WENT

before In other words, this vehicle will be a “first” and will probably attract considerable technical interest’

The small team was tasked with turning the bright red donor car into a showstopper in just 18 weeks Former Porsche man, Stuttgart-based British designer Stephen Ferrarda, was responsible for working with MGA’s team to create the new look, while electrical systems engineer Stanley Daniels was the man who had to figure out how to make the roof work Aside from anything else, the entire ensemble had to disappear into the boot without any significant loss of luggage room No pressure Alastair Millar Design Engineering was tasked with the geometry layouts and structural design

As with all great leaps into the unknown, there were inevitable issues Even so, the Observer BMW went from signed-off renderings to completed car in just 3½ months, more than 120 modifications being made to the 635CSi, many of them structural As soon as the car arrived, 200kg of clay was heaped upon it while the definitive shape was arrived at A giant template was then built and held in place via an ‘egg-box’ structure to form the mould to shape the new panels

Ferrada’s design called for an integral roll-over bar, and a test rig was built in July 1982 to try out the precise workings of the roof: a complex tracking mechanism that allowed the glass roof panels and rear window, operated separately, to slide along a track into a shallow compartment housed inside the boot-lid (a much thicker and heavier bespoke item). The plan was ambitious and beset with headaches, not least the small matter of a batch of glass not meeting the tight tolerances of the slide-away mechanism Another glass panel was broken by accident during the build

The MGA team worked 30 days straight to get the car ready for its big reveal, the real hero being Martin Collard: he ensured the car was painted at the last gasp while batting away food poisoning TheObserverCoupéwascompletedon27September 1982 and made quite the splash Gibbs was quoted extensively in MGA’s press release ‘We were treading on the frontiers of today’s styling and engineering practice,’ he claimed ‘No-one before had used large moving laminated glass panels as a design feature No-one before had overcome the problem of concealing such panels in the bodywork of the car when open No-one before had tackled the systems and structural effect.’

The build cost had ballooned to more than £65,000 (not including the BMW!), but The Observer appeared happy according to documents from the time Once the car was no longer of use, it was sold to the MGA principal for a pound, but that wasn’t quite the end of the story A production run was mooted, correspondence with BMW GB stating that 50 would be made as a range-topper, and there’s a wealth of letters back and forth between MGA and enthusiastic dealers The plan then was for a dozen cars to be converted, though expectations were soon ratcheted down This prototype remains the only example

Facing page and above

It’s a 635CSi, only subtly – and uniquely – different; design sketches detail the necessary structural changes; donor car was loaded with clay to make a mould for new panels

There was, however, one sizable hurdle that needed to vaulted first: the retractable roof didn’t work, or at least it didn’t stow away in the manner the promotional blurb implied –but then it was a prototype On top of that, simmering resentment between MGA and one of its key subcontractors effectively ensureditsfate Eventhatwasn’tquitetheend, though A less modified 6-series with a roof comprised mostly of glass was proposed, complete with the Observer name because, well, there was a double meaning (such a glasshouse would ensure that you could ‘observe’ quite a lot).

Clockwise, from above Standard 6-series dash is a late-70s masterpiece; full disclosure on the chassis plate; 3 5-litre six keeps things brisk; rear three-quarter is its most obviously different angle

This clearly came to naught, as did the suggestion that BMW dealers could offer MGA styling accessories such as the front spoiler, side-skirts, and so on All of these schemes were quietly dropped, but the BMW had clearly worked itsmagic given thatit attracted interest from Jaguar, Vauxhall and Land Rover By the early 1990s the firm had grown out of all recognition, producing aseriesofconceptcarsinadditiontoshapingproductionmodels such as the MGF (albeit with a few internal tweaks) and the Ford Escort RS Cosworth Alumni included design stars Peter Horbury and Steve Harper, but it was all over by 1997.

As for the first MGA show car, it was retained by Gibbs until the early 1990s An email conversation with a subsequent keeper intimates that the retractable roof set-up was replaced with the current fixed glazed look roughly seven or eight years after it was built. Apparently, he was tired of rattles and draughts Its current owner, Robert Dubsky, bought the car in ‘restored’ condition A man steeped in exotica, he didn’t explicitly buy the car because of its history, more because he fancied a 6-series to smoke around in He has since had it fettled to the nth degree

Up close, the profile of the E24-gen 6-series is much as you remember, only with oh-so-period mods Of these, the bespoke front and rear spoilers, the side-skirts, the stick-on graphics, and the Centra Type 6 alloy wheels chain it to the 1980s There’s just the right amount of wrong here, but you only really appreciate the car ’ s signature feature from inside The cabin furniture is

1982 BMW 635CSi

near-standard, yet the glazing treatment is anything but Overhead, a silkscreen-printed pattern is fused into the glass, principally to overcome the greenhouse effect of the sun

On this particularly bright and warm day, it is only partially successful It doesn’t help that it’s also rocking black leather At this juncture you wish the roof still retracted, if only to stop you being barbecued As to how the car drives, well, it’s a properly sorted 6-series of old – one that has covered just 18,000 miles For the most part it’s the strong, silent type Even with your foot planted and the throttle wide open, it doesn’t get particularly vocal The BMW is quick for its vintage, though, and the five-speed ’box has a relatively short throw across the gate

It’sallratherundramatic,butinagoodway There’sthemildest of mild understeer under power and a tightening of line when the throttle is closed Lurid tail-out action would require provocation and, should you wish to indulge in such behaviour, it would be prudent to attempt it where there is plenty of run-off area Make no mistake, this isn’t the sort of car you want to get out of shape Somehow, you imagine you will need lightning quick reflexes to gather it all up again Fortunately, the brakes scrub off speed rapidly and there’s plenty of pedal feel

The 635CSi is far from the heavy old duffer you might imagine, even though you are aware of the car ’ s heft. It’s worth remembering that the 6-series claimed three European Touring Car Championship titles in period, in addition to big wins in standaloneeventssuchastheTouristTrophy That’saremarkable tally for a car that was decidedly not conceived with motor racing in mind What surprises most about this one-of-a-kind strain, though, is that it doesn’t feel floppy Despite having gone under the knife, there are no percussive creaks and groans

As is so often the way with this sort of thing, MGA promised a realitydespitebeingunsurehowtodeliverit Notallexperiments prove their hypothesis, but you usually learn something anyway Look at how many cars have glass roofs nowadays Yes, this is a prototype with all that entails, but it’s hard not to be intrigued by this forgotten curio all the same End