ssbmw

I remember reading about this car and people telling me about it as well. This is what I know. Was a genuine Alpina built from a 850csi - so it was a super rare Alpina B12 5.7- putting out 410 bhp; 30 more horses than a standard 850csi. Written off in a crash in the uk. A guy called Rice buys it and swaps what he can into a 850csi. Rice who owns a number of E31’s sells them all to Kiwi Alan Ferguson ( about 14 years ago). Alan sells off collection - and this car is sold to an Aussie. That gentleman is paralyzed in a racing accident around the same time in an E39 M5 - so the Alpina never actually leaves NZ shores. Car sold to a group associated with Alec Cartio who is LA based, and is one of the world’s flag- bearers of E31’s mainly 850csi’s. Car sold on BAT.

Opportunity cost I guess, right? What do you replace it with? Nothing I would replace mine with either .

One thing I have noticed though- the ‘Ostritch sports leather’ is one of the most durable Bmw seats ever made.. have seen so many examples with inter- galactic miles still looking sensational.

These are not comfort seats. There were 3 style of seats available with the E39 m5. Heritage leather is what appears here… vertical stitching. It was presented as a premium option and often in the day came with wood trim. The ‘Barry basic’ option available was the sports seats in ostrich pattern style leather… often came with titanium trim. These days the most popular option. The other option was comfort seats- totally different style. this car originally had fine wood trim and being a pre LCI had a different sat nav screen and different steering wheel. Phones gone too.

I believe so.

The Avus blue example that has been marketed in the last year for $26k has been given some love over the years and is a lovely car. This red one fascinates me - how did the bonnet deteriorate in condition? Left outside for years and never washed / polished? Not sure the demand is there to make this a $45k car.

Nice to see it grace the pages of Bimmersport, AB! You and AW were the ones who inspired my passion for this car! I know photos don’t really show how good your vehicle really is. A testament to your fanaticism! Rock star colour too!

Was previously owned by one of the Kiwi face group members. An early LCI vehicle that has comfort seats and chrome door trim and wood interior trim. Was owned by a Wellingtonian who flipped it, and shortly after arrived in Canterbury for sale. Not sure about the mechanical history. At that mileage I would expect that it has had, or will require a ‘to do list.’ Like the now- sold and previously discussed Lemans blue example that was being marketed in Cch recently, this M5 weirdly was once equipped with a tow-bar.

This car was a 1999 Singaporean import (as noted already) and was 1out of 5 delivered there (we also have an Anthracite example in NZ that was sold earlier this year). So, the specs are slightly different—double-glazed windows, anthracite headlining, glass sunroof, and rear visor. However, it does not have a Satellite/ navigation screen. Has the long- deleted chrome gear shift (they deteriorated rapidly - clearly showing in a photo). I'm not sure why the photos and copy have been presented in such a way. Maybe the owner is not that motivated. Carbon black has to be photographed in better lighting to be presented properly. (Maybe $18k in this condition / mileage in 2012).

Yes the original M5 was a 99’ South African import. Came unstuck in an accident- written off. Hell BM did the conversion from what was salvaged.

I love the passion man! I believe there are are 3 others in NZ with your colour combo! Carbon black was the most popular in the E39 M5 - about 6,500 out of the 20,000 made for the global market was in that colour - and most had black interiors. Even in NZ, the founder of our Facebook group for NZ owners has tracked around 37 NZ new cars and 12 were carbon black!

The best value example sold in recent times was one of the last examples sold new in NZ - a 2003 LCI in Carbon black/black sports leather / titanium trim with approximately 120,000 k’s. Sold for $65-$70k earlier in the year. Lasted only a few weeks, and from what I understand is in a collection now. Cool car.

The court case which was discussed on this forum years ago. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/auckland-car-dealer-ordered-to-pay-nearly-8000-for-misleading-conduct/P6WWZN2XOJXGIKW7645O4TXQYE/

$89,990. Then $76,990. now $69,990. Dropped (approximately) by a third already. As many had predicted. Market has definitely cooled off but what’s the level where it’s compelling for a car with history like this?

You know it’s funny. A good old friend of mine who told me me so much about BMW’s from the 70’s and 80’s told me repeatedly too that the 840’s equipped with the 6 speed manuals were so much rarer than 850csi’s ( in rhd). He was right. Only 54 with the M60 4.0, and 3 with the M62, 4.4. Our NZ new 840 6 speeds’ were even appointed with the Euro CSI body kits ( including mirrors that the Us spec CSi’s never got). I have a good friend who has 2 NZ new examples- lucky boy! I miss my 8 - it was a stunning car and only had 53,000 k’s so drove like new.