Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up Bring A Trailer station wagon controversies.
An E30 shop in New Jersey was in need of a project. And so, well, I'll let their eBay listing explain it:
E30 Tourings are pretty rare in the USA but E30 M3 Tourings are unicorns because BMW never built them. We decided to fill that void in late 80's BMW history and build one with the help of modern technology.Yes. pretty rare means never certified or federalized. So that's a lot of unicorn right there.
They took this Canadian-spec 1988 BMW 318i Touring [above], which was well-known in E30 circles for its skillful 6-cylinder M3 engine transplant.
And then they carefully deleted the windshield washers, the climate control system, and the BMW ABS brakes, and welded the wheel flares from a crashed M3 onto it, along with some EVO bodywork, non-functioning headlight wipers, some carbon fiber cruft--and some custom cupholders.
Add a showcar flake paint job, a drop kit, a sick Nakamichi blah blah blah, and, apparently, the VIN from a 1991 US-spec 318i, and voila! Grocery hauling unicorn! Which is being modeled here by a New Jersey mom wearing dyed-to-match heels.
The smackdown in the BaT comment thread is a fun, if ultimately depressing, read. These E30 Tourings are just hitting the 25-year mark, where they can be imported to the US exempt from DOT and EPA restrictions. And for this sad, silver racer, the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be an acetylene blowtorch.
Hand-crafted 1991 BMW M3 Touring [sic] [bringatrailer]
BMW E30 M3 Touring Euro E36 M3 engine! BBS! Coilovers! Big Brakes! AC Schnitzer! "Sold" for $45,000 reserve, but hah, right [ebay]
Carreraboy's photos of the build [mybuildgarage]
