The celebration of BMW’s 100th anniversary that will happen in about three weeks in Monterey, California is already packed with more events than most BMW enthusiasts have seen in one place at one time, probably ever. The BMW Car Club of America is co-hosting the Legends of the Autobahn concours d’elegance on August 19th along with the Mercedes-Benz Club of America and the Audi Club of North America. There will be a huge BMW CCA Festorics corral at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on the 20th and 21st of August. The expanded week of BMW fun will conclude with the BMW CCA Oktoberfest from August 23 to 28.
Some other folks will be celebrating BMW’s anniversary, too, such as the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. Very exclusive and very expensive.
There is one more activity on the weekend of August 19th that involves a few BMWs, and it is also exclusive and expensive if you’re a bidder, but almost reasonable if you only want to attend a preview on August 17–19. It’s the RM Sotheby’s car auction, and among the remarkable lots it will offer for sale are three impressive BMWs that we’d like to see, even if we could never afford them.
BMW 328.
The pre-war sports car is one of only 464 built. It has an 80 bhp, 1,971cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine with three Solex carburetors, independent front suspension with wishbones and transverse leaf springs, rigid rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, four-speed manual gearbox, and four-wheel drum brakes.
The BMW 328 ran up a record of racing victories that established BMW’s reputation for motorsports. Now, more than 75 years later, it is the most important and most collectible of the pre-war BMWs
Estimated selling price: $700,000–$900,000, no reserve.
https://www.rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO16/Monterey/lots/r132-1939-bmw-328/335314
1981 BMW M1
We all know the M1’s story. Built to homologate a brand new racing car, only 455 of the mid-engine supercars were ever built. It was the first M car, and very few made it to the United States.
The M1 up for auction has only 12,838 miles and is in largely original condition.
Estimated selling price: $450,000–$600,000
https://www.rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO16/Monterey/lots/r142-1981-bmw-m1/363421
1957 BMW 507 Roadster Series I
The BMW 507 came at a time when BMW was getting by on the sale of Isettas and motorcycles. Putting the engine from a BMW 502 into an exciting roadster body would create a car that could challenge the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz roadsters of the day. Unfortunately, it ended up being very expensive to build and therefore, very expensive to buy. Only 252 were made, making it one of the rarest BMW collectibles, and with a price tag to match.
Elsewhere during the BMW 100 Years Celebration, you can see another BMW 507 that’s even more famous. It was driven by Elvis Presley and is just coming out of a restoration by BMW Classic. The bad news is that it’s not for sale, but the one being offered by RM Sotheby’s is. All you need is between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000.
By the way, whatever color this 507 is now, it was originally something else. We suppose if you could afford to buy it, you could afford to restore it to an original factory color.
Estimated selling price: $2,400,000 - $2,700,000
https://www.rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/MO16/Monterey/lots/r219-1957-bmw-507-roadster-series-i/383376
While we would certainly be interested in seeing the BMWs up for auction, this event has some other notable cars that might make the $40 price for admission to the preview days a bargain. How would you like to see a $25,000,000 D Type Jaguar? Or the very first Shelby Cobra? Or a 1908 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost?
Check out the auction lots at https://rmsothebys.com/en/home/auctions/, but be warned. You may want to have a napkin ready.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.]
