 £70,000 £30,000 Notes: This was the build run of D-Jetronic cars which followed on from the early run of 169 carburettor cars. They are genuine lightweights without the heavier city packs. * The 169 carburettor cars are not included in this production figure 3.0 CSL Batmobile: 08/73-12/73 110 Not known 6 None sold in UK £150,000 £100,000 £30,000 Notes: Series 1 Batmobiles with the FIA homologated aerodynamic package supplied unfitted lying in the boot. Some of these cars were ordered with City Pack items.

3.2 CSL Batmobile: 04/74-11/75 57 4 4 €130,000 £180,000 £120,000 – Notes: 57 were built, mostly to order, and can be distinguished by the additional centre fin supporting the rear wing. A majority of these cars were also City Pack specification.

56 BMWcar

057 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 10:24 Page 57

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058-064 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 10:38 Page 58

The

Eighth Wonder

58 BMWcar

058-064 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 10:38 Page 59

M1 PROCAR

BMW’s jewel-like M1 is a rare and desirable art piece, while its Procar sibling is a terrifying, jawdropping brute. So what happens when you combine the two…?

Words: Daniel Bevis Photography: Zach Todd he ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ is an annoying list, as there are far more than seven things on it. The ancient wonders include the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, among other dusty but magnificent relics, while updated lists have brought such marvels as Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal to the party; then people start talking about the ‘New Seven Wonders’ – the Golden Gate Bridge, the Channel Tunnel, the internet – and it all starts to get a bit silly. But the single element that ties all of these together is that they’re man-made things that really shouldn’t exist at all, owing to the complexity and improbability of their coming into being. And with that criterion in mind, it’s only fair to add the BMW M1 to the list.

Simply looking at it should be all the justification you need (and if you’re still wavering, hearing it is pretty special too), but it’s the story of its gestation that truly helps the M1 to qualify as a bona fide Wonder. Back in 1972, Paul Bracq developed a concept car for BMW, the BMW Turbo, which evolved into the M1 with Jochen Neerpasch’s hand on the tiller: designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, Lamborghini was contracted to hammer together 400 cars for Group 4 racing homologation. But Lamborghini’s finances were shaky back then, and BMW had to cancel the contract thanks to the supercar manufacturer, er, going bankrupt. Bit of a setback. So a new plan was devised, with a serpentine structure that meant Marchese would build tubular frames while TIR crafted the fibreglass bodies; Ital Design would marry the two and install the interior. This would then be sent to Baur for engine and transmission installation, before being shipped to BMW’s M Division to add its own finishing flourishes.

T

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“During the process of disassembly, interesting telltales of 094’s Procar genesis began to surface…”

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M1 PROCAR By the time all this had happened, the M1’s intended race series had dissolved into the ether, so Neerpasch set up Procar – a series in which the top five F1 qualifiers would compete against 15 privateers. Ultimately 430 M1s were built, with 40 M1 Procars specifically for racing. In a nutshell, then, a tortured and absurd evolutionary process resulting in a car that shouldn’t exist, almost didn’t, and is now pretty damn obscure.

We should all, however, be grateful that it does.

And thanks to the efforts of California-based dreamweavers Canepa, this particular example is the candidate we’d put forward as the Eighth Wonder of the World. It’s as close as it’s possible to get to finding a life-size Hot Wheels toy; a car that marries road car M1 appointments with Procar aggression, and looks for all the world like something you’d buy in a colourful blister pack in Toys ‘R’ Us. “This is a one-of-a-kind, road-going Procar, one of the original 40 Procar M1 chassis,” explains Canepa’s resident historian John Ficarra. “It started life as a spare car for the Procar Championship racing series, but M1 #094 would never see the race track. It would later be assembled as a road car by BMW and delivered to the dealer BMW AG Niederlassung, where it was sold as a series production car; its first owner from Mainz, Germany purchased it in November 1979. In October ’81 it moved on to what’s believed to be the first owner’s daughter, and it was then sold to an artist who used the car as a canvas featured in expositions and newspapers.”

The M1 is an unusual car, but 094 enjoyed a more unusual start than most. By 1983 it found itself at the German BMW dealer, AHG, which fitted its special Studie package – company owner Peter Gartemann envisaged a road-going interpretation of the Procar as a sort of design study, limited to just ten units and available only to well-heeled enthusiasts and factory race drivers. The cherry on the cake was an Art Carstyle paint job by German wizard Hermann Altmiks.

Everything about Canepa’s M1 screams quality – from the exquisite engine bay to the front compartment and the neat fuel fillers

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“Upon confirming its history, the decision was made to build it into a Procar, completing its destiny from 37 years earlier”

In this outlandishly decorated guise, the car enjoyed a relatively high-profile lifestyle after being brought over to the USA in early 1984; its new owner, a collector, was active in the BMW scene until the late’90s, at which point it was decided to put the M1 into long-term storage. But this hibernation period wasn’t an ignominious or unfair coda to the life of an outrageous Bavarian curio – it was simply playing the waiting game. Because when the car emerged in 2012, big things were in store for it…

“094 was brought to Canepa, at which point it was thoroughly examined,” says John. “Its physical condition called for a complete resto, so the car was disassembled and work began on a full ground-up restoration. The car was found to be corrosion-free, and had never been involved in an accident.

Furthermore, during the process of disassembly, interesting telltales of 094’s Procar genesis began to surface: holes for the original wing under the paint, adjustable suspension points, deletion of the door

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pads for the electric mirrors, and various Procarspecific brackets. So, upon confirming its history, the decision was made to build it into a Procar, completing its destiny from 37 years earlier. The only twist would be that this would be a Procar for the street.” What Canepa were planning here, in essence, was a sort of double-whammy of historical impact.

That early conversion by AHG sought to create a roadgoing racer, but the plan now was to take that concept a stage further, to fulfil the car’s destiny as a genuine race car while also respecting its history as a road-legal machine. And so the experts set to work.

Now, Canepa is nothing if not thorough – it’s what makes it world-class – so it seemed logical to the company to bring a genuine Procar into the shop in order to measure and photograph every element, to ensure accuracy in its own build. Its goal was to incorporate as many genuine, period parts as possible, which is why rooting around inside the car today will reveal pukka Procar suspension uprights, hubs, control

arms, tie rods, axles, and mirrors, along with that iconic body kit and rear wing. The BBS centre-locks are correct too, their centres having been crackchecked and the outers rebuilt with new rims.

Of course, no matter how dedicated the team and how pure the intent, it’s a fact of restoration reality that finding parts for old race cars doesn’t always go the right way – particularly when the car in question is so obscure and short-lived. In this case, the unobtainium presented itself in the form of the original Procar brake callipers. They just can’t be found. But fear not, because Canepa is a hotbed of lateral thinking…

“We fitted larger Brembo callipers, of the type found on the Porsche 962,” John explains, doing an admirable job of keeping a straight face as he reveals this ineffably impressive piece of news. “These callipers clamp down on 13-inch Porsche 935 discs attached to original Procar bells. The increase to 17inch rims allow for ample spacing for the new

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M1 PROCAR

The underside of the M1 has been treated to the same attention to detail as the bodywork; brakes are Porsche 962 and 935 items

M1 Procar ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION: M88/1 3.5-litre straight-six, Motec electronic fuel injection, ZF five-speed manual transaxle CHASSIS: 10x17-inch (front) and 12.5x17-inch (rear) period BBS centre-locks with custom wheel fans; 265/40 (front) and 335/35 (rear) Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, Porsche 962 Brembo callipers with Porsche 935 discs, custom Penske coilovers EXTERIOR: Full body restoration, modified Procar aero kit, Basalt Blau paint INTERIOR: Full modern heat and sound deadening, full retrim in black leather, grey wool carpets, ashtray, electric mirror switch, door air vents, and manual window caps deleted

callipers, and at all four corners are custom Penske coilovers – thanks to the factory-installed adjustable suspension points the car sits low, and with a stance that befits a Procar.” Yes, there’s certainly no arguing with that. And with all of this going on, there was further mischief afoot in the engine bay.

“The M88 motor was sent out to VAC Motorsports for a high performance rebuild,” he continues. “It’s now fitted with period Motec electronic fuel injection, and is putting out 414hp and 357lb ft (360hp and 310lb ft at the wheels); the fuel injection was cleverly hidden, and the engine retains its stock mechanical injection look. The ZF five-speed manual transaxle was rebuilt by Vintage Racing Motors Inc, and all the gauges were rebuilt and now show a 7700rpm redline, as well as a 200mph speedometer.”

The M1 Procar’s trump card, naturally, is its sense of visual drama. One might argue that this car has enjoyed this element more than most, thanks to its faux-Art Car past, but Canepa’s plan was to amp up

the period drama with a certain understated flair. Well, as understated as a 1970s supercar with a whacking great spoiler on the back is possible to be! Hundreds of hours were spent blocking the fibreglass shell to ensure everything was laser-straight, and the reassembly was painstaking to ensure that the panel gaps were better than factory standard. “We went as far as giving the normally unseen chassis rails a concours finish,” John explains. “The front flares on the original Procars were slightly oversized in the day, and we took the opportunity to narrow and reshape them so they fit over the wheels more accurately, and better match the proportions of the rears.”

And the real visual hook, the thing that serves up the most intense hit of drama, is the colour choice.

It’s Basalt Blau, a factory BMW shade that was never offered to the public on an M1, but was featured on four special examples built for BMW board members.

When we spoke of this being like a lifesize Hot Wheels toy, it’s the paint hue more than anything that

fulfils the devastatingly rakish aesthetic.

While the car’s been fastidiously hand-crafted to concours standard, the artisans at Canepa couldn’t help themselves from having a little fun with it; sure, it’s so flawless it’ll make BMW historians weep with joy, it’s not 100 percent true to how a Procar would have rolled off the assembly block. You knew this anyway, of course, given that it’s both a road car and a race car in one – but this did allow the restoration team a little scope for creativity.

“We added numerous custom touches to the build,” says John. “Most noticeable are the dry-break fuel fillers behind the rear buttress quarterlights.

Machined from billet aluminium, these functional drybreaks can also spin off like traditional fuel caps allowing the car to be filled at any gas station! And fitted to the original wheels are period-looking, handmade wheel fans. Also, to give the car a clean, finished look, all the body fasteners were hidden.”

The final piece of this fantasy-garage jigsaw puzzle

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CONTACT Canepa Web: www.canepa.com

came in the form of the interior, as clearly it couldn’t be a stripped-out cavern if it were to be a genuinely usable road car. So the Canepa upholsterers retrimmed the tasteful 1970s guts in soft black leather, with grey stitching to complement the paint, after the whole cabin had been treated to a festival of modern heat and sound insulation. The ashtray, electric mirror switch, door air vents, and manual window caps were deleted in order to tidy things up, and the carpets are now of a fine wool pile in a darker shade of grey.

“The completed car made its debut in the paddock of the 2016 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,” John beams, “and it was an immediate hit.” We don’t doubt it. It takes a very brave team to tear apart a car of such rarity and with such a bizarre back-story, but this is no ordinary team: the sympathy of the concept and the quality of the work have written a new chapter in 094’s history. Truly, justifiably, one of the world’s great wonders ●

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SIMPLY THE BEST The very last Group A 635 CSi Team JPS BMW ever made now resides in a Queensland shed. We checked it out Words and photography: Chris Nicholls

t takes some skill to overcome a 160hp loss over the off-season and still win the championship, but then again, Jim Richards never lacked skill. And neither did Sir Frank Gardner or his JPS team, who put together an E24 for the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship that, despite the power loss the change from Group C to Group A rules necessitated (they had to go from the 24-valve, 455hp M88 to the 12-valve, 295hp M30), still managed to win seven out of ten races that year and all bar one round of the Australian Endurance Championship (where ‘Gentleman Jim’ was paired with Tony Longhurst). It is, no doubt, also testament to the fantastic base BMW provided them with in the first place.

However, few fairytale runs last, and so it proved in the ‘86 season, where an ever-strengthening opposition (led by Robbie Francevic in his turbo Volvo) overtook the now-ageing BMW and relegated Jim to third overall. However, the 635 did still win the endurance championship after a win at Amaroo Park, a second at Surfers Paradise, a fifth at Sandown (again shared with Tony Longhurst), a sixth at

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GROUP A E24 635CSi

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Bathurst, a third at Calder Park and finally another second at Oran Park in December.

It’s important to note, though, that while Jim and the JPS team only finished third for the year, it wasn’t for lack of trying to get the most out of the soon-tobe-retired E24 chassis. Knowing they would be in for a hard fight in 1986, Gardner and his team at their Terrey Hills workshop in Sydney’s north built a car some thought was even better than the Schnitzer cars out of Germany. Starting with a slightly stiffer chassis, thanks to a second rear cross brace on the bolt-in aluminium cage (safety regulations being rather different back then), they also increased wheel sizes from 16- to 17-inch, fitted wider rubber and made revisions to the engine via an improved head, intake, exhaust and exhaust manifold. The result was an estimated 25-plus horsepower gain and more grip.

Combined with the already stable handling of the long-wheelbase chassis, these changes meant that, while still down on power compared to its rivals, the ‘86 model 635 CSi was at nowhere near the disadvantage that you’d think compared to cars like the aforementioned Volvo and George Fury and Glen Seton’s fire-breathing DR30 Skyline.

“Jimmy Richards, who raced every 635 they had

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except for the very first one, tells everyone that it is the best one they ever built,” says current custodian Chris Bowden, whom you’ll likely remember from our other features on the Bowden Collection’s rare, classic BMW racers. “It was the last one they built, and all the evolutionary updates and tricks the JPS team had learnt along the way got poured into that one chassis.

It was a pretty special car.”

Special yes, but not perfect. Trying to screw that much power out of such an inherently compromised engine meant driveability suffered, with Chris saying that “there’s literally nothing going on below 4000rpm”. Combined with a lack of power steering, the huge amount of caster and the wide slick tyres it runs, he says getting it out of the pits is “an absolute nightmare”, and apparently it doesn’t even get that much better on track until you’re pushing it to the ragged edge: “It’s basically set to kill, which is beautiful when you’re on a race track and up it, but in every other scenario it’s just hard work.” Jim himself clearly agrees with this assessment, saying in a past interview that “it was the best 635 I drove… you had to drive it hard, though!”.

While this all makes it sound like this machine was a bit of a monster, it was still a total peach compared

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GROUP A E24 635CSi

with some of its Group A rivals, due to BMW’s emphasis on total balance over outright power. “You get out of your 1986 635 and you step into, say a 1987 Group A RS500 and they’re an absolute handful,” Chris says. “Every single lap, you’re having a stoush with it, but the 635’s just lovely. Really, really nice.” He goes onto state that as a result, if he was in an endurance race, he’d choose a 635 every time as “they just look after you the whole race”.

“Maybe that’s a little bit of a BMW calling card, actually,” he says. “I can’t think of one BMW I’ve ever driven where the engine overpowered the chassis.

The chassis are always extremely well-built, so it makes for a very nice, stable car.”

So how did this last ever factory-built JPS 635, a machine with such a great pedigree, make its way to

the Bowden Collection? Well, after it was retired, Gardner sold the car to an old friend, Canberra car dealer and amateur racer, Ray Gulson, who also got a log-booked spare Schnitzer shell for his troubles, along with the usual spares like engines and diffs. Ray campaigned the car, along with son Graham and daughter Tania, for over a decade, and actually raced it for so long that Gardner was able to come and help spanner for the team after he retired.

Clearly, Ray enjoyed the car just as much as Jim did too, as one article quoted him as saying the 635 was the best race car he’d ever owned, complete with “sensational” handling and fantastic reliability.

However, even though he loved the car so much he kept it for five years after Australian rules banned Group A machines at the end of 1993, eventually a

desire for business-related expansion capital pushed him to sell it in 1999 to a Sydney BMW dealership.

Apparently, at this point BMW Australia itself stepped into restore the historically-significant car at a cost of AU$150,000 – a fortune back then – but the level of work done meant the car was essentially concours condition afterwards, and while the company did originally plan on keeping it to maximise its investment, it later changed its mind and it ended up going to Chris Bowden’s dad, David instead.

“I was away at uni at the time and just came home one day and there it was,” says Chris. “I just couldn’t believe it. It had just been freshly restored by BMW, so it was like a black diamond. It was just flawless. And of course, the spare chassis came with it, which in itself was quite amazing. We did wonder why we’d want

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the shell but it turned out to be a proper motorsports shell and just in beautiful condition. It’s quite a piece so it’s funny how that all came together!”

Indeed, such was the restoration quality, Chris says he and his crew at Ecurie Bowden have never had to do anything mechanically to keep it running bar change the fluids and put fresh rubber on. “The people who restored it for BMW (Chris believes it was likely to be Paddington Smash Repairs in Sydney for the body and Ludwig Sinauer (Team JPS’s chief engineer in ‘87) for the mechanicals), my cap’s off to them, period. They did an incredible job. When the car was done, it could have gone to Pebble Beach.

Very, very impressive. Even to this day, it’s got the same engine as in the mid-to-late ‘90s when they finished it and it’s still the same running gear. We have not had to change a thing on it other than the rubber and fluids. It goes like a jet.”

Having spent time looking around the car during the shoot, we can confirm every word Chris says, too.

The race car-thin paint and iconic gold JPS stickers are still immaculate (no doubt helped by the fact Chris’ brother, Dan, runs the Bowden’s Own car care products business) and every mechanical component is flawless, to the point where even the radiator is still

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mostly unmarked on the inside.

There are a couple of fun little details, too. Look under the regular fuel filler flap and you’ll see an Anderson connector for the battery instead, thanks to the dry-break connectors in the bootlid, and of course, you’ll also note Gentleman Jim’s signature on the dashboard when you poke your head inside. While we’re on the subject of the interior, as with all the Group A E24s (despite weight-saving measures), most of the front half of it, right down to door trims and full dashboard, is still there, which is rather amusing in this day and age.

What doesn’t age at all is this car’s aura. There is simply nothing like standing in front of a genuine Group A legend, especially one that combines the stunning black and gold JPS livery with the equally stunning lines of the sharknose E24. Even by today’s standards, it’s a big car, but has any other large, classic coupé ever managed to look so right? We may be biased, but we think there simply isn’t a bad line, angle or detail on the thing. Like all Group A cars, it also shares that wonderful mix of relatability and mysticism. You know this is basically still the car you could buy off the showroom floor at the time, but equally, there’s this feeling of it being unobtanium,

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GROUP A E24 635CSi

thanks to the knowledge that so much skunkworks expertise went into these machines that replicating them exactly without the actual parts would be nighon impossible. It’s a heady experience.

The great thing is that, like so many of the Bowden cars we have featured over the last 12 months, this particular beast will roar again in anger sometime in the future, too. It won’t just be another classic race car holed up in someone’s collection, never to move again. It will compete. It won’t win, because as Chris points out, Australia’s historic Group A racing rules mean you can run anything up to the 1993 local Group A cut-off (which therefore allows monsters like R32 GT-Rs and RS500s), but that’s not going to stop him having fun. Neither will the car’s incredible condition, because let’s face it, if your team can restore a crashed JPS Group A E30 to the condition of the one in our September 2016 issue, a few paint chips here and there aren’t likely to phase you. It’s great news, and no doubt Australian race fans will be rubbing their hands together in pure delight at the prospect of seeing this lithe beauty stretching its legs once again… ●

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2002

Life or Death Rescue in the

Andes We travel to Ecuador to discover how this 2002 was rescued from an ignominious fate and lovingly brought back to life Words and photography: Robb Pritchard

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he glacier-capped Cotopaxi volcano was obscured by clouds and the storm was coming in fast. “It was smoking this morning,” Alfredo smiled. This wasn’t some hardcore trekking expedition, though, but rather Alfredo Cevallos’ back garden. If I lived on the slopes of the biggest active volcano in the world I don’t think I would be so happy to see it so active!

However, things in Ecuador are often a little different from what I am used to…

Alfredo is the owner of the stunning Schnitzer 3.0 CSi car we featured back in the March 2016 issue, but today I have come to see what he calls his little pride and joy: a pristine 1972 2002 which, considering he owns a Group 5 Batmobile, sounds a bit strange. This car has a personal story, though. Even though he knew it was not going to be an easy task he rescued this little beauty from the ignominious fate of being cut up and turned into a pick-up!

He came across it by accident while visiting a

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mechanic who was working on another car of his.

While waiting for him one morning Alfredo wandered aimlessly around the back of the workshop and came across a very sad sight. Covered in graffiti, all the tyres flat, and grass and moss growing on it, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time. “He said that he was going to restore it, though, and I know he’s a great mechanic – which is why he was working on my car – so I assumed it would soon be joining us in the classic car club. I even suggested some places that he could get some new parts from. But then he said he was going to cut the roof off and make it into a pickup! Of course, I told him it would be crazy to destroy a beautiful classic car like that and I tried to convince him to keep it normal. He wouldn’t listen, though. I actually couldn’t sleep so well that night thinking about it, so in the morning I decided that I couldn’t let it happen and went back to buy it off him.”

At first he didn’t want to sell it and Alfredo had to go back a couple of times to persuade him. Eventually

the mechanic let it go for $1000 and he went back with a winch truck to drag it onto a trailer to bring it home. But, as you might recall from the last feature, Ecuador is possibly the worst place in the world to restore a car. Bringing a dilapidated classic car up to scratch is definitely not something to do on a whim here. The unpopular government has had a decades old law forbidding all but brand-new cars and parts to be imported into the country so getting necessary pieces for a restoration across the border is about as easy as smuggling sausages into a vegetarian convention. Such projects are only taken on by people with serious amounts of disposable income and great connections with import officers.

Alfredo had never worked on a 2002 before so he had no idea how hard it would be to get parts but the first thing he did was to get the engine running because if the mechanical parts were in a bad condition it would be a very big and expensive job. It hadn’t run for at least six years so he filled the

“He said he was going to cut the roof off and make it into a pick-up!”

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2002 cylinders with diesel and rotated the crank slowly by hand. Amazingly, after just a few turns, everything looked to be turning freely. So he put a new battery on it, changed the oil, the filter, and the fuel and water pumps and then just turned the key. “When it fired up and ran it sounded like it was ready for 1000-mile trip so I knew that it wanted to live, that it was a survivor!” says Alfredo.

He put some plastic bags over the mouldy seats and drove it for a little while around the yard to see what the gearbox was like and, apart from an oil seal on the rear axle, it seemed mechanically fine. The brakes were beyond repair, though, so the whole system was replaced with parts he got from the BMW dealer in Quito. Those, it turned out, were the only parts he could get in Ecuador.

Over a few free evenings and weekends some friends came over to help strip the car down to a bare shell so it could be sandblasted and that’s where Alfredo had another pleasant surprise. The bodywork

was in such good condition that only the floor panel on the driver’s side needed repairing. That was it.

There was no rust, no filler anywhere, not even any places that had been repaired before. Unusually for Ecuador, it seemed that it had never been involved in an accident.

Despite the car being in such good condition on the outside, unfortunately there was no hope for the interior. This is where the main cost of the restoration came from as it all had to be imported from Germany.

All the draconian import taxes and fees meant that the seats, carpet, headlining and door panels cost $6000. Another $1200 went on all the chromework as the previous owner had taken it all off and left it out to the elements which meant that everything was rusted and ruined. Fortunately Alfredo found some new parts in the USA that had been in stock for some 40 years just waiting for a needy 2002 to adorn. The chrome gleams like it is new because it is new.

Some of his friends tried to convince Alfredo to

paint the car in a striking ‘sporty’ colour, such as bright yellow or orange, but he has the Schnitzer CSi to drive if he feels the need to be behind the wheel of something outrageous, so he wanted to go with something more classic. Agave green is the colour he chose, understated and dark so it shows off the chrome trim.

Something else that surprisingly withstood the test of time was the wiring. “I was ready to pull it all out and scrap it but it was much better than I imagined so I was careful to look after it during the rebuild,” Alfredo tells us. “The fuse box, most of the fuses, and all the loom is original.” Years of being exposed to the harsh Ecuadorian sun didn’t do much for the rubber so a new window trim and door seals also had to be ordered from Germany.

“For me this car is a real survivor and I saved it from being butchered with an angle grinder, so that gives me a really nice feeling of satisfaction when I drive it. It’s fast, manoeuvrable and easy to drive and

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Above: The roads in this part of Ecuador aren’t up to all that but the restored 2002 copes with just about everything despite Alfredo not having renewed the shock absorbers and springs. Below: The 2002 was in a parlous state before Alfredo bought it and was going to be turned into a pick-up!

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2002

“It’s fast, manoeuvrable and easy to drive…

I drive the 2002 just for the joy of it”

although the CSi is the most fun to drive, I use that exclusively for shows and races. I drive the 2002, however, just for the joy of it.”

The wheels the car came with weren’t BMW ones so when Alfredo got a set of BBS for his 323i E21 he swapped the original Alpina ones over, which look great. The steering wheel is another slight personalisation. When he bought an original Italvolanti for the Schnitzer car he put the old Petri in the 2002, the one the previous owner of the CSi used in road races in the 1970s and 1980s.

Apart from the numerous incapable drivers and roads with some seriously impressive potholes there are a couple of other issues for running classic carburetted cars in Ecuador. As Quito is 3000 metres above sea level, when storms come the difference in atmospheric pressure is enough to have an effect on the running of engines. It was for this reason that there was a misfire. The car fires up with a bark of the glorious sounding exhaust note and we pull out of the yard. We look like flashback to simpler times.

Alfredo lives out in the distant suburbs and the road to his house hasn’t seen any maintenance crews for a long time yet the suspension copes with the bumps and holes – surprising considering that he didn’t change the springs or shocks. It seems that the car was very well looked after before it was abandoned. With the volcano hidden under the clouds and local buses hurtling past the ugly concrete church it perhaps wasn’t a great place for a photoshoot but then, looking across the deep valley, Alfredo points to the dark wall of water coming towards us, a few streaks of lightening ahead of it. “Nope,” he says, ushering me into the passenger seat. “We have to go back.” We speed back to the house, the thunder catching up with us, a few fat drops falling on the window as we turn into the driveway. We get under the porch roof just a moment before the rain really starts. This beautiful 2002 had many years of being left out in the elements so now it is looked after properly! ●

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RACING NIRVANA The Oldtimer Grand Prix should be visited at least once in your lifetime as seeing so many period racing cars in action in one place is a wonderful experience Words and photography: Jeroen de Laat e travelled to the ’Ring to attend the Oldtimer Grand Prix, the annual classic racing party by Germany’s largest automobile owners’ association: the Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD). Trying not to miss a single minute of the action we made sure to arrive at the track early Friday morning but, as it turned out, it was a quiet morning mainly filled with drinking coffee as dense fog made it irresponsible to allow our racing heritage onto the track. It gave us the time to do a thorough paddock walk and catch up with some of the teams, although everyone was glad when the green lights

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eventually came on by the end of the morning. Eager to make up for lost time and get some hot laps down for a good grid position for the weekend’s races it was quite busy in the pit lane for the rest of the day.

The oldest race cars in action are pre-World War II and in the Vintage Sport Cars Trophy we saw a wide variety of history pass by – from small MGs to huge Bentleys and a score of BMW’s 328. These lightweight cars from the late 1930s sounded wonderful with their in-line sixes and they’re reliable and fast. German driver Ulrich Sauer, the only person to participate in all 44 editions of the OGP, proved just as rapid as ever, clinching the overall title for the weekend in his ivory

white 328. In the 1960s Touring Car and GT Trophy we saw several 2002s in action and even a remarkably original-looking 1800Ti. Two Escorts RSs were pretty much unbeatable this weekend but after battling a Lotus Elan for several laps Christopher Stahl finished fourth overall in his black-on-yellow GS Tuning 2002.

The DRM class, with its impressive line-up of Porsche 935s, Ford Capris, and multiple BMWs, is where went to watch the ‘fireworks’. It was nice to see the ex-Dieter Quester and Albrecht Krebs E9 CSL in action again, and several M1s (in a variety of contemporary ProCar series liveries) were spitting their

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OLDTIMER GRAND PRIX

characteristic exhaust flames. We bumped into the former ex-Formula One driver Jochen Mass, although he wasn’t behind the wheel of the Warsteiner M1 with his name on it, as he was working for Mercedes Benz for the weekend. The M1s were fastest in their class, taking the top three spots, but for the overall ranking they had to give way to a flame thrower from Stuttgart: the Beck-Thibault Porsche 935.

In the C class this 935 was competing in we also saw some BMW success as well. Right behind BeckThibault and the Hübner 934/5, the third spot was taken by Frenchman Charles Veillard in an E21 Group 5 320i. The small four-cylinder M12 Formula 2 engine still does well and the low weight and excellent weight distribution clearly make up for any lack of power. We also made a brief excursion to the car parks to enjoy many BMW club cars that had established their spots in the sunshine. From Barockangel, via a sheer endless stream of ‘02s up to the i8, just about every BMW model you care to mention was well represented.

The president of AvD, Ludwig Fürst zu Löwenstein-

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Wertheim-Freudenberg, informed us he was delighted to see the success of adding the cars and classes from the 1980s to the event. This year we could see Formula 3 in action, including Ayrton Senna’s first F3 car, as well as a wonderful demo of the Group B rally cannons. This class is nicknamed ‘the slowly sideways class’ and many drivers did their best to put that into action and provide proper entertainment, even though it is not an actual race. And how often do you get the chance to see a Ford RS 200, a Metro 6R4, or an Audi Quattro S1 in action?

But, of course, we were primarily here for the BMW action and this is where the new German Tourenwagen Revival class entered the stage. This class not only allows in the DRM cars from the late 1970s but also more recent cars from the DTM and STW years. To be eligible for most historic racing classes in Germany cars have to be somewhere between 30 to 40 years old and that’s a shame. Why should we have to wait for such a long time to see the success cars of yesteryear in action again? Thus we were extremely pleased to see the legends of the 1980s and early 1990s in action in the new class, and we even saw several cars from the DRM class move over, which made for an impressive starting field. It included a bunch of M1s as well as hordes of E30 M3s in liveries we remembered from the times when Johnny Cecotto and Steve Soper used to be behind the wheel. We were delighted to count 12 cars from Munich in the field of 29. We witnessed several wonderful battles and in the end Friedhelm Tang clinched the top spot of the podium in his E30 M3. Jürg Dürig has been a long-time owner and driver of a 635CSi Group A car and ended third in this extremely original car, which was an impressive achievement considering the strength of the field (which included many other legends such as the Mercedes-Benz 190 DTM, TWR Jaguar XJS, Sierra Cosworth, Porsche 944 and Volvo 850 TR estate).

The event was great fun for over 50,000 classic car enthusiasts. It saw 500 race cars from seven decades in action in 20 different races. For anyone with a passing interest in classic racing this event really is automotive nirvana. See you there for the 45th running of the event in 2017! ●

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OLDTIMER GRAND PRIX

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BUYING GUIDE

E82 1 Series M Coupé The 1M Coupé is one of our favourite machines from the last ten years – a hoot to drive and cast iron values make it a sure-fire collector’s piece Words: Bob Harper and Andrew Everett Photography: BMW

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BUYING GUIDE

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BUYING GUIDE he 1M’s launch might have been one of the longest strip teases in history but when the last of its disguise slipped from a curvaceous wheel arch to the floor it was immediately obvious that the wait had been worth it. M had managed to instill the relatively innocuous 1 Series Coupé with a serious dose of steroids and with the firepower to match its looks BMW looked to be on to an immediate winner.

Limited production numbers and rave reviews meant that a scant five years after its launch it’s already a cult classic and as a result you’ll be lucky to bag even a higher mileage example for less than the car’s original on-sale price.

BMW saw this car as very much in the mould of the E30 M3, and while it might have been stretching the truth a little, it’s quite easy to see where BMW was coming from. Ever since the first M3 proved to be an almost overnight sensation – on both road and track – each generation of M3 has become a bit plusher, a bit bigger and perhaps most importantly, a little bit more expensive. With the 1M’s contemporary, the E92 M3, costing the thick end of £55k (and that was before options such as 19-inch alloys and EDC suspension) the introduction of the 1M at a tenner shy of £40k appealed to a different set of drivers and promised to offer a purer driving experience to the M3.

The heart of any M car is obviously its power unit, and at first you could have been forgiven for thinking

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that the 1M’s twin-turbocharged straight-six might be a disappointment. After all, its hardware is identical to that of the Z4 sDrive35is, itself a more or less standard N54 ‘six found in a myriad of regular BMW road cars. Bespoke M software made it very much more of an M-type powerplant when you hit the MDM button though. Headline figures were the same as for the Z4 – 340hp at 5900rpm and 332lb ft of torque from 1500-4500rpm, with an additional 37lb ft available on overboost when going for a full-throttle overtake for example. Performance was impressive with the 0-62mph dash taking a scant 4.9 seconds while 0-124mph was dispatched in 17.3 seconds.

Under the skin, the 1M underwent many changes from the 135i to endow it with the authentic M driving experience. It utilised many suspension components from the E92 M3 with its front and rear track being virtually identical to its bigger brother, although some components were specifically tuned for the 1 Series with its lighter weight and shorter wheelbase. Through the extensive use of aluminium for the suspension the 1M weighed in at 1495kg, 65kg less than the 135i. As well as the lightweight suspension components a certain amount of sound insulation was removed to shave a little bit of weight off the rather portly 135i.

Other changes to the drivetrain included the M3’s Variable M differential lock while the cooling system was upgraded to cope with what BMW called

‘constant high-load, high-speed track driving’ via an additional radiator and new ducting within the front bumper.

The 1M might have featured one of those newfangled turbochargers but when it came to its steering BMW saw fit to equip it with an old fashioned yet feelsome hydraulic setup with Servotronic assistance as standard. Wheels were 19-inch CSL-style items and nestling behind them were M3 stoppers During the car’s gestation period some criticised the 1M for being a ‘parts bin special’ and while this may be true to a certain extent, there was no way BMW would have been able to develop a new engine or suspension system in the time available to develop the car. From the BMW board approving the project to the unveiling was a scant 15 months and when you consider that all the components from that parts bin had to be specifically adapted to the 1M application it was no mean feat indeed.

And the proof of the pudding was in the driving – the 1M was a cracking piece of kit. It could be pretty refined when you were in cruise mode, but let it off the leash on a deserted section of sinuous black top and it was a revelation. Its relatively light weight combined with the turbocharged punch made it a real hoot to drive – it always feels alive and on its toes and after a stint behind the wheel one can see where all those comparisons with the E30 M3 came from – it really was that good.

Kyalami orange stitching while the gear lever and handbrake gaiters, door trims and instrument binnacle cover all featured black Alcantara with the Kyalami stitching, too. Obviously the M aerodynamic body styling was standard, and UK cars received high-gloss Shadowline exterior trim, heated washer jets and park distance control at the rear.

Inside the 1M had six airbags and other safety equipment such as seat belt pre-tensioners and child seat Isofix attachments front and rear with front airbag deactivation. The front sports seats featured part electric adjustment while the steering wheel itself was

an M-logoed multi-function item, 368 millimetres in diameter and with Motorsport tri-colour stitching.

UK cars also had cruise control, auto air-con with two-zone control, 60:40 folding rear seats, extended lighting and extended storage, an OBC, an aux input and a Business radio with a single CD and six speakers. You could have added significantly to the base price of your car if you wanted; Professional Navigation with hard drive cost £2010, Harman Kardon was £915, Bluetooth a pricey £545, Comfort Access was £470 and fully electric seats for £1155 if you’d insisted on putting weight back into the car.

UK spec If you liked the look of the 1 Series M Coupé, you needed to get your order in sharpish as when it went on sale in the UK in May 2011 there were just 450 examples destined for these shores. Only three colours were available – the Valencia orange metallic you see here or Sapphire black metallic or Alpine white – the white was standard while the two metallics were a £515 option. It was priced at £39,990 on the road – £13k cheaper than the admittedly higher spec’d E92 M3 and nearly £9k more than a 135i M Sport Coupé.

Standard kit included black Boston leather with

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BUYING GUIDE Engine The N54 engine in the 1M has proven to be mechanically tough – providing it hasn’t been beasted from the cold and has been serviced on the dot (over-servicing never hurts) then it’s a fine engine.

There have been reports of a leaking rear crank oil seal but we’ve never seen one. As a direct injection unit, carbon build-ups in the inlet ports are inevitable and removing the inlet manifold to blast the ports and valves clean with crushed walnut shells will restore lost performance.

However, there have been some management and electrical issues that, to be fair, are not common.

‘Waste gate rattle’ can be a faulty gasket where the exhaust bolts on – cheap to buy but time-consuming

to fix. The high pressure pump has been known to play up (it was a major issue in the US on the 335i) and this manifests itself as a drop in power and the EML light coming on. However, similar symptoms are caused by either a knock sensor or the NoX (nitrogen oxide) sensor – the latter is around £400 for the part alone although it takes less than an hour to fit.

The actual engine itself is the N54 B30A and shares the same part number with the regular 335i unit – in the unfortunate event of needing another engine, you at least have the option of a reasonably common used engine but be prepared to pay £3000 for one if not more. Ask for a 335i unit – mention 1M and the price increases by 25 percent!

Likewise, the turbochargers are regular 335i parts and they’re surprisingly cheap – from BMW you’re looking at £1270 the pair. All cars have the electric water pump that costs £350 from BMW and £260 from Euro Car Parts – they don’t go wrong often to be fair and given the value of a 1M we would prefer to see a BMW receipt in the book pack. Similarly, the radiator is 335i and not expensive at £375. There’s also another auxiliary radiator in the left-hand side of the bumper – should you need a new one it’ll set you back a BMW-only £250.

The dual mass flywheel is a part unique to the 1M however, and should you need a new one to go with a new clutch, it’s BMW-only at £1139… ouch.

Prices The bad news for those looking to buy one is that the 1M hasn’t really dropped in value since the day it first left the showroom. You’ll need at least £35k to join the club and that will be for a relatively miley machine – 60k miles or so. At the other end of the scale you have pampered ultra-low mileage machines on offer from BMW main dealers for nigh-on £60k.

We’ve seen them advertised for even more than this, but in today’s market we wouldn’t want to pay more than that if you’re planning to actually use the car – adding more miles will simply reduce the car’s desirability for collectors. To our mind an ideal machine will have a price tag in the £40-£45k region and will have done 30-40k miles. This way you’ll be able to use it as a weekend machine as its maker intended yet not wipe too much off its value. When cars become collectors’ machinery such as this it’s important to remember that they were made to be driven!

Transmission We’ve already mentioned the flywheel, and the 1M clutch would seem to be unique – however the clutch kit is shared with the 335i xDrive so there’s a chance of an aftermarket unit at less than the £438 that BMW ask. The six-speed gearbox is again shared

with the 335i range and is almost unbreakable along with the prop – although anything used regularly on track or taken over the stock 340hp will likely break something. The 3.15 ratio limited-slip diff was shared with the E90 M3 and is nigh-on bulletproof – BMW

sell a ‘booster’ for the Castrol SAF XJ LSD oil in case of the unit groaning under low speed manoeuvres.

E90 M3 driveshafts were also used and whilst they’re £650 each new, there’s good chance of finding a good used one for half that.

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BUYING GUIDE Body Rust is hardly going to be a problem; even 12 years after the first 1 Series rolled off the line, nobody has seen a rusty one so it’s fair to assume that BMW has ferrous oxide licked.

However, many of these cars have been ‘enjoyed’ a bit too much – check very carefully for panel fit, even and matching paint finish and that all parts fit correctly. These cars were always valuable so haven’t

been wrecks, but it’s worth doing some digging – previous owners, supplying dealer as well as a proper HPI check.

All have Xenons which were a handy thing to have on a performance car where the standard lights were so grim, and a new one is nearly £700 with VAT. Only three colours were available, Alpine white 300, Valencia orange B44 and black Sapphire 475.

Wheels, tyres and brakes

Suspension and steering The 1 Series shared much of its suspension and floor with the E90 so it’s no surprise that the 1M again uses a lot of E90 M3 componentry. And, like the M3, there is very little that goes wrong. Springs and dampers are all conventional and should you need them, a pair of new front dampers will set you back £649 plus fitting. Wishbones and bushes are all tough

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and there are no horror stories. However, pray that you don’t damage the Servotronic steering rack because this BMW-only item is a whopping £1600 plus fitting. But apart from that (and we’ve not heard of a failure) the 1M is a tough car – like the E46 M3 they were built to a higher, almost over-engineered standard though without the boot floor cracks!

The 1M brakes are shared once again with the E90 M3 – the fronts are M3 and the rears are E90 M3- and E60 M5-based. That means no cheaper aftermarket bits – not that you’d really want to skimp here and at £625 for the front discs and £144 for the pads they’re not too horrendous if you say it quickly. There are no problems to speak of although if you were unlucky enough to encounter a fault in the ABS hydro unit you’d be stuffed as this part is unique to the 1M – thankfully though we’ve not heard of one failing and at £1050 new from BMW they’re pricey but still cheaper than a lot of sixcylinder E90 units, some of which are two grand or more.

The 19-inch wheels are unique, of course, and they’re over £600 each with VAT. Tyres are 245/35R 19 front and 265/35R 19 rears.

Fronts range from £198 for a pair of Kumho Ecsta La Sports to £376 for Michelin Pilot Supersports – rears are more expensive at £240 a pair for those Kumhos but on the rears we found Continentals for £360 all-in – good rubber doesn’t have to be expensive.

We’d really want to see the best rubber available on one of these – no ditchfinder specials here please.

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BUYING GUIDE

Interior The 1M interior was certainly a superb place to be. Standard interior trim was black Boston leather with orange stitching – certainly the rare Alcantara gives the 1M a more ‘Motorsport’ feel. Notable interior options include dual zone auto air conditioning, comfort access, rain sensors,

Harmon Kardon as well as Professional Navigation that comes with the dash top screen and iDrive – don’t assume all cars have nav!

As ever, condition is everything so make sure seat bolsters and pedal rubbers match the mileage.

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BUYING GUIDE Electronics Like all modern BMWs the 1M is electrically a pretty complex bit of kit. But the good news is that it’s all pretty robust and there have been no regular problems reported as yet.

Standard equipment on the 1M was sparse but there are options worth having – the DAB radio was £320 and worth every penny, the Bluetooth prep a whopping £545 and Harmon Kardon for £765 – hopefully you won’t be paying for those second time around and all have the switchable M Dynamic mode.

Because these cars have done relatively few miles and are still quite new you shouldn’t really be seeing any of the more common 1 Series electrical issues of which there are very few anyway – cars that stand outside in the rain a lot will get the usual build up of leaves around the rear under bonnet and it is worth flipping the lid off the ECU box to make sure it’s not filling with rain water if a drain hole blocks. But that’s about it – just make sure it all works and you will be absolutely fine.

1 Series M Coupé It could be refined when in cruise mode, but let it off the leash on a deserted section of sinuous black top and it was a revelation

Verdict Is the 1M the ultimate all-round M Car? Very possibly – the brakes might be marginal for track use but for sane road driving they’re fine. It’s insanely fast, wellmannered, reliable and not thirsty – it’s a much better bet than an M5 in that respect and compared to an E60 M5 for example, its running costs are positively cheap. The trouble is, they forgot to depreciate and a mint one is £50,000. As a daily car doing 12,000 miles a year or more that could prove costly in depreciation but at half that mileage it’s just possible you could run it for two or three years and get most of your money back whilst enjoying a stupendously good car. What’s not to like? ●

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ENGINE: N54 twin-turbo six-cylinder, 24-valve CAPACITY: 2979cc STROKE/BORE: 89.6/84mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 10.2:1 MAX POWER: 340hp @ 5900rpm MAX TORQUE: 332lb ft @1500-4500rpm (369lb ft with overboost function) 0-62MPH: 4.9 seconds 0-124MPH: 17.3 seconds TOP SPEED: 155mph (limited) ECONOMY: 29.4mpg EMISSIONS (CO2): 224g/km WEIGHT: 1495kg (unladen) TRANSMISSION: Six-speed manual, M limited-slip diff STEERING: Hydraulic rack and pinion with Servotronic PRICE: £39,990 (2011)

Servicing costs The 1M isn’t so pricey to service – despite the M3 componentry there’s no black magic and at £150, it’s worth having an intermediate oil service done.

SERVICE OIL SERVICE OIL SERVICE AND MICROFILTER AS ABOVE PLUS PLUGS AND FUEL FILTER BRAKE FLUID SPARK PLUGS FRONT DISCS AND PADS FRONT BRAKE PADS

BMW DEALER £152 £260 £415 £70 £174 £855 £219

SPECIALIST £135 £225 £370 £70 £150 £750 £210

Prices quoted from BMW UK website – individual dealers may quote less. Specialist prices assume use of genuine BMW parts.

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Perfect timing every time with febi bilstein t 8IFO ZPV XBOU UP CF TVSF PG RVBMJUZ BOE m UNFOU DIPPTF GFCJ CJMTUFJO t GFCJ CJMTUFJO TVQQMJFT B SBOHF PG BMNPTU UJNJOH DIBJOT JO 0& NBUDIJOH RVBMJUZ t 0VS UJNJOH DIBJOT BSF BWBJMBCMF BT DPNQMFUF SFQBJS LJUT XJUI DIBJO UFOTJPOFST SBJMT BOE TQSPDLFUT Find our range of timing chains on www.febi-live.com

febi is a bilstein group brand

www.febi.com

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TECH FOCUS

Chain Gang The N Series four-cylinder petrol engines have a less than glowing reputation for timing chain problems but is this justified or not?

Words and photography: Andy Everett hen it arrived here in late 2001 the all-new N42 Valvetronic engine gained a lot of good press. After all, despite its mind-boggling complexity, it offered the same power as the 1.9-litre M44 16-valve as seen in the Z3 and the final 318Ti Compacts and was a bit more economical, too, although the gains were pretty minor. There was talk of the engine being developed with Rover and an all-new factory in Hams Hall in the West Midlands was established in order to build the new engine. The N42 gave way to the almost identical N46 in 2004 (VVT operation was now by the engine ECU rather than a separate ECU) and this unit ran until it was replaced by the N43 towards the end of E90 production; even so, the bottom end is very similar and the chain setup very similar, too. There were two non-Valvetronic engines: the N45 used as a 1.6-litre in the 116i without any balance shafts; and the N45 2.0-litre used in the 320Si homologation special.

The construction of the N engine is unusual as there is no removable front timing cover. Instead, the chain and tensioner/guide rail assembly is lowered into the engine in one cassette type unit with four Torx bolts securing it; two are T45 female and the other two are T20 male. Three of these are hidden behind screwed-in blanking plugs and are easy to remove. Be aware that whilst the job is pretty similar, the direct injection N43 needs a different locking tool set.

Replacing the chain assembly is, if everything goes to plan, no worse than replacing a modern cambelt. Febi chain kits are almost all exactly the same specification parts as those used and supplied by BMW. The chain is the same Jwis-made item and there are various outlets to buy from; a quick internet search will quickly find them. These engines also like to sweat oil from the various seals and so it’s worth spending a few extra quid and replacing various seals, such as the crankshaft oil seals as well as the O-rings for the Vanos solenoids (ours were supplied by Sytner BMW in Sheffield).

These days you can buy the locking tool set for around £30 and whilst you should go to BMW for oil seals and gaskets, the only place to get the chain kit from is Febi.

Febi is part of the Bilstein group and its ProKit has everything you need – chain, lower sprocket, new tensioner plunger, crankshaft and Vanos unit bolts and new chain guide retaining bolts. But it’s not all plain sailing and so here are a number or pointers.

This isn’t a warts and all workshop manual but it will give you a good idea of why this job is quite expensive – about £700 from a specialist.

We are indebted to both Febi UK and Sytner BMW Sheffield for the supply of parts.

Whilst the chain kit is cheaper, you ideally need to go to BMW for the gaskets and oil seals. Once the job is done, you’ll need to have the adaptations for timing and valve lift reset. This takes around 20 minutes with the correct diagnostics.

W

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TECH FOCUS

CHAIN ESSENTIALS • The crank centre bolt is tightened to 300Nm. You will need a three-quarter-inch breaker bar and 22mm socket to undo it and a three-quarter-inch drive torque wrench to tighten it. These are stretch bolts so never reuse the old bolt! You will need to lock the flywheel teeth with a screwdriver in the hole at the base of the bellhousing and disconnect the top radiator hose to give you room to swing on the bar.

• As well as a new crank bolt, you must always replace the Vanos retaining bolts as well (the Febi ProKit comes with these in the box). Tighten them with the cam locks fitted, the Vanos alignment tool fitted, the engine at TDC, and the slack just taken out of the chain with the screw-in tool in the locking tool set.

• When the chain assembly comes out inspect it and pray no bits of the nylon rails have broken off. Compare old with new. If they have, the sump will need to be dropped and the bits fished out or else they will end up in the oil pick up strainer with predictable results. Don’t take a risk and skip this bit!

• Dropping the sump is a horrible task. Be assured that it is impossible without the front crossmember dropped down, so don’t even try. You will need to buy or hire an engine support bar to take the weight of the engine whilst the four crossmember bolts are removed after you have disconnected the steering column lower joint from the rack.

• Trying to insert the flywheel locking pin is very difficult but it is essential. You are not better off using a dial gauge down number one plug hole to set it to TDC because you are guaranteed to get the cam timing wrong. The balance shafts shouldn’t move but get an assistant to watch the sprocket as you realign it all.

Before starting it up, remove the plugs and turn the engine over by hand.

• We’d only use the genuine Febi kit – the parts are exactly the same spec supplied to BMW whereas many other chain kits are non-genuine and some are pretty grim. The Febi part number for the kit with crank sprocket is 47662; without the crank sprocket it’s 33846.

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2 With the cam co ver off, it looks lik e the cam timing supposed to loo is out but this is k like at TDC. Th what it’s e inlet cam appe compared top the ars to be advanc inlet but trial-fittin ed in the right area. g the locking too l proves that it’s certainly

ar enough the E46; the E90 is ne 6 look like in an N4 er housing d filt an n 2 lle po N4 r the rea This is what is hard work. The off r disconnected. ve are co m m ca loo e same. Getting the d the upper engin an cks pa il co , on cti including lower se

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th o the flywheel tee e driver wedged int ntr rew ce sc m big 0N a 30 th the Lock the crank wi eaker bar, undo more br e ch giv r-in to rte d ua an it ee-q avoid damaging and, using a thr to se ho rad the top bolt. Disconnect ll. a new bolt as we room. Always fit

4 3 This is the £30 locking tool set.

The gold bar is Below on the lef the Vanos lockin t is the screw-in g tool. chain tension ad the exhaust cam juster, and to the lock. Under that right is is the inlet cam left are the crank lock. At the pins locks. on the

5 Now to fit the cam locks. This is the exhaust side and it fits on like this. On our cheap and cheerful locking tool set I had to fettle the righthand side with a grinder to allow the exhaust side locking tool to fit.

It was cheap, so no complaints.

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6 Here is the inlet cam lock fitted. It’s tricky you’ll probably ne ed to tweak the cam to fit and around slightly so that it fits. On bo th cams you’ll need to fit the locking tools in ord er to undo the ve ry tight Vanos to cam stretch bolts – they’re done up to 20Nm – and angle tighten 90 de grees and 90 degre es again.

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TECH FOCUS

ke the chain go Doing this will ma tensioner plunger. ed a 22mm ring ain ne l ch u’l the Yo e e. ov ov rem really easy to rem Now we need to its un s no Va the d make new unit. nice and slack an kit comes with a n here – the Febi spanner as show

7

8 You’ve already un done the two 16 mm Vanos bolts, they can be wrigg so now led free from the cam and out from the chain. They do under n’t fit back on in any particular ord won’t harm to ma er but it ke cam to Vanos alignment marks now.

9 Now the Va retaining nos solenoids com plate, and e out – ju the elect new O -rin st remove rica g a 10mm aren’t exp seals. We got our l plug connector bolt for th and ensive at new seals e all. from Sytn they’re free. Alw a er BMW in Sheffie ys fit ld – they

10 Next, the bolts securing the chain rail assembly to the engine block need to be removed. These are mainly hidden under three of these screw plugs that are undone with a 5mm Allen key. Smear the threads with grease on reassembly.

and tensioner rb e whole chain lt removed, th as now to distu bo so rx re To he p l to fu ts – any Be really care With the final bi n. en ow ok sh br as r t fo t ou ec cassette is lifted balance shaft sprocket. Insp and the oil pump sump off! missing bits –

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12 This photo was tak en before the chain cassette was lifted shows the timing out. It sprocket. It doesn’t slide onto the end crankshaft but rathe of the r the crank pulley boss fits inside it on 300Nm of bolt and it relies torque to keep it still.

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090-094 BMWCAR 0217 04/01/2017 13:38 Page 94

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13

Here is th e three ma Febi ProKit. It incl ud in bolts, te nsioner a es chain, lower sp supplier, nd it re rocket, th e BMW cha tails for around £ rails. Depending o rge for th 1 e same st 00. That’s about n the half what uff.

This photo shows how it all goes together, although here the upper and lower rails aren’t clipped together. As you can see, the white tensioner blade pivots on the black main frame and it’s the white nylon parts that turn orange and brittle with age.

16 Here is one of the two Vanos solenoids showing the oil seal O-ring that loves to sweat oil .

It goes rock hard with age and the two new ones we got from Sytner Sheffield will stop that. It’s worth replacing them both every five years regardless.

visable to k oil it would be ad engines love to lea ully remove it ref Ca . ge sta s thi Given how these at crankshaft oil seal g the new one the pin st lea tap at er, e lac mm rep ewdriver and a ha scr de bla t fla all with a sm . ping it in fresh oil into place after dip

15

go in) g bolt yet to e top retainin ese plates actually th ith (w d bly fitte s plates. Th lts chain assem into the Vano the right place as the bo Here is the g tool fitted in in ck be lo t s us no m but the Va sensors so to the cam give readings . up are torqued

18 17 This photo was tak en with both the old 125,000-mile to the new one – chain laid out next it has extended by about two to three to wear in the chain millimetres due link pins. Chains on certainly stretch en these rarely break ough to jump tee but they can th.

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CONTACT: Febi UK Tel: 01977 699777 Web: www.febi.com, www.febilive.com Sytner BMW Sheffield Tel: 0114 270 2236 Web: www.sytnersheffieldbmw.co.uk

095 BMWCAR 0217 06/01/2017 12:42 Page 95

Prestige German Engines are BMW engine rebuild specialists and have rebuilt over 1,000 BMW engines damaged by timing chain failure and we have developed a thorough, highly successful engine rebuild procedure.

Premature timing chain failure has become a serious problem for many BMW owners – regularly discussed in BMW website forums. We provide a thorough engine rebuild procedure, and we have experience across the full BMW petrol & diesel range. Repairing the catastrophic engine damage is a labour intensive and expensive job. The timing chain is located at the rear of the engine, therefore we must remove the entire engine and completely strip down all components to discover and replace all damaged parts to ensure we restore the engine to perfect running order. The N47 or M57 engine is rebuilt with modified chains, guides and tensioners supplied by BMW to reduce the risk of a repeat failure.

We offer many standard workshop services as well as

providing a wealth of experience in specialist areas such as diagnostics and diesel fault finding.

The team at Prestige have a well deserved reputation for technical excellence and superb customer care.

We will collect your car from anywhere within mainland UK, rebuild the engine, replacing all damaged parts and you will be able to enjoy driving it once again. Combined with the ‘Swirl Flap failure’ problem, we have rebuilt over 1,000 engines in recent years including the 118d, 120d, 123d, 318d, 320d, 520d, 525d, 530d, 535d, X3, X5 and the 730d.

All repair work undertaken on all makes of car, we are happy to pick up your vehicle for you at home or work and we can drop you off at home or work. We offer all aspects of vehicle maintenance at very competitive prices. Our work is fully guaranteed.

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Call Steve Baker on 07792 300252 or email prestigeengines@icloud.com http://prestige-german-engines.co.uk

096-103 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 11:34 Page 96

LONGTERMERS A trip to the track for the E46 M3, Mark Williams indulges his inner racing driver and Andy Everett takes on a bit of a project

E46 M3 This month’s highlight? Easy… as you’ll see in an upcoming issue of BMW Car, I visited Spa Francorchamps to attend the RSR Spa (www.rsrspsa.com) track day in early November to learn about the Modified vs Standard programme in its E92 M3s; and whilst you can read about that escapade elsewhere, this also presented the opportunity for some valuable track time for this Spa virgin.

So naturally, I grabbed the keys to the M3 instead of the 330d on my way to the ferry…

I’ve got a fair amount of track experience, but having never driven Spa before it seemed sensible to try and familiarise myself with the track as much as possible before heading out in RSR’s E92 M3. Apart from a day spent drifting around Bruntingthorpe when it was still owned by the friend I bought it from, this would be my first chance to sample the M3’s abilities on track, and there was an exotic array of machinery in the pits to tussle with. Or in the case of the myriad McLarens, GT Porsches and Ferraris on show, get destroyed by…

People talk about Eau Rouge as the most challenging corner at Spa, and quite rightfully so as the gradient accelerates you down the hill on approach, then you are required to brake and change direction whilst experiencing heavy positive G as the gradient transitions up the other side into Raidillon corner (technically, Eau Rouge isn’t a corner at all, but the

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small stream that runs under the track, Raidillon being the right-hander in the heart of the complex). But if you want to feel that adrenaline spike of fear, try taking the Blanchimont double left hander as fast as you dare, with an honourable mention to Pouhon – another double left which builds speed throughout. With a decent run out of the previous corner, the E46 was approaching Blanchimont well over 125mph, stealing some of the outer run-off to straighten the corner, and turning in beyond 115mph – if you get it wrong here, it’s going to be a big one. Jolly exciting though.

And whilst the M3 was blown away by the £200k club, it acquitted itself brilliantly. For a road car, it resisted understeer well, demonstrating a lovely balance through the third and fourth gear bends of Spa. There was a group of VW Beetle racing cars racking up some valuable track time on the day, and it was really good fun dicing with these – 340hp ate up the 150hp sportsters down the straights, but the corners closed things up a bit. Mindful of the M car’s reputation for inadequate braking on track, I went pretty easy on the middle pedal and they stood up remarkably well, with no fade and a nice, consistent feel. As it’s primarily a road car, I have no quarrel with managing the brakes a bit, but there are plans to try some small tweaks in future…

Overall, I’m very impressed at how enjoyable the M3 was on track. The

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communicative, balanced chassis encouraged me to really get the most out of it, provoking a little slide to get the car turned into a corner, using all the track on exit to keep things neat whilst the second gear chicane encouraged a slow, indulgent oversteer exit. This probably explains the pair of Contisport Contacts I had fitted upon returning home.

Whilst much of the paddock were busy packing their semi-race cars on to trailers or contemplating a noisy journey home, the M3 adeptly slipped back into its road car role, comfortably consuming Belgium and France, leaving me well rested after an energetic day on track. The M3 felt no different than it had on the journey out. And Eau Rouge? Terrifying, of course, but what a corner, and the M3 had the measure of those pesky Beetles down the following straight. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m rather smitten with the M3…

Steve Hall

E46 M3 YEAR: 2002 MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 1100 TOTAL MILEAGE: 85,935 MPG THIS MONTH: 26.4 TOTAL COST: £306 (tyres)

F21 120d M I took the 1 Series through a car wash.

I don’t condone it, it’s definitely a case of do as I say not as I do, and what I say is wash your car by hand using the two bucket method but, when it’s cold and wet and dark and miserable and your car is so dirty that you can barely open the doors or boot and is white so looks about 1000 times dirtier, you get desperate. What’s a girl to do? Pay £3 and take it through the car wash at the local Sainsbury’s, that’s what. I didn’t even choose the drying option because the roads were wet so I figured it was pointless and when I came out of the petrol station shop brandishing my car wash code I discovered it had started raining anyway, rendering it even more pointless. The person in the Merc having a wash and blow dry in front of me looked a bit silly. And you know what? It was worth every penny, all 300 of them. The 1 Series came out

looking clean and I could open the doors and boot without getting covered in filth. Also my mum had never been through a car wash before so she was intrigued by the whole affair. Is it wrong to admit that you find car washes a little scary? She didn’t, but I do. I just don’t like the noisy pounding. It’s unsettling. I wouldn’t dream of taking the E39 through but, with its solid white paint, I figure the 120d is less likely to show up scratches and swirl marks.

In other news, the 120d is doing something the 118d didn’t, and that is managing to stay dry inside. The 118d had a chronic moisture problem, with the windscreen absolutely covered in water droplets when the temperature started to drop, which would then freeze on particularly cold nights, and ice on the inside of your windscreen is not something you expect in a brandnew BMW. My Camaro does it, but

that’s because it’s terrible at being a car and was built for about 50p. We never did get to the bottom of it, but it wasn’t an isolated case as a few people got in touch with the same problem but now I have a solution that I can guarantee will work 100 per cent: sell your leaky old 1 Series and buy a face-lift. Job done.

Elizabeth de Latour

F21 120d M Sport YEAR: 2016 MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 390 TOTAL MILEAGE: 6435 MPG THIS MONTH: 45.9 COST THIS MONTH: £3 (car wash. Sorry)

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LONGTERMERS E28 Alpina B9 and E32 750iL I would love to report some serious movement on the B9’s refurbishment but unfortunately the truth is I haven’t really had the chance to chase the body shop this month.

I have, however, received negative news from my ‘stripes guy’. It doesn’t look like he is able to supply them in the timescale I am likely to need so it’s back to the drawing board. The fall back plan is to just have the car back without any stripes and then have them retro-fitted when I can procure a set. The BMW community is a big one, and an international one at that so if you know where I can have a set made up please do get in touch!

In the meanwhile, the editor kindly sent me a link to a B9 which has just sold at a CCA car auction. It was a 1986, white Japanese import with a low mileage of 77,000. It was, however, hampered somewhat by being left-hand drive and having an automatic gearbox. The latter for me would be a serious problem as these cars really need the manual gearbox in my opinion. Plus winter isn’t the ideal season to maximise the sale value of your classic car…

Using CCA’s five-star system it was described as a three-star car – ‘Good: Everyday useable classic car, driven and enjoyed, commensurate with age and mileage, drives and looks as it should, some vehicle history’.

I suspect it would have benefitted from being sold in Germany where left-hand drive classic Alpinas sell for really strong money. Nevertheless it fetched £16,500 which I thought was a good buy for its new owner, who certainly hasn’t overpaid for what is an exceptionally rare car.

It looks like I will need to review the guaranteed value I have with my

insurer when it comes to renewal time. Good news indeed.

On the 7 Series front what little time I have had to spare has been spent trying to find bits for it rather than driving it very far.

In my last report I mentioned not being able to find the required brake booster in the UK, as all of the available parts were in America. After a little bit more research I finally managed to track one down in the UK. The best bit was the price. By not getting stung with the post-Brexit exchange rate and import duty I managed to buy one for £130, nearly half of the £250 it was going to cost to get one from the US. I need to get the part down to my local garage to check it’s all there!

Given editor Bob’s recent positive results with having his throttle bodies cleaned I might just have a look at how much of a job that is on a 750iL. I suspect the answer will be ‘at least twice as much’ because the V12 seems to have two of everything.

Given the car’s idle isn’t quite as sewing machine smooth as it should be and it seems to be running a little rich at idle it’s probably a job worth doing. I suspect as much as anything some new spark plugs will clear things up but having researched how to replace spark plug number 12 on a BMW 750 I think that’s a job for the garage.

In the meanwhile I have tackled an easy job and replaced the car’s two air filters. The originals weren’t all that bad but there is a nice feel-good feeling to knowing your car is breathing through new filters.

I am hoping the garage can take the car in sometime in January because I’d like to get things moving

along ahead of the spring car show scene as I’d like to start showing the car off a bit.

In the meanwhile I have seen another 750iL for sale which is located only ten miles from me, in my favourite colour of black. I’m trying desperately to not just jump in the car and have a look. It’s a disease, being into classic BMWs… Elliott Stiling

E32 750iL YEAR: 1988 MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 23 TOTAL MILEAGE: 118,235 MPG THIS MONTH: Not sure COST THIS MONTH: no new ones this month

E24 M635CSi I think I left things last month on the verge of taking the plunge on buying another shark-nose classic and part of me really wishes I had. The E28 I had my eye on came up on eBay and was being sold by James at JFI Classic Cars who I’ve met on several occasions when we’ve been featuring some of the cars he’s produced. You might remember an E28 Five running an E36 M3 engine or a 2000 Touring which he’d fully restored and having chatted to James he reckoned this E28 would be ideal.

It was Dolphin grey with a tan leather sport interior and it really did look rather pretty. We agreed I would sleep on it and I’d get back to him the following day.

However, in the ensuing 12 hours

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there were some fairly seismic shifts going on in the background that I’ll be able to tell you about next month, and the upshot was that it would not be financially prudent not to drop several thousands of pounds on a car that I really don’t need, especially as I’d then be pulling it apart and spending several more thousands trying to install a V8 into it. Especially when I’ve still got an M635CSi to look after too.

Mrs H is pretty understanding, but it’s best not to push too far!

Truth be told, the M6 has seen very little exercise this month. It’s generally been dark and murky both on my way to and from the office and combined with a fair amount of moisture in the air and the fact that I don’t really like putting the car away in its garage wet it means that it’s been slumbering for most of the month. I did fit a set of

Osram bulbs to try and improve the headlights but to be honest the jury’s still out as I’ve yet to take it out of town and on to darker country roads with them fitted.

What I have been doing this month is keeping a keen eye on how much M635CSis are selling for at auction as this may well be a route that I take in the new year should some additional funding be acquired. What I’ve found to be most interesting is where cars end up after some of these auctions.

I’d spotted a black B-reg M6 at Classic Car Auctions’ sale in early December with 117k miles and a large history folder. Being a nosey parker I did a quick check on its MoT history and was somewhat surprised to see that it had failed recently on several counts, mainly corrosion to both the offside and nearside subframe mountings as

well as both the offside and nearside front suspension component mountings, along with a few other odds and sods. What was a little odd was that it then passed an MoT a little under a month later with two advisories – an oil leak and ‘underside corrosion’. Maybe the work was done, or maybe a different MoT tester felt the corrosion wasn’t quite so severe but either way it sold for just under £16k including buyer’s premium.

I was somewhat gobsmacked to see the same car back up for sale at a non-franchised dealer two weeks later for £24,995! That’s some profit margin. It’s always been the way I suppose, but to see what could be a really nice car if it had the money lavished on it being sold with glib statements such as ‘you will struggle to find another M635 that represents

such good value for money’ does stick in one’s craw somewhat.

Deadlines being what they are this issue was put together before the Christmas break, but I’ll do my best to give the Six some exercise while I’m away from the office.

Bob Harper

E24 M635CSi YEAR: 1988 MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 23 TOTAL MILEAGE: 163,925 ECONOMY THIS MONTH: 23.3 TOTAL COST: £18 (bulbs)

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LONGTERMERS F10 520d SE I knew I was going too fast as the nose of the M4 approached the apex.

I was going to run out of track. In a heartbeat, cutting the corner a little more seemed the sensible thing to do. Severe of kerb and blind on the approach, I’ve driven this track enough to know what lay beyond, but even so in that moment I wasn’t sure quite how much road I would have left if this went wrong.

In the next breath, I knew I’d misjudged it. The front rode the kerb well enough without displacing the chassis more than expected, but then a thousandth of a second later, the rear hit the kerb right at its most extreme and rather than enjoying that balanced feel of front and rear in unison, just on the edge and peeking over the point of no return, it all started to unravel with the rear of the car rotating into the air, the force through the steering wheel increasing, the windscreen full of trees and not the corner which I’d just been looking at, and with said bend now coming at us through the passenger window…

Those of a certain age and a gaming inclination will recall the earliest days of the driving sim, and those halcyon days of the mid-‘90s, by when the earliest games (impressive but hampered by the limitations of the hardware) had evolved into something more realistic with the dawn of the modern console era, are the starting point of the evolutionary process which has brought us to where we are today.

The likes of TOCA Touring Cars and Colin McRae Rally, plus of course Gran Turismo and later, the Microsoft

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Forza series laid the ingredients for the successful formula, and today’s iterations are something to behold.

Virtual Reality is the latest thing in gaming. But if you’re like me, you’ll feel that sitting in a room wearing a headset and headphones which isolate you from the surrounding environment (not to mention looking like a dork) is a tad anti-social. I like to be aware of what’s around me, hence I stick to the 32-inch monitor. But games tell you they offer a realistic interpretation of the art of driving so is there any truth in that, or is it a load of tyre smoke and mirrors?

The first thing to understand, whilst I’m hacking around the Nordschleife in my virtual BMW M4 (that wasn’t an actual M4 I was referring to at the start, do you think BMW had taken leave of its senses!?), is I’m not sat in one of these gaming rigs which wouldn’t look out of place in McLaren F1’s R&D studio. Some people do spend thousands on these setups, but for that kind of cash I’d rather buy an actual car and do some track days.

But at the same time, I’m not sat there on a cardboard box twirling a plastic plate, so some cash has been spent beyond the presence of a sturdy, reclining office leather chair…

We have a force feedback base by Thrustmaster, a TX to be precise at about 200 quid, to which is attached a 22-inch TM racing rim. Leather covered and equipped with tactile metal paddles and a solid metal centre, this adds weight and realism through avoiding feeling too plasticky or ‘light’ in your hands. And another 100 quid. Next, my feet drop onto the

cool metal plate of my inverted T3PAPRO pedals, offering up full threepedal heel-n-toe control and a socalled canonical brake pedal mod, which allows proper resistance to be felt underfoot and hence, the judging of braking effort up to the point of lockup. Thrustmaster will relieve you of £150 for those.

The last item of what I consider the essential equipment without resorting to one of those rigs (and discounting the obvious requirement for a decent television or monitor, in my case a 32inch HD 1080p LG bought used off eBay for 50 notes) is the TH8A shifter, again by Thrustmaster, and again fostering realism through allowing full manual gear changes when combined with the aforementioned pedal set.

Seven-speed capable, cool to the touch at least at the start of a gaming session and with an exposed gate, it’s a beautifully tactile addition and really sets the rest of the kit off a treat. And another 120 quid or so.

The total cost is somewhere around £570, to which we need to add around 50 quid for a decent set of headphones. With other sundries, we’re at 600 quid before factoring in the cost of the actual console. Xbox One bought new upon release, we’re at nearly a grand for the whole lot.

Barmy, but still less than the £3.5k and up for one of those rigs. So, in short, it’d better be worth it…

Back to the Hohe Acht turn-in around the latter half of the ‘Ring (on a rise, blind entry, falling camber on the exit, the fella who drew this place had a really sick sense of humour). I’d gone in far too fast, clipped the kerbs and immediately sent the inside rear into the air… Travelling too quickly on increasing opposite lock and with the outside wheel scrubbing the surface, lifting off now would spell disaster.

Split-second analysis of the decision (hindsight is a wonderful thing) resulted in a little more power being deployed, and in a nanosecond we’re broadside on the track as the inside rear regains its useless purchase on the Tarmac. And Wippermann is now looming in the side windows. Hmm… At least it’s a right-hander, just about. As was the last corner, so we’re heading in vaguely the right direction.

What to do? Drop anchor and hope enough speed is lost before the passenger side smashes into the Armco, or try to drive out of it? How to even try to drive out of it? Figuring that if this goes pear-shaped all I’ll lose is my pride and I won’t actually die, I work the situation. Modulating the power (coughs and crackles audible from the exhaust) but fighting the steering all the time, I twirl the wheel with such force my bottle of (thankfully, unopened) Dr Pepper falls

off the table whilst I whoop far too loudly. The outside kerb of Wippermann is almost upon us but a combination of lost speed, reduced torque and a shallower steering angle scamper us around in a manner which almost implies pre-planning. My heart-rate says different. My wife looks up briefly from what she’s doing, shakes her head in amusement at my “THIS IS AWESOME” exclamation and returns to her task.

The M4, with not a mark anywhere on it, continues on its way up the road. The next lap (still with the tyre marks showing on the surface through Hohe Acht – a nice touch) is a good deal less eventful and by the end of the second lap, the tyres are shot and we need fuel too. But my mind tells me that was epic and a very realistic modelling of an M4’s behaviour in extremis.

But all this is supposition unless one has some actual real-world experience of the Nordschleife, not to mention your chosen wheels. So what are my credentials? An E46 320d which was collected new as a company car in Brussels years ago, and handed back two years later with 100km on the clock and decidedly second hand, gave me a few tastes of life around the ‘Ring. White-knuckled runs (bearing in mind company cars weren’t allowed to do such things if one listened to HR) and some interesting tussles with a muppet in an Opel Manta convinced me to get out whilst the going was good. So after four or five visits over a 12 month period, never once visiting the Armco, witnessing the increasing madness of some people and stringing together a circa ten-minute lap (in an E46 320d, don’t forget) I declared the place ticked off my bucket list and haven’t been back since.

Not physically anyway. But the number of virtual miles I’ve completed around that track would likely run into thousands, and it’s now gotten to the point that I can replay a lap in my head, every corner entry point, clipping point and track position on the exit logged in my brain on a virtual, rotating 3D image of the place.

Whether that ever translates into a decent actual lap, I’m not sure I want to try and find out.

And the M4? Well okay there’s some artistic licence at play here because I’ve not actually driven an M4 as yet (and if anybody from BMW is reading this, I’d be more than happy to remedy the situation, and we don’t even have to go to the Nordschleife either). But time spent in an F80 M3 last year represents the next best thing, and whilst the ‘Ring wasn’t the stage for that experience, the noise, the feel and response and the gusto

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in evidence during the miles I drove the car on the public roads have stuck in my mind.

I can therefore declare that Assetto Corsa, the game in question, is very realistic. Sound-wise, the game is spot on. Oh I know the M3 and M4 pairing have received a load of stick in the press for not sounding as good as the E90 generation, but that’s like criticising the Euro Fighter for not sounding quite as evil as the Vulcan bomber. Doesn’t mean it’s any less capable of ruining your day should the need arise.

So the virtual M4 sounds pretty good, at least in terms of matching the real version. The creators have even successfully managed to model the interior, although as usual the lack of a HUD frustrates (other cars in the game get one). As for the handling, the one thing the game doesn’t model is weather beyond a little mist or fog, so the M4’s supposed spiky handling on the limit in damp conditions can’t be explored (a pity, one may have been able to learn to a certain extent, and in controlled conditions, how to drive around it).

We can still comment on the dry handling though. So get the chassis

loaded-up in a turn, now adjust the balance with a little more throttle, feel the rear start to slip. No need for corrective lock, at this point the rear is turning the car with the fronts pointing at zero degrees. Hold this attitude for as long as the corner lasts and the M4 arcs around gracefully; a mournful wail from the tyres filling your world. Allow some more power and the feeling of balance remains (remembering we are using a force feedback wheel, which accurately mimics steering and chassis loading, even if the fixed seat doesn’t) whilst the rear now slides out a little. This is where the simulation really starts to tell. One has to know exactly how much corrective lock to apply. Too little and the car will slide further outwards until it runs out of road and you crash into the barriers on the inside of the turn. Too much and the slide ends abruptly. From there it’s almost inevitable that you’ll nose it at speed into the opposite barriers on the outside of the turn. Get it wrong and you’ll tut-tut, press restart and try over. Get it right and you’re convinced you’ll never get it wrong, and you’re off to try it again at the next corner…

Perhaps you can’t afford an M3. Or

an M4. Or a 1M which is also modelled in the game and unnervingly accurate with its wailing straight-six and spin-in-its-own-length handling. I know I can’t. So for many, the possibilities offered up by a good driving sim are intriguing, and if you’ve not tried it, I urge you to do so.

As for the 520d, no I wouldn’t dare attempt to take this one around the ‘Ring because it’s my own car! We’ve been to North Wales again this month though, and hacking across country from Shrewsbury and then out into the sticks up the A5 with the heated seats and wheels going full blast and -3°C outside (it was -7°C the following morning!), plus some decent toons on the hi-fi was a very pleasurable experience. I’ve said before that travelling at night in the F10 is a very pleasurable way of putting distance behind you and that doesn’t change with familiarity. One assumes the same sense of well-being will be evident in the G30 when it arrives.

We spent a pleasant couple of days in Betws-y-Coed, nosing around the local shops and generally having a good time, and I spent far too much money in the model railway place.

Again. Then the time came to leave

and as night approached we scampered south back along the A5, the sun setting rapidly to our right as night crept over the hills, turning the landscape from green, through husky greys to darker browns before blackness and night enveloped us silently. Mercifully free of traffic, and hence cracking on whenever I had the chance, we made good time on the return trip and the nigh-on 40mpg returned by the B47 despite the aforementioned heated occupants proves that modern engines, for all their efficiency and as I alluded to last month, are better with more demanding usage than just crawling around town.

Mark Williams (@QuentlyBentin)

F10 520d SE YEAR: 2016 MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 897 TOTAL MILEAGE: 12,775 MPG THIS MONTH: 39.6 COST THIS MONTH: Nil

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LONGTERMERS The Everett Fleet: repairing a damaged E90 You’ll all be aware that after the many thousands of car accidents every year, a large proportion of the cars involved are written off by the insurance companies. This is normally when the cost of repair is too great in relation to the value of the car – the more valuable the car, the greater the damage needed to write it off.

For the last few years, cars have been categorised for resale via salvage auctions – Category A cars are ones that have been destroyed by fire for example and are crushed whole with no parts removed. Category B are ‘break only’ meaning they cannot legally go back on the road. They are to be broken up for parts and the shells crushed – however, it’s not unknown for buyers to apply for the V5 and DVLA will sometimes let it slip through… the car will be absolutely uninsurable though. Equally, many Cat B cars are bought by European buyers, repaired and reimported if the value is high enough.

Category C cars are generally older and are ones where, whilst the damage is bad, is deemed fixable.

These cars can be repaired and used but the V5 will carry the ‘substantially damaged and repaired’ marker. Finally,

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Category D cars – these are lightly damaged and normally quite easily repaired and apart from the inevitable HPI alert they’re saleable whereas Cat C stuff is viewed with suspicion.

There are so many caveats when buying salvage cars. Firstly, unless it’s a lower value car that you can fix for peanuts and you’re not bothered about resale value, it’s best to avoid Cat C stuff. Seriously, it’ll be worth so much less. It could be a way into a newish car but it could be a millstone.

Secondly, try to buy only direct from an insurance company. Why is the car missing the headlights and bumper after an accident? It could be that it’s been auctioned before, the damage has been far worse than imagined and the buyer has re-entered it. Don’t ever buy anything ‘previously repaired’ as the chances of it being proper fixed and without problems are approximately zero.

Thirdly, get an idea of what an equivalent car is worth ‘straight’. Forget regular car auctions – they’re bordering on a waste of time these days due to silly fees and the amount of old rubbish being fed through. If a car is worth £3500, you want it on the road for £2000 after all your efforts.

Fourthly, try to view the car before bidding – there will always be more damage than you think. Make sure the car runs, the handbooks are present and that the car wasn’t a tired old shed before the accident. Start replacing tyres, exhausts, knackered seats and missing radios and the cost starts to add up.

Fifthly, overestimate the cost of repairs. If that front-ended E92 has got adaptive Xenons, you’re going to be in trouble. Similarly, don’t assume frontend parts for anything F Series will be available new because the stuff is like gold dust.

Finally, the newer and more valuable the car, the greater the savings. Fixing a 2001 E46 318i is probably a waste of time because the car is only worth a grand on a good day. But when you can buy a damaged 2014 420d Coupé for £8000 and repair it yourself for £4000, the many hours involved are worth it.

So why am I talking about all of this? Well, I was aware of how old and rusty my 1998 E36 Touring was getting underneath – it was a great workhorse but I thought it’d be nice to have something from this century.

E46s are just too old now and are every bit as rusty and tired as the previous E36. That leaves the E90.

Early ones in decent condition are still £2500 and horrid ones are just under £2000 now but we don’t want one of those. For economy and cheap tax, I singled out a 318i or 320i petrol, or a 320d if cheap enough. I was avoiding the direct injection N43 engine due to the litany of injector and coil pack issues, and sticking to the N46 – not a great engine but more reliable in theory, although any N Series four-cylinder will need a timing chain kit past 80,000 miles to be on the safe side.

After surfing through various cars, bidding and not winning anything, I put a preliminary £1100 bid on a 2007 318iES. Black Sapphire with black cloth, 100,000 miles and a runner, it had two damaged doors on

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LONGTERMERS the driver’s side and was wearing an 04 plate… nothing iffy though as it was a private plate added by the previous owner. Whether this misled other bidders or not I don’t know but the auction started, attracted no bids and ended with me as the highest bidder – I’d won it! However, the reserve had been set at £1350, and whilst the fees on an £1100 would have resulted in me paying £1263, paying £1350 would have meant a total close to £1600 – no thanks. A few hours of faffing about with an online counter bidding ensued and getting fed up, I called Copart directly and said that my £1100 bid stood, and not a bean more. After a minute of waiting I was told the company had caved in – £1263 with fees it is then.

After a trip to the bank to collect £1300, we set off up the M1 to York to collect the prize but I was nervous. I hadn’t followed my advice and seen the car – was it a wreck? Would it pump out blue smoke and resemble the Titanic underneath? After paying the £1263, the car was brought out on a huge forklift and carefully placed on the back of the truck. Well, it was certainly shiny. The passenger side was super straight, both bumpers had very light scuffs that will flat and polish out.

Both driver’s side doors were indeed knackered but the wings, sill and B post were perfect. It started on the button and sounded fine although like 90 percent of N46 engines it was leaking oil from every orifice… as well as the chain kit. It will need a full set of gaskets and O rings as well as a serious steam clean and probably a new CCV valve too. No biggie though – it’ll take a day to do the lot.

The alloys were undamaged, the tyres were all good (with very newlooking Mohawks on the back) and a very clean underbody with none of the usual rusty bits like suspension arms and fuel tank straps. It’s had two new driveshafts fitted recently, no doubt due to the E90 ABS rings rusting and splitting. It was a clean car though – smart inside, with everything working including the air conditioning and inside the owner’s handbook pack was a full V5 logbook and an MoT with six months left to run!

So far, the gamble appeared to be paying off – if I could find two perfect (or very close) black Sapphire doors for a couple of hundred quid, this would be a seriously cheap E90.

However, ringing every breaker known to man drew a blank – it’s such a common colour that doors and wings are sold very quickly. Rather than wait a few weeks for a car to turn up, I bit the bullet and bought a pair of straight doors from Quarry Motors in Carbon

black. The same morning, I took them straight down to my local bodyshop who do all my work and spent a couple of hours removing the door handles and upper moulding strips before rubbing them down, filling any stone chips with high build stopper. As they are door shells, I’ll need to swap over the window regulators and door locks but even so, with the doors and painting, the damage to this £1263 E90 will cost less than £400 to repair plus a few hours of swearing – don’t forget, this is a £3500 car when fixed.

Should we paint the doors on the car? In theory yes but the car has factory paint and once the wings and the newly painted doors are flattened and polished it should look fine. You show me an eight- or nine-year-old car that’s never had any paint…

That was Saturday and by Tuesday the call came that my two doors were painted and ready for collection.

Resplendent in gleaming black Sapphire metallic, The Bodyshop in Sheffield had done a superb job and even painted the insides. It’s not just a case of swapping doors over though – there are locks to swap over and given what a cow they can be on the E46, an E90 should be even harder. After all, cars don’t get simpler….do they?

Next month we’ll fit the replacement doors, give the car a thorough clean-up, replace the timing chain assembly and give it a first run out. Will it be okay? Fingers crossed…

Andy Everett

FEBRUARY 2017 103

104-105 BMWCAR 0217 subs 04/01/2017 15:05 Page 104

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106-107 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 15:54 Page 106

POST BAG

POST BAG

bmwcar@unity-media.com Auto issues

Seven eleven?

On the streets of Dublin, I have several times noted an interesting curiosity. It’s a blue E65 7 Series long wheelbase, registration plate starting with an 11. The significance of this is that the 11 means it was manufactured in 2011. As everybody knows, E65 went off production lines sometime in mid-2008. There were 100,000 cars, vans and trucks registered in Ireland in 2011, so from the rest of the plate (which we’ve not written in full here ~ Ed) it’s likely to mean it was Q1/Q2 2011.

I checked motor tax records at www.motortax.ie, and weirdly there is no record of it (even though I checked in the past tens of other cars and always found out how much tax was due for a given regplate). However, www.cartell.ie says it’s a 2011 BMW 760Li (5975cc capacity). Needless to say, I know it was an E65. I owned one and I can distinguish it from afar from the more modern F02 model that should have been produced in 2011.

My question is: do you have any idea where such vehicle could have come from? Have you ever heard of a BMW that has been mysteriously manufactured three years after production ceased?

Perhaps it’s some diplomatic stuff or an armoured vehicle finished in 2011 (i.e the armouring modifications being so pervasive that it took so long to be registered vehicle)? Or fake plates (I was considering reporting it to the police, but I’ve seen this E65 a few times driving always around the same spot so I doubt it’s fake plates, rather somebody commuting to work). It’s been puzzling me for the last few months, so if you have any ideas how an E65 can have a 2011 registration plate I’d be delighted to hear it.

Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to ask. I’ve been searching for an E23, the first 7 Series and nearly bought one (thanks BMW Car for pointing me to the issue with the E23 Buying Guide). However, my family will be expanding soon, and I will need some more modern

106

BMWcar

A couple of years ago I found an all too tempting PCH deal on a 4 Series and I’ve enjoyed two great years of motoring in my 420d auto Gran Coupé.

Unfortunately, the time is coming to hand it back, and with a few thousand sunk and (soon) nothing to show for it, I’m wondering if I should buy something instead this time. I have always fancied a six-cylinder E92 Coupé. Having driven numerous ‘high end’ cars that have been ruined by indecisive, slow-witted automatic gearboxes (an E350 Coupé being the most notable) my fear is that stepping backwards from BMWs latest eight-speed auto to a more old-school auto may leave me disappointed, especially knowing how proactive and decisive the latest machinery is when pulling off from a rolling start when coasting up to roundabouts etc. Should I be concerned? Love the magazine, keep up the good work.

Matthew, via email

technology for commuting, so it leaves me with an E65 (in addition to my current E60 5 Series petrol wheels, which at 25mpg for my daily 30-mile drive leaves much to be desired in terms of economy).

Can you let me know which BMW Car featured a Buying Guide to the E65 7 Series?

And one more thing: I was just reading the latest January 2017 issue of the mag and loved the feature about the new 5 Series. Fantastic car.

However, it think there might have been a little gremlin: you quoted economy for the 540i as over 60mpg and CO² emissions of only 128g/km (same as for 530d) – if it’s not a gremlin then, wow, nice economy and emissions. As usual, looking forward to the next issue.

Michal Siwiec, Ireland, via email We’re afraid this one has got us stumped Michal and we can’t offer you a definitive answer. Could it be that the car was ordered in 2008 and then cancelled at the last minute as the global recession hit hard? It’s just possible it sat unsold for the ensuing two-and-a-half years as we can’t imagine there were too many folk willing to drop €100,000 on a gas guzzler that had just been superceded, especially given the economic conditions. We’re also not sure how the Irish registration system works… could it have been imported from another country in 2011 and mistakenly given a 2011 plate rather than an age related one? Perhaps you can attract the driver’s attention one day and get to the bottom of the mystery?

As far as a Buying Guide for the E65 Seven is concerned, the last in-depth guide we did was in November 2015, which covered the V8 petrol models, while for an overview of the 730d the last piece we did was a Ten Minute Guide in September 2012. And, yes, well spotted on the 5 Series gremlin – see Five Gremlins opposite.

Ultimately Matthew the only way to really judge this will be to take an E92 Coupé for a spin yourself but, having sampled the latest ZF eight-speeder, we fear you’ll be disappointed with the E92. In its day the six-speed auto in machinery such as the 330i was an excellent piece of kit but now you’ve tasted the forbidden fruit in the guise of the eight-speed the sixspeed may feel a little clunky by way of comparison.

106-107 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 15:54 Page 107

POST BAG A big mistake

I recently part-exchanged my 2014 535d M Sport for a brand-new Range Rover Sport Autobiography… and, oh dear, how I miss my 5 Series. So much so, in fact, that I was originally trying to buy it back and reverse the deal. The dealer wanted an extra £5000 from me for less than a week’s worth of driving the Range Rover. Initially I said no, but decided I missed my car so much I really had no choice. So I agreed but then, the day before we was supposed to change back, the dealer called and told me it wanted a further £2800 as that is what Land Rover had contributed to the deal. At this stage I had to wave goodbye to my Five.

The thing is, I have always wanted the latest version of the Range Rover Sport and always said if I ever had the money I would get one. They look just as great outside the Savoy as they do mudplugging… but within seconds of driving it I knew I had made an £80,000 mistake. I did test-drive one before purchase but it was a slightly different model that seemed to be a better drive than mine.

My car is not all that smooth on its Scorpion Verde tyres but there’s a very limited choice of tyres that will fit this thing. These are so called ‘green’ tyres and are a bit lumpy – almost like a winter tyre.

Everything in this car, including its version of Head-

Up display (HUD) is such poor quality and slow it’s like going back to 2003 when BMW brought HUD to the masses. As for the headlights, well they are certainly not in the same league as the LED items that I had fitted on my 535d. Nor is the so-called excellent Meridian 900w stereo. It’s great at high volume but when on low it’s rubbish. Not a patch on the Harman Kardon in the F10. God I miss my car.

Anyone who thinks Range Rovers are the best are mistaken – they are far from it. Yes, they are superb inside and may go up and down muddy hills but on road I’d say they are nothing special at all. I would rather be in an X5 with all that luscious gadgetry and power. My only complaint with current BMWs is that I don’t like the way they look.

Oh, and one more thing: we take for granted how fantastically BMW technology works and how seamless it all is, especially when being able to use the iDrive when driving. But with the clunky slow touch-screen on the Range Rover trying to change my iPod music while driving is bloomin’ dangerous.

Touch-screens in cars should be banned! They do not work well and are not safe.

Anyway, someone somewhere will be the luckiest person alive when my BMW 535d goes through an auction with its 24,000 miles and almost £20k of

extras. Now I am stuck with this Goliath of a machine for four years when I will then be free to move back to my family at BMW. God it’s going to be a long four years… let’s hope it snows continually so that least I’ll get some use out of the Range Rover!

Lee Ryan, via email It doesn’t sound like you’re too enamoured with your Range Rover Lee… perhaps you’ll grow to love it over the years? By the time the four years are up we should have seen a new X5 launched – let’s hope its styling is more to your liking and you can return to the BMW fold.

While we don’t have experience of the latest Rangie’s driving dynamics we must agree with you about touch-screens in cars. The joy of the iDrive system was that you could change settings with a few simple clicks, viewing the screen in your peripheral vision while you keep your eyes on the road. However this is just not possible with a touchscreen setup as you have to look properly at what you’re touching in order to press the right function.

In this respect we’re somewhat surprised BMW has introduced touch-screen functions to its latest cars.

Fine when stationary but perhaps the ‘touch’ function should be disabled when the car is in motion?

Five gremlins?

I noticed that in your review of the new 530d xDrive and the 540i that there must be something wrong with the economy figures you give: 530d xDrive: 60.1 mpg; 540i: 60.1 mpg?

The emissions also seem incorrect as the M240i in the same issue has an economy figure of 36.2mpg.

Andreas Neider, Germany, via email Oh dear Andreas, what can we say? Well spotted and many apologies for the gremlins that crept into the spec panels for the new 5 Series test.

The 530d xDrive figures are correct but, as you’ve rightly pointed out, we’re afraid that those for the rear-wheel drive 540i were a trifle optimistic. The 540i’s vital stats should in fact be 40.9-43.5mpg (6.5-6.9 litres/100km) and emissions of between 149 and 159g/km – depending on which wheels and tyres the car comes with.

Again, many apologies for getting this wrong in the January issue, and many thanks to everyone who was kind enough to write in.

BMW Car magazine and Unity Media plc do not necessarily share the views expressed within the letters on these pages and accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies they may contain.

FEBRUARY 2017 107

108-109 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 16:45 Page 108

BMW DEALS

Our monthly roundup of what’s hot, or not, in the BMW marketplace Words: Guy Baker 016 was one of the best years ever for British car salesmen, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. With more than 2.5 million new cars sold, the UK new car market rose by 2.9 percent over the year – with BMW one of the main beneficiaries. Sales were up 6.66 percent to around 170,000 vehicles, and BMW UK’s target for 2017 must be in the region of 180,000.

With around 3.6 percent of the total UK market, demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) grew exponentially, whilst petrol registrations also grew for the first time in many years. But diesel sales fell. And these trends are expected to continue over 2017 – with values of many nearly-new diesel models falling more sharply than in previous years, as new petrol

2

models become more and more efficient, demand for AFVs continues to grow and the public become increasingly concerned over potential diesel pollution.

In 2016, Superminis made up more than a quarter of all cars registered, but executive and city cars enjoyed the biggest growth. We expect both of these sectors to continue to grow over 2017, with electric and hybrid powered models also increasing in popularity. Fleets sales accounted for more than half of the 2016 new car market, as registrations to private buyers fell – and this too should continue over 2017.

BMW UK has a few new-model launches this year, and some of these will have an effect on the used market. February sees the arrival of the new 5 Series Saloon which is loaded with new tech and will be lighter too – to help improve fuel efficiency. Pricing for

the new 5 Series will be higher, but this won’t stop values of the outgoing F10/11 5 Series falling almost immediately. Late-plate cars will be especially affected, whereas pre-face-lifted 2010-2012 models will see lower falls. Expect to see 2015 520d SE Saloons down to around £15,000 by the middle of 2017.

The arrival of a face-lifted M4 in 2017 will have little effect on current model values, however, as the changes will more than likely be fairly minimal. But the release of a new G30 BMW M5 in 2018 will affect F10 values. We expect to see £25,000 F10 M5s before the end of 2017.

Late-plate F25 X3 values too will fall, once the third-generation car arrives in the Autumn. The very leggiest examples are sure to hit £15,000 before Christmas 2017.

Top three £10,000 Coupés The blueprint for the perfect Coupé demands not only stylish good looks but also an enjoyable drive. Outright performance must be good too, but even with these constraints there are still plenty of different takes on the Coupé theme. Fortunately, BMW has been one of the prime movers in this regard, producing a diverse variety of sleek alternatives over the years. And you won’t need a whopping budget to take advantage either, with these three class contenders all available for just £10,000…

123d M Sport Coupé (E82) (2007 to 2013)

335i M Sport Coupé (E92) (2006 to 2009)

630i Coupé (E63) (2005-2007)

It may be small and fuel efficient, but the 123d Coupé packs a 204hp punch. In-gear times rival the best hot hatches and a £10,000 budget will buy you a 65,000 mile 2010 car in mint condition. Make sure yours packs a full main-dealer or specialist service history and comes with a year’s MoT. A plush factory spec includes half leather seats, 18-inch alloys, cruise control, dual climate control, rear parking sensors, electric windows and mirrors, and front foglights.

Boasting one of BMW’s most enjoyable engines, the E90 335i M Sport Coupé in N54-engined pre-facelifted form is a genuine M3 rival. And that’s before you consider the tuning potential. With 0-62mph posted in just 5.5 seconds the factory spec is comprehensive, and a ten grand budget will buy a 2007 example with 70,000 miles. You’ll see well over 30mpg on longer journeys too, assuming you can resist playing with the throttle for long enough!

Overlooked by many buyers, the pre-face-lifted N52engined 630i offers serious metal for your money, and strong performance. With greater car park kudos than a 4 Series, you can now buy a well-maintained 2005 or 2006 example with around 70,000 for just £10,000. Make sure the car has been serviced on time by a recommended BMW specialist, or a main dealer – and that it has had no major engine issues.

The annual road tax bill is currently £295 a year.

108 BMWcar

108-109 BMWCAR 0217 03/01/2017 16:45 Page 109

BMW DEALS THIS S MONTHU’ Y! BEST B 220d M Sport Coupé (F22) (2014-on) Coupés feature large in this month’s BMW Buyer, and the fourth of our two-door choices is the stylish F22 220d Coupé, which is available in large numbers and can now be bought for as little as £16,000. This bags a high-mile 2014 M Sport model with 18-inch alloys, sat nav, Park Distance Control, cruise control, sports seats, foglights, Bluetooth prep and auto Xenon headlights, plus M Sport suspension and body styling.

With hot hatch-rivalling performance, 60mpg is possible on a long run and road tax is just £110 a year. Stretch to £20,000 and you could be the proud owner of a nearly-new 2015 M Sport with just 10,000 miles on the clock.

AUCTIONHT SPOTLIG

BMW Car’s lowdown on the latest prices paid for average condition BMWs at auction. To find your nearest auction house check out: www.british-car-auctions.co.uk

And remember…

Always arrive early at car auctions, pick up the sales catalogue and examine the vehicles in the line-up before the bidding starts. In addition to the hammer price, you’ll have to pay a small buyer’s fee. You’ll need to provide a deposit of at least £500 (in cash or by Maestro or Visa Delta debit card) but the balance of the purchase price and the buyer’s fee can be paid via banker’s draft, cash, cheque, telegraphic transfers, credit or debit card.

Prices paid last month for average condition BMWs at auction Model Trim/transmission Year/registration 323Ci Coupé, manual 2000/V X5 3.0d Sport, auto 2001/Y 330d Sport Saloon, auto 2004/04 330Ci Sport Coupé, auto 2004/54 X5 3.0d Sport, auto 2005/05 525i Sport Saloon, auto 2005/05 730d Saloon, auto 2004/04 X5 3.0d Sport, auto 2004/54 330d M Sport Saloon, auto 2007/57 M5 Saloon, SMG 2005/05 M3 3.2 Coupé, SMG 2003/03 318d M Sport Saloon, manual 2012/62 X1 xDrive18d M Sport, manual 2012/62 330d M Sport Coupé, auto 2010/10, 730d M Sport Saloon, auto 2011/61 Prices quoted are hammer prices and will be subject to buyer’s premium

Mileage 103k 163k 70k 91k 113k 78k 47k 47k 82k 140k 61k 69k 48k 60k 73k

Price £950 £1950 £3150 £3300 £4850 £5400 £5600 £5850 £7650 £8100 £9600 £11,150 £11,600 £12,100 £14,750

Many thanks to John Warren Cars (www.independentbmw.co.uk) for its assistance with BMW Buyer

Forecourt find M6 Coupé V10 (E63) (2005-2010) With the current F13 model now firmly established in the UK second-hand market, values of the previous E63 V10 incarnation continue to fall – marking this generation of M6 out as a seriously good used buy. Something like this £18,995 65k-mile black Sapphire Metallic example, advertised at Birmingham specialist The Barclay Motor Company, would make an ideal buy. This particular car comes with a carbon roof, heads up-display, an eight-inch TV, Bluetooth telephone prep, black Merino leather upholstery, and 19-inch alloys. And with 507hp, a 4.6-second 0-62mph time and that exclusive V10 soundtrack, every journey will put a smile on your face.

Tel: 0121 4477229 Web: www.bmc-cars.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2017 109

110-111 BMWCAR 0217 04/01/2017 10:12 Page 110

TECHNICAL TIPS BMW Car’s tame top tech, Andy Everett, casts his eye over the latest goings on at the dealers, specialists and independent workshops

M20 heads and headbolts

E90 and 1 Series diffs

Back in 1995 I was working, not as a waitress in a cocktail bar, but as a salesman for a now defunct outfit called SGT (Station Garage Taplow), a well-regarded multi-franchise garage with a distinct villagy feel – Alfa, Lotus, Morgan, Subaru and Mitsubishi – a fine mix. We also took the odd BMW in part exchange including an E28 M5 that, oddly, had to be road tested by everyone.

One car we saw that caused some consternation was a 1988 325i Touring that had been fitted with a new engine under warranty by BMW in 1993… when it was five years old? It turns out that a rare problem had occurred – the head of one of the 19mm cylinder head bolts had sheared off and a cam lobe had punched it clean though the waterway. BMW replaced the engine free of charge but I was reminded of this ten years ago when I bought an insanely cheap 1986 520i and found a bolt head resting in a corner of the head – talk about lucky!

On this occasion, I bit the bullet and replaced every head bolt, one by one, with the 1989 onwards stretch bolts that BMW had introduced. Do it in the same pattern you would use when torquing up head bolts after a gasket job and it will be fine.

But there are still thousands of M20 units out there and I heard of another failed bolt recently.

In other words, if you have an M20 remove the oil filler cap, check all the bolts and if you have 19mm hex headed ones – get them changed… sharpish.

It’s quite well-known now, but the small casing (Type 168) differentials used on the small engined E87/8 cars such as the 116i, 118i and M47 engined 118ds are pretty fragile – as are the same diffs when fitted to the E90 318i and some 320i cars. Why is this? It’s down to two or three things – firstly, the lack of a drain plug means that the oil is in there upwards of 50,000 miles when really, it should be drained and refilled. Secondly, the ‘correct’ oil is quite thin and is intended to reduce drag on the final drive gears as much as possible to improve economy. Thirdly, the diff bearings that would probably be alright with decent oil changed regularly aren’t really up to this – but it’s a lottery. I have a 100,000 mile 318i with a singing diff, and a 200,000 mile 118d whose final drive is completely silent (for now).

Specialists reckon the change in diff bearing design may not have helped. In the good old days, pinions ran on two taper roller bearings as did the main differential unit but on these diffs, BMW fitted ball bearing races – again no doubt to reduce friction.

The situation with supply and demand on these units is so bad that breakers can (and do) ask and get £600 for a good used one, which seems like a ridiculous amount of money. Instead, companies on eBay sell diff rebuild kits with new bearings and seals for around £170. No, removing and rebuilding a diff isn’t like changing a set of plugs but if you have a decent workbench and toolkit and have changed a clutch, you can do this. In the meantime, look after your diff.

Drain the old oil by loosening the rear cover bolts after you’ve warmed the oil up with a spirited drive, and refill with a good brand name 75W/140… £20 and an hour’s work tops. You know the alternative…

Classic car values… again!

The classic car market is in full silly season, with mind-boggling prices being paid for some extraordinary and also very ordinary cars. Now, six figure sums for an M1 (the proper original one) can be justified because at the time, it was an absolutely tremendous thing – it combined the style, performance and agility of cars such as the 308GTB and the Bora… but it actually worked and wasn’t tragic on fuel. Grossly undervalued for so long it’s finally found its mark.

But then I saw an E21 316 for £7000. Really? Don’t get me wrong, they were decent, worthy cars along with the 320 but really, the 323i was the one to have and they were rendered well and truly obsolete by the E30 325i. Seven thousand pounds will buy a very decent example of one of these, even if it won’t be the desirable Sport version. As CAR mag succinctly summed up the E21 back in the day: “More upmarket Cortina than exalted sports saloon…”

That brings us on to 325i Sports nicely. When these arrived in late 1986, these

110 BMWcar

were the BMW to have. Forget the M3 – too much money, LHD only and fourcylinders all added to an appeal that would soon wear off. But the Sport – available in silvers, greys and a black only – was a superb driver’s car with its limited-slip diff, Bilstein suspension, grippy seats and He Man body styling as well as nice details such as the black headlining, shadowline dechroming and stylish 15-inch BBS alloys – a truly desirable package that I prefer in its original metal bumper ‘Tech 1’ form.

Sadly good ones are rare but here is a car that in really good condition, you could pay £10,000 or £12,000 for and feel that you’re buying something iconic. The later ‘Tech 2’ version from late 1989 is more sought-after and expensive but they rust every bit as badly as the first one and you need to make sure all the correct bits are there – Sports all came with a closer ratio gearbox with a conventional H pattern shift.

Investment potential? Well, remember when you could buy a clean RS2000 for five grand…? Exactly.

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TECHNICAL TIPS It’s not who you know…

Knowledge is power as they say, and a recent timing chain job on an N46-engined E90 318i has taught me two things. Firstly – the N Series four-cylinder unit likes to leak oil. Secondly, you may have been told that the E46 cam cover does not fit an E90 unit. Well, yes it does. These plastic covers can occasionally crack but more commonly they can warp. Used E90 cam covers are rare but E46 ones are 30 quid on eBay. The actual difference is that the E90 version has an extra locating tab on the back for some cable routing – easily sorted with a couple of neat black tie wraps. And that’s it – the breather pipe location is the same. When refitting, take extreme care not to dislodge the (very strong) Valvetronic shaft tension spring – quite easily done.

The other discovery when doing this job was that the inlet Vanos unit was knackered.

It was clean and it looked fine, but when it was tweaked with a 16mm socket, the unit wasn’t locked up as it should have been but moved, even when the cam locks were fitted. Luckily I had a good used one in stock and the fault was corrected. Finally, cheap N Series cam lock kits can be absolute rubbish and mine, a cheap Amazon special, needed modifying with a grinder before the inlet lock would fit and was so loose that perfect cam timing was impossible.

…It’s what you know Looking for an E34 sump to enable you to drop an E36 328i engine into an E30? You might struggle as E34s are rare beasts now and a sump and dipstick kit will make up to 200 quid now, maybe even more. But fear not because the E38 728i sump does the same job – unlike the E39 sump, the oil bulge on the E38 is at the front. The difference is, you’re far more likely to find a time expired 728i in a breaker’s – and they’re so cheap, a complete 728i (single Vanos only) engine will often be the best option – we’ve seen complete running cars for well under £500.

On the subject of sumps and M52/54 engines, don’t be taken in by expensive used M54 units for the E60 because the E39 unit is to all intents and purposes identical – the sump is the same. E39 engines are half the price though and whilst you’ll need to swap the engine loom over, it’ll fit and work as per the factory. And, a 1998-2000 M52TU (double Vanos) from an E39 523i will drop into a pre-2006 E60 520i/525i just fine with that loom and manifold swap whilst a 2.8 from a double Vanos 528i gives a 525i E60 a touch of extra oomph.

We touched on E90 diffs above – what a pity BMW cast the iron diff casing on the E46 diff so that the front mounting bolt holes are an inch apart – I can feel an entrepreneurial moment and a nicely made adaptor plate coming on…

That DIY spirit Remember the days when your dad changed the gearbox on your mum’s BL Mini in a weekend, pausing only for a cup of tea, cheese sandwich and ten minutes of World of Sport? I certainly can, just like I can recall my very petite and middle class mum underneath our three-year old Escort Mexico holding the gearbox up whilst Everett Snr got the top two bellhousing bolts in.

That’s what folk did back then – DIY and fixing stuff. This has got me thinking about fixing cars today because whilst replacing a leaking radiator on an E46 is actually a bit of a cow, the car’s worth a grand at best and why would you pay £200 to have one fitted?

Recently I saw a 2006 116i auto at a main dealers. It was bought elsewhere and had done 80,000 miles but clearly, servicing hadn’t included fixing small problems whilst they were still small. The hit list included a timing chain and rails (£850), gearbox oil pan and connector plug O ring (£500), and two new driveshafts because the steel ABS reluctor rings had swollen with rust and wiped out both rear ABS sensors – a massive £900 to fix that.

So, the bill to fix this otherwise clean and useful car was around £3000 with VAT – near enough the value of the car. This is where folk need to relearn cars, and fixing them.

Without balancer shafts to worry about, replacing the timing chain is a very steady day and £100 for a complete Febi chain kit with bolts. The BMW ZF gearbox sump and oil O ring/sleeve kit plus oil is £200 and two hours – get the dealer to check the level though. As for the driveshafts – it’s two hours a side to remove them, chisel the old rings off, clean the CV joint until it gleams and wearing gloves, slide new rings pre-heated in boiling water onto them. Parts cost £60 and the satisfaction is immense.

Basically, that car could be fixed for £500 and a weekend of swearing – £3000 is a lot of tea, swearing and Dickie Davis. Buy a Haynes manual, start with simple stuff like oil changes and brake pads, and save a fortune.

FEBRUARY 2017 111

112 BMWCAR 0217 05/01/2017 10:34 Page 112

NEXT MONTH

Next Month M760Li xDrive: BMW’s bonkers 7 Series

Plus

E92 M3s tackle the Spa circuit ● Schnitzer E30 M3 Touring Car ●

●

E34 M5 IMSA race car

●

5 Series GT Buying Guide

March 2017 issue available to download 14 February and in the shops 17 February (Contents subject to change)

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113 BMWCAR 0217 06/01/2017 15:40 Page 111

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BMW ART CARS BMW Art Cars

Sandro Chia

E36 Touring Car After a series of road cars being the subject of BMW’s Art Car project the company went back to its roots with the 13th in the series with a prototype E36 Touring Car In 1992 BMW commissioned its 13th Art Car and after four road cars the company went back to its racing roots and utilised a Prototype E36 race car for the project. At this stage it looked like BMW wasn’t quite sure in which direction it was going with its E36 Coupé Touring Car as this one packed a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that was good for 370hp – not a guise in which it actually raced…

This E36 was used as a mobile canvas by Italian artist Sandro Chia, and he is somewhat unique amongst the Art Car artists in that he approached BMW rather than the other way round – such was the draw of the BMW Art Car project by this stage. Chia was one of Italy’s most important contemporary painters yet he was keen to add an Art Car to his works: “The automobile is a much coveted object within our society,” said Chia commenting on his work.

“It is the centre of attraction. People look at it. This car reflects those looks.” The design of the Art Car was not his first artistic involvement with an automobile – when he was a child he painted graffiti on cars!

The renaissance city of Florence, where Chia was born in 1946, is the world of his youth; a world in which he learned to take a playful and relaxed

“You see the beauty of this car and you see yourself reflected in this beauty, you are part of it”

114 BMWcar

approach towards the fine arts. As early as in the 1970s he displayed his work at important individual exhibitions and was soon recognised as one of the most significant artists of the Italian Transavanguardia. He sees himself as a neo-expressionist, his figurative painting revealing signs of having been influenced by Carrà, de Chirico, Picasso as well as Montegna and Giorgione.

When he came to start work on the car he had already had the design in his head for years and after only three days his work was done. Chia said that the racing car’s surface had called out to him to paint it and he was soon painting faces and a sea of intensive colours until the car’s whole bodywork had been completely covered. “I have created both a picture and a world. Everything that is looked at closely turns into a face. A face is a focus, a focus of life and the world,” he said.

Chia painted the whole car with bodyless and genderless faces. It’s the car that looks at the viewer… his goal was to create a car that was moving even when it was standing still – you could say the eyes are indeed looking at you.

“You see the beauty of this car and you see yourself reflected in this beauty, you are part of it,” described Chia.

115 BMWCAR 0217 19/12/2016 13:39 Page 115

BMW Approved Bodyshop

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YOUR BMW. YOUR CHOICE. *BMW Accident Recovery terms and conditions apply. Specialist charges may also apply. Visit www.bmw.co.uk/bodyshop for more details.

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