BMW CCA Vintage At The Vineyards, 5/29/10

As far as new cars go, I'm not a big fan of BMW's. They've gotten big, fat, pointless, and impossible to maintain (with a few exceptions.)  But when it comes to classics, BMW's are one of the brands that really get my blood flowing.  So when my friend Paul told me there was going to be a classic BMW show at a vineyard in northwest North Carolina, I was interested to say the least.  It turned out to be one of the best shows I've been to in a long time - the amount of rare, desirable and perfect metal there was almost mind-blowing.  I shot nearly a gigabyte of photos (at a reasonable resolution) so even though this post is going to be a long one, it's still gonna be a bit of a Clif Notes.   Take a look at what stuck out to me, and drop a comment below.

The show itself was only open to BMWs of the E30 generation and older, but even the "spectator parking lot" itself was drool worthy.  There was a "non vintage M cars" section, and these "outcasts" could really be their own show.  Check this out: three flawless Z3 M Coupes parked next to each other.  When does this ever happen?

speaking of rare M cars, how about two E34 M5's?  Personally, my favorite generation of BMW's super-sedan.  So sneaky.

Of course, not everything in the spectator lot had a Roundel on the front.  How about a totally mint Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth?  I've talked a lot about these cars (perhaps the last truly great Benz driver's car) a whole lot, but this is the first one I've seen in a long time.

Moving towards the parking lot, I stumbled across this gem: a real-life BMW 3.0 CSL coupe.  The last time I saw one these, it was behind ropes at the BMW Museum in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  This was the lightweight racing homologation version of the 3.0 CS sports coupe that proceeded the E24 6-series.

speaking of 3.0 CSL's, how about a full-on works racing 3.0 CSL?  They called this the Batman Coupe for a reason!

Gotta share a little more BMW E9-chassis love with you.  This red coupe rolling on Alpina wheels was just gorgeous.

The E9's more traditional cousin, the E3, was known in this country at least as the Bavaria.  This was the car that later became the 7-series - and you can tell just from it's lines.  There's a remarkable amount of continuity with today's fancy 750Li's, considering the huge age spread of these cars.  This blue Bavaria was factory and flawless, almost a time capsule.  I haven't seen one of these in ages, and especially not in this good of condition.

I've officially decided I need to own a BMW 2002 while they still exist.  Want proof this is a good idea?  Check out this carb-fed 2002 track racer.  And then take a gander at the quick drive-by video I shot below.  How does an 8-valve 4 cylinder sound that good at idle?!?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhl22BcL0LQ

I suppose this is as good a point as any to start with the 2002 love fest.  Everyone knows the 3-series is (pretty much, Infiniti fans) the be-all and end-all of small sports sedans.  The 2002 was where it all started; it was the car that proved that practicality and fun-to-drive weren't mutually exclusive terms.  It's 3-box 2-door sedan body had plenty of room for 4 adults, but it was a blast to drive.  But what most people don't have any clue about, is that BMW was doing hot-hatches long before VW started spitting out Golf/Rabbit GTI's.  What am I talking about?  Why, the 2002 Touring.

All of the awesomeness of the 2002, with stretched rear body work and a hatchback.  Yes, the back seats fold flat.  Yes, you can fit 4 14" Minilite alloys in the back of one.  Yes, I'd club a baby seal to get my hands on one.  One of these with the fuel-injected "tii" motor - could it get any better?  Actually, yes it could...

Y'know, seeing one BMW 2002 Turbo is the statistical equivalent of bumping into Jesus in downtown Charleston.  But two of them?  Oh my Lord.  You're looking at the originator of the modern sport compact car here.  And if you can't dig the reverse-script turbo font on the front airdam, we're not friends.  From a modern perspective these engines are pretty archaic - a 2.0L 8-valve slant four, the 2002 turbo used Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection mated with a KKK BLD turbocharger.  No intercooler, no fancy knock-sensor adjustments, no methanol injection - but 170 light-switch horsepower going to the back end of the flyweight 2002 meant serious performance for the early 70's.  With only about 2,400lbs to push around, this was a serious giant killer.  And with only 1,672 produced over two years (74-75), none officially imported to the US, what are the chances of two parked next to each other in rural North Carolina?

How about this trick piece of work?  Quick: what's out of place in this picture?

For those with a sharp eye, that's not a 2002 engine.  In fact, it's not even sort of a 2002 engine.  But it definitely fits the character of this mean '02...

The E30 M3 motor isn't technically related to the 2002's motor, being based off of the S38 twin-cam from the M1, but it's a "spiritually" correct swap, and it's got to be face-slappingly fast once it's wound out.  Check out that carbon-fibre intake plenum, too.  Mmmm... individual throttle bodies.

I couldn't actually get all of the 2002s into one shot, there were so many of them.  It's a truly glorious site.  But you say you want something a bit more modern, race-bred, and box-fendered?  Like an E30 M3?  Yeah, there were a few...

I counted 15 E30 M3's parked together early in the day; more probably showed up later.  Have you ever seen so many in one place in your life?  It almost makes them look common.  Almost.

There wasn't a really strong E21 (first generation) 3-series presence, but there were two rare Alpina E21's parked next to each other; this B6 3.5 as well as a B6 2.8.  These were basically E21's - which were 4-cylinder only in the US- with a big old 5-series straight six shoehorned in place.  The 3.5 uses a 535i engine; the 2.8 a 528i engine, respectively.  If you didn't realize exactly how long and deep Alpina's connection with BMW is, these two E21's are nearly 30 years old and look like factory vehicles.

I've yet to find a BMW that Alpina's multi-spoke wheels don't look great on, regardless of age or size.  Check out under the hood of the B6 2.8: doesn't this look like factory fitment?

For the sake of this post not taking 20 minutes to load on your computer, I'm going to split up the coverage of Vintage at the Vineyards into two parts - look for the second  installment to be coming your way tomorrow!  In the mean time, drop me a line and let me know what you think and what you want to see more of in the comments section at the bottom of this post.