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Cheers man! I really wanted Lemans blue as that to me is the ultimate colour in this car. However, this came along and I was intrigued by the colour. I had seen a few in Silverstone before but despite this being the replacement colour in 2002, it is different. Kind of blue in dull weather, grey in bright weather, and sometimes silver. Quite frankly, I think they would have sold more in this colour if people saw it in the flesh.

? I know!!! Like I said - M5 USA style!!! Moon roofs as standard too.. The rear diffuser is factory - unless different to Euro spec cars... but mine is the same as others here... a mate of mine has a Silverstone example here (Bluewater was the replacement colour) and the diffusers are identical... apart from the Dinan parts and the chromies - the rest is factory

Well spotted... they were done by the original owner - a wealthy financier with a fleet of cars - all with chrome wheels. I will recondition them in the factory spec, shadow chrome one day. However, believe it or not, they are ok in the flesh...work well with the Bluewater metallic.

Hi guys, I have been a Bimmersporter for a long time but not a regular contributor. I have a long history of BMW ownership - but despite a stint with a E34 535is and a joint ownership of a X3 with my wife, all of my BMW's have been coupes. 10 years ago two of my close friends concurrently owned E39 M5's in Lemans Blue. Their ownership piqued my interest. Currently living in the USA, I decided I'd finally pull the trigger on a E39 M5 purchase. I have been looking for 6 months - seeking ideally a face-lifted Lemans Blue example. Despite 10,000 E39 M5's being sold here (versus 30-35 in NZ), and a 1,000 sold in that hue, I couldn't find one that fulfilled my criteria. The market has gone a little crazy for these cars, and believe me there are ample, baggy examples with inter-galactic mileage that are struggling to find new homes. Decent ones are getting expensive. I finally did a deal on a very rare car - a July 2002 example in Bluewater Metallic - the 2nd rarest colour for the E39 M5 (83 made for the USA and 160 global) (they sold nearly 7,000 global in carbon black). It was delivered with black Ostrich sports leather (05SW) and Titanium trim. it was sold new with Dinan S1 modifications. It is a very quick car - and has a sensational Dinan exhaust note. Probably one of a handful in this colour with Dinan S1 specifications.

Have you seen the m-technic body kit available for E24’s? That was what I had planned for that car. 80’s style but a little more subtle. Another famous white M635 (a tourist delivery via the uk) in NZ, originally owned by the original agent for BMW in NZ, Ross Jensen had a m-tech body kit- and it looked grouse. However, good idea - get rid of the tail and keep the rest! It would be awesome if you got bigger wheels for the back too. Is it factory height? I dropped mine by 10mm with Eibach sports and they were the bomb.

That car was quite interesting in that from what I heard, Guido from BM workshop or Jerry Clayton sent the whole engine block to Dinan in California to get it modified. Think it had shrick cams, and the body kit was by Schnitzer. One of the stumbling blocks for me personally was the lack of paperwork on what was actually done with the modifications. Did Mark ever find any of that. Guido didn’t have anything either. On a personal level, Dinan does some great stuff. I live in the SF Bay Area now and have just bought a E39 M5 Dinan 1. Oh my god, what an amazing car! Dinan do it very well and are revered very highly here.

Well done mate!!!! It is a special car. Very unique. I was very interested in buying it for years... last time around was 2008 and they offered it to me at a bargain basement price. Sadly it hadn’t been driven for years and needed a serious tune - well short of factory 286 bhp - let alone the purported 360bhp it anecdotally was meant to be producing. I was so sad as I lusted after it since 2003. If I hadn’t have bought my 840ci sport the following week, I may have still bought it. I love the e24 m6’s. They were my first love.. I have the database of all 524 made in rhd with colour / interior and over several years built a register of all the NZ M6’s (and UK imports). Your car was number 328 / 524 and the only NZ new example in white I know of (there were 3 ex uk examples in white I know of - one is now black). if you ever want to get in touch to talk M6’s or want some info, PM me. Would love to help...

This is a genuine M635csi - it is number 328 / 524 in rhd and was one of approx 20 that arrived in NZ (mine was 312).

Buffalo hide can look rather strange with age. They need lots of nourishment- otherwise can look dry.

Guys if anyone is genuinely interested in this car PM me. I know this vehicle and the family selling it very well as I looked to buy it 2 times... has a very interesting story. Lovely people who own it, but quite private. Have owned this car for a long time. It is a special car despite its modifications.

This is based on feedback from a friend who enquired about this car. It was owned by the matriarch of a very wealthy family who built their substantial net worth during the 1980’s. Not exactly high profile today, and certainly weren’t celebrities when this was sold new.

It has the sports seats that 90% of the Kiwi spec cars never had ..in crushed velour too - very 1980’s

I live in the US, just casually looking at their prices- they tend to be around $150-200k for a standard Z8, with the Alpina versions sometimes up to $300k...

It's an interesting point you make. Just looking at 8 coupe.com which is a fountain of knowledge if you love E31's- it states that 3,980 out of the total of 29,000 E31's ever made were delivered in Calypso red- the maroon you refer to. That's nearly 14%. I speculate that an ever higher proportion than that of the early ones came to NZ. The second most popular colour behind black. It seems that BMW were targeting wealthy, older customers when the E31 was launched- and the colours in the early days reflected that- targeting a more conservative hue. Even the interiors were more 'boring' with most having 'comfort seats'- reflected by the NZ New examples. The wheel options were rather conservative too. By the time 850csi was launched- the colours / wheels became a tad more flamboyant- accentuating their body-kits. Personally, I think the best colours were the ones launched with the 840ci sport in the U.K. A lot were BMW 'individuals'and they all came with the body-kit. You saw some cool colors like Dakar yellow, violet, Avus blue, Hell red, etc - which really lent themselves to the shape. Even today in a cool colour with the right wheels they are a striking looking vehicle.

Just speculating, but probably a Japanese import. Looks like it is good condition. Unlike the majority of the NZ new cars that had the comfort seats, this has the nicer sports seats and M-tech steering wheel. 20 plus years ago when I embarked on sourcing a 635csi, I found it frustrating that the majority of NZ cars didn't have the sports interiors.

Yes this car was at the BMW festival at Hampton downs circa 4-5 years ago. Evidently it had been lying dormant in storage for many years in NZ. From what I was told, the family who owned it were from overseas, however spent some time in NZ. They elected to get it up and running prior to the festival to present it- with a view to prepare it for sale on the international market. I just remember the sound it made - phenomenal. A lot more aggro sounding than the engine note of a M88/3 shared by the M635csi and E28 M5 which was in essence the same power plant. Such a special car.

Pretty sure this is a five speed.... one of our contributors here mentioned that they knew NZ received a few more 3.8's than the only example that had previously been for sale on trademe in Wanganui - and previously discussed here many years ago ( and subsequently sold to one of our bimmersporters) - an example in avus blue with around 200,000ks on the clock.... great to see another example available for sale! Low mileage too!!!

Yes, I am speculating here, but I suspect there could have been 35 NZ new, and with the impressive demand for this model - another dozen plus imported. The E24 register was done informally - not easy back in 2002 because there was little information on them. However, Gerry Hodges (BMW NZ car club head) helped me contact some people in respective regions of NZ - from the car clubs etc. From that - word of mouth information, I was able to start putting together an ownership register. Fortunately, I befriended a chap from Melbourne who was similarly fanatical about these cars (there were only 524 made in RHD) and he decided to compile a register for Australia (not easy as they only got 2 delivered officially through their dealerships and due to their passion for the E24 - approximately another 80 plus examples (more now) were imported privately from the UK). He eventually got an official spreadsheet from BMW UK - that had all 524 units listed with paint/ interior details- which he very generously sent me. The information correlated with what I gathered - around 20 were sent to NZ officially - and today there are probably another 20 that were imported. I also discovered through my research too that Australia's passion for these cars led to 4-5 units being sold from NZ . I live overseas these days, but I have a car (hopefully) lined up (e39) when I return. Would love to help with your database of NZ cars. Hope to hear from HD91.

Cheers mate - I will contact HD91. The M5 portal is where I got the number '235' of numbers exported to the Australasian market. Several years ago, a few of my friends who owned E39 M5's stated that the number of NZ new was around 35. If you look at the number conveyed in your comment regarding BMW NZ stating that 22 were sold excluding 1999 - (and taking into consideration that it was subsequently revealed that 11 were sold new in that year - the highest number sold in any year)- that would make around 35 sold in NZ - new. Curious to have these numbers confirmed. I have built a E24 M6 register for NZ, and a friend of mine has a register for E31's and E34's. I love E39's too (like many of our members here) and will own one in the future. Cheers for the help!

In terms of colours in NZ, I presume Silverstone will then be bracketed under blue - as that specific hue does not appear to be on your list? Definitely seen Silverstone examples around. Great information by the way, it's great that you guys have built a register.

There was a lovely ex UK M6 presented in dolphin grey with cream leather that resided in Hamilton for many years. Now also happens to live in Dunedin. Do you recall your build number? Curious- as I have the database of all 524 made in RHD. Cheers.

This vehicle has appeared a few times on this forum over the years. I remember when it first arrived on the country. There was conjecture that it was a genuine factory one-off order for a wealthy Japanese customer. More likely that it was equipped with a M88/3 sometime whilst in Japan. I have always wondered how a relatively revvy engine would work mated to an auto-box. This car has been for sale in Christchurch, Auckland, and now in Dunedin.