T H E R O O F

In the early 1980s, a designer sought a calling card. With backing from The Observer newspaper, this unique glass-topped BMW 635CSi show-car was the result

Here in this corner of the Home Counties, tailgating seems to be the order of the day, as does aggressive overtaking Yet we are too chilled to care It’s steamily hot in here, but everything else is cool It isn’t every day that you get to drive a concept car This is a BMW 6-series, the prototype for a string of conversions that didn’t happen, but it was every bit the media magnet in its day The ObserverCoupémaynotresonateinthehereandnow,butthere was a time when it was considered cutting edge

The car was conceived by design engineer Mike Gibbs, whose CV included spells in the defence industry prior to acting as an agent for freelance clay modellers He formed the MGA design consultancy in 1979, a Coventry start-up that initially acted as a master model maker for manufacturers A big-picture man, Gibbs was keen to make the leap to creating a one-stop shop for mainstream carmakers, taking a project from rendering to finished article A show car would act as a calling card, and the idea for ‘Special Project M3’ formed in March 1982.

Gibbs envisaged a car based on a 6-series BMW, and by June of that year he had come up with a working brief All he needed was a backer John Anstey, editor of The Telegraph Sunday Magazine, was approached first. It would have been a logical fit given that Anstey had been something of a mouthpiece for car design and technology, having persuaded the publisher to fund construction of the Bertone Pirana in 1967. It also sponsored a stand at the British International Motor Show, which promoted independent stylists for much of the 1970s

Anstey was receptive, as was BMW, which agreed to donate a 635CSi However,assiftingthroughabox-fileofcorrespondence between the various parties reveals, there was a failure to communicate Passive aggression morphed into aggressive aggression as Gibbs and Anstey blamed each other for delays in reaching a decision Nine weeks were lost before the potential partners cried off; Gibbs then approached The Sunday Times Colour Magazine before BMW GB’smarketingmanagerengineeredameeting with The Observer Sunday Magazine

It was a case of third time lucky, agreement being reached in late May Reading through paperwork from the time, it seems that matters lagged thereafter, which was an issue given that the car was to have been unveiled at the British International Motor Show in October Not only that, it needed to be photographed and committed to print before the event. An undated internal document states that the target was early September, with The Observer expecting to run a series of articles beforehand Autocar was also to get its hands on the car a fortnight before the covers were lifted in Birmingham Memoranda from June 1982 suggest that there was still some debate over what, precisely, was going to be built It was always going to be some form of convertible, but plans initially

Above, from far left Shark-like nose is a 6-series characteristic; black leather and a glass roof: not the ideal combination for a hot day; from the front, you’d never know called for a pillarless coupé with retractable roof panels Even then, preliminary sketches showed a mix of what was in essence an electric sunroof and a powered rear fabric hood Notes also suggest a full convertible, but with the caveat that it had already been done elsewhere A Targa-style roof with a lift-out panel was proposed, too, but Gibbs’ desire to combine coupé and convertible won the toss

Only now it would be the world’s first car to feature a retractable glass roof Triplex and sunroof firm Tudor came on board, although it would appear that they still invoiced for their work, albeit at a reduced rate MGA quoted a total build cost of £20,000, with Gibbs promising BMW GB ‘ a unique package that will allow an open car – cabriolet – option at the touch of a button: no rag-tops or removable panels What we have proposed has not, to our knowledge, been attempted