- A collection of more than 20 immaculate BMW M performance cars is heading for auction.
- The group includes old-timers like the 2002 Turbo and newer models such as the M4 CSL.
- Strangely, there’s no sign of the 3.0 CSL, and not a single M5 to be found in the listing.
If you’re rich, impatient and have just discovered the joys of BMW M machinery having lived under a Mercedes-shaped rock for the past 50 years, auction house RM Sotheby’s has something coming up you really need to know about. The Best of M Collection is a ready-made corral of some of the best performance BMWs ever made, many with almost delivery mileage, and if you’ve got around $4.2 million you could take the lot.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f”);
}
});
Covering almost the entire 53-year existence of BMW M, the collection makes a strong start with a 2002 Turbo from 1975 looking extra-sweet on Alpina cotton-reel rims and benefitting from a five-speed dogleg transmission that helps mask the lag so obvious in the earlier four-speed cars. Then there’s the 1980 M1 supercar wrapped in BMW M’s iconic red, purple and blue stripes, which RM Sotheby’s reckons could go for up to €600,000 ($704,000).
Related: Four Tailpipes Prove Neue Klasse BMW M3 Still Breathes Fire
A couple of M3s, one a mighty 2.5-liter Sport Evo coupe, the other a 2.3 convertible, cover the E30 3-series period, and other 1990s classics include the Z1 sports car with its drop-down doors, and a pair of 1995 E36 M3s, both pre-Evolution cars with the 3.0-liter S50 six. It’s hard to miss the Dakar Yellow convertible, but the low-key British Racing Green GT built for homologation purposes is much more special, resulting in a €100-140k ($117-164k) estimate that’s twice as high.
Moving into this century, the collection features well-known neo-classics like the E46 M3 CSL, Z3 M ‘Clownshoe’ coupe and E82 1M, but also some lesser-known gems such as a 2003 Alpina Roadster (Alpina’s take on the Z8), and the four-door, carbon-intensive E90 M3 CRT, one of the stealthiest and rarest BMWs ever. Production was limited to just 67 units and this one has covered only 104 miles (168 km). Its bright orange M3 GTS coupe brother (shown below) is also available if you prefer not to fly under the radar.
For fans of more modern M cars there’s the 2016 M3 GTS and the 2023 M4 CSL, but you don’t need to be a BMW obsessive to notice there are a few holes in the collection. Leaving out monsters like the X5M is understandable, but there’s no sign of the 1970s 3.0 CSL and not a single M5 despite the nameplate being part of BMW M’s lineup for 40 years, and fast, M-engineered 5-series predating them by a decade.
Which M cars would you add to this collection to make it more complete? You can check out RM Sotheby’s full listing for each car ahead of this month’s Munich sale.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});
RM Sotheby’s
#22Car #Auction #Haul #Curious #Omissions
