A few years ago, Porsche did something cool. Which isn’t really out of character; like BMW, Porsche leans, at times quite heavily, on its motorsport heritage to move metal. Back in 2022, Porsche took an older 911 — a 1998 911 Carrera, nothing terribly unique or special — and gave it a complete overhaul. Body panels were cut, refitted, restyled, and restored. The brakes, chassis, and engine from the 996 GT3 were fitted. Ultimately, it was an exercise to see what Stuttgart’s in-house individualization wing (the “Sonderwunsch,” or “Special Wish” program) could really do.
Porsche hasn’t duplicated the effort since. The Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe, as it was dubbed, found its way into comedian and car collector Jerry Seinfeld’s collection, to nobody’s surprise, for the hearty price of $1.2 million. But it does make you wonder: what could BMW M and Individual (and/or BMW Classic) do if they put their heads together and “remastered” an older model?
What Could a “Remastered” BMW Look Like?
It’s important to note that Porsche didn’t start with something obvious, like an older 964 chassis car. Instead, they opted for what they called a “modern classic,” chassis, the 996. Nothing screams “less obvious choice” to us like an E36, but that’s probably a personal bias. Instead, let’s opt for the E46 chassis, as it also existed as a contemporary with the 996. Running parallel to the Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe, BMW could swap in most the E46 M3’s running gear without too much trouble — after all, plenty of tuner shops do it all the time already. Like the 996 911 that Porsche breathed upon, there are several ways to improve the standard E46. “Strengthening the body-in-white,” as Porsche so eloquently puts it, would benefit the E46 likely in even more ways than it benefited the project P-car.
While the mechanicals are fairly simply sorted, the choice of color and Individual options important enough to showcase would be hugely personal. Like the restored 911, a BMW reimagination would need to call upon heritage — before and after the car’s time. Perhaps the reimagined BMW could be finished in an iconic E30 color like Henna Red or E36 color like Techno Violet. Inside, we imagine a pair of bucket seats lifted from either the F82 M4 GTS or maybe the regular competition seats from the F80 M3 and such. Wheels are important too. Maybe something custom-made by BBS, or perhaps E46 M3 ZCP wheels (Style 163M)?
We Want More Reimagined BMWs — Where is the Market?
BMW has such a long list of amazing chassis that the E46 we described above is merely a starting point. From the 1 Series Coupe to the E30 and 2002, there are amazing candidates for reimagination and remastering throughout all points in BMW’s heritage. Why, then, does it seem to be something absent from the marketplace? Porsche’s one-off is scintillating, no doubt. But there are countless imitators: Singer, Tuthill, Guntherwerks, newcomers like Theon Design.
Now, arguably, BMW has done this, both on a smaller and larger scale. The 3.0 CSL was a reimagination of the old CSL, of sorts. Furthermore, BMW actually produced the vehicle to some scale — 50 units were sold. But that was more of an M4 in a costume, as opposed to a ground-up reimagination of where the brand has come from and been in the last twenty to thirty years.
The fact that the private sector hasn’t jumped on BMW restomods implies that there isn’t a demand. Which I find surprising, but I can accept that I’m mistaken. Perhaps it’s too much to hope that BMW Classic, M, and Individual should really consider joining forces to bring something into existence for enthusiasts that may feel concoctions like the BMW Skytop and the ilk are a little far away from what made them fall in love with the brand in the first place.