Lot Ended
Description
Three owners from new; recent nut-and-bolt restoration which cost over
£46,000 and little used since; Fjord Blue paintwork and new leather
interior; matching numbers; stainless steel exhaust; one of only 3,678 made in
RHD; a super example of this rare and sporting model
BMW launched
its ‘Neue Klasse’ range of compact saloons and coupes in 1962 and it is no
exaggeration to say that they were the cars that saved the company. Up to that
point BMW had been best known for making beautifully engineered but incredibly
complex and expensive machines that no-one outside Germany could either afford
or understand. With its crisp, modernist styling, brilliant chassis dynamics and
superb engineering, the Neue Klasse changed all that at a stroke and established
BMW as a truly international brand.
In 1968,
following on from the success of the 1502/1602 range, BMW added a new model, the
2002. The 2002 looked visually similar to the smaller engined models, although
it gained extra brightwork and ornamentation. The new car came with a choice of
either a two-door saloon or three-door ‘Touring’ hatch body and a limited number
of convertibles were also built by Baur.
In
1972 the more powerful Tii joined the range with a 130bhp fuel-injected M10
2-litre engine which could propel it to 60mph in just 8.3 seconds on its way to
a top speed of 120mph. The brakes, suspension and clutch were also uprated with
a revised axle ratio to increase top speed and a close-ratio 4-speed gearbox.
The most exciting small sports saloon of its era, the Tii remained in production
until 1975 by which time 44,478 examples had been made, of which only 3,678 were
RHD, and survivors are increasingly sought after today.
This particular 2002Tii is a UK-supplied example first registered
in September 1975 and has had just three owners from new, according to the V5C.
Our vendor, a well-respected member of the UK classic car fraternity, was
previously involved with Classic World Racing of Redditch who specialised in
preparing a wide range of classic cars for competition use.
Between 2016 and 2018 they totally stripped and rebuilt this car as
an in-house project to showcase the skills of their team. The full extent of the
work carried out is far too detailed to list in full here but rest assured it
was an extremely thorough job with no corners cut and all aspects attended to,
both mechanical and cosmetic.
There are plenty
of invoices on file for new parts fitted, many supplied by Jaymic and many more
by classic BMW specialists Walloth & Nesch of Germany who hold extensive
stocks of hard-to-find trim parts for the Neue Klasse range. We are told that in
total, over £46,000 was spent on the project, not all of it detailed in the
invoices as much work was done at cost in-house.
Apart from a full body restoration with various new panels fitted,
the car was also treated to a high quality repaint in Fjord Blue by Normandale
of Daventry who specialise in painting race cars for prestige clients including
F1 teams. Even the underside has been painted using a specialist underbody
coating in the same shade as the upper body paintwork.
The
seats have been expertly retrimmed in navy blue leather with new carpets and
sound deadening also fitted. The original engine has been overhauled as required
along with the fuel injection system and a new clutch kit fitted. Brakes,
steering and suspension have all been rebuilt with many new parts. It also
received a new stainless steel exhaust system and a new set of Pirelli Cinturato
tyres.
Since the restoration was completed the
car has only covered around 120 miles, as shown by three old MOTs on file, the
last of which expired in October 2021 with no advisories recorded, the car
having been kept in storage ever since. Classed as a Historic Vehicle, it is now
free to tax and MOT-exempt. An outdoor car cover is included along with a
few useful spares, a factory repair manual and a parts
catalogue.
As you can see in the photos, this
sporting BMW saloon looks absolutely wonderful and you would be hard pressed to
find a better example.
For more
information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]