Reg LRP 245M

Chassis 2780383

Engine – unknown

Miles 00911

Estimate £12,000-£16,000

• Alloy BBS wheels with leather Interior
• UK V5C registration document

BMW certainly saved the best 02 until last with the 2002 Tii. Launched in 1971, this used the same, elegant bodyshell of its earlier relations. A well set-up Tii rarely goes wrong but if problems do occur, there are numerous knowledgeable support groups on hand to assist. The 2002 Tii was specifically built to offer a more dynamic driving experience whilst boasting a fuel-injected two litre engine delivering 130bhp and a top speed of 118mph. Maintaining practicality for everyday use, it solidified its status as a timeless classic in BMW’s history, in fact, a good Tii will still drive and handle well even by today’s motoring standards with performance actually outstripping the early Golf GTi.

This lefthand drive example is relatively new to the country having originally been built for the US market and appears to be in good order throughout. The paintwork is sound from end to end with no obvious corrosion and, looking underneath at the sills, they appear to have been looked after in recent years. The interior is also in good order with a racing-style leather steering wheel fitted and no obvious damage to the seating & headrests although the rear storage nets would benefit from some tlc. The wheels are aftermarket BBS units with decent tyres fitted and painted front calipers and whilst there is limited paperwork to accompany the car, apart from a UK registration document, it represents the perfect opportunity to begin to build a new life around this charming example. These are extremely collectible and sound examples in decent condition are regularly going for significantly more, if you can find them!

Lot 271 – 1974 BMW 2002tii

2002

Year; 1970

14,000 KLM´s

Price 28,000€

Tel: +351 963 590 310

Portugal

Tyre tread

Your tyres should have at least 1.6mm of tread around the middle three-quarters of the tyre. this is extremely important, as oil and heavy rain deposits on the road can be extremely hazardous. If your tyres don’t have enough tread it can increase stopping distances and make it difficult to control your car. Although 1.6mm is the legal requirement, many tyre manufacturers recommend that you have at least 3mm tread. When you are buying tyres for your 02 series, look out for ones that include a Tyre Wear Indicator (TWI). This will help you to gauge tread depth wear. You should also check them manually on a regular basis for any wear or bulges.

Under-inflated tyres

When you are checking your tyre pressure, make sure that the tyres are cold – check them before your journey, not afterwards, or the readings won’t be accurate. If your tyres are under-inflated, the side walls of the tyre can easily flex. If the structure of the tyre is compromised, then it can overheat and cause a blowout. This is particularly dangerous if you are travelling at high speeds on the motorway. Your grip on the road and how the brakes react are also affected. You will also use more fuel if your tyres are under-inflated.

Over-inflated tyres

Having over inflated tyres can be equally dangerous as not having as enough air in them. The percentage of the tyre that has contact with the road will be less, making the car unpredictable to handle. Again braking performance and road grip will not be as good, which can lead to accidents. Your normally smooth-riding 02 series will become skittish, harsh and uncomfortable. The tyres will also have a reduced life. Most tyres have a “max inflate” number that is imprinted into the rubber on the outside of the tyres, e.g. Max inflate 44. This number doesn’t mean that you should automatically fill your tyres to 44. Check your vehicle manual for the recommended tyre pressure – it may be 10 Psi lower than the maximum inflation figure. Some 02 models also have a metal plate or sticker on the inside of the driver’s door that has the recommended tyre pressures printed on it.

Having well maintained tyres will make your BMW 02 series a dream to drive. But more importantly, looking after your tyres means that you are safe on the road. You get the benefits of having an undamaged vehicle, and more importantly, you may even save lives.

We set off early on the Tuesday morning to Dover to catch a ferry to Calais. Once into France we headed to Belgium as quickly as we could due to the shortage of fuel in France. We managed to hook up with some Dutch 02’s at the services near Liege, soon after spotted them at another services doing some wheel arch modifications with a trolley jack (as the wheels were rubbing). An effortless drive of 463 miles to our overnight stay once again at the Landgasthaus Am Frauenstein, Hinterweidenthal (incidentally does good food and great breakfast) once refreshed we set off next morning on the second leg to Oberammegau.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon to the Ammergauer Haus after another 244 miles and signed in to collect our welcome pack and a nice model of the M10 engine block. It was great to see so many friends and faces. Outside the main meeting point was the superb 2002 Diana I saw in both 2002 and 2006.

We collected our registration papers, a nice model of the M10 engine block and checked in the hotel then met up with the other friends old and new for a well-earned cold German beer.

Thursday 02’s (and E3’s, CS, etc) were divided into two groups and each consisted of a different German-Austrian alpine route. Breath taking scenery, with classic BMW’s everywhere felt like we were back in the 1970’s. Check points included refreshments and a nice Mountain View lunch. Then we headed back in Oberammergau in the late afternoon down the alpine pass again, soaking up the scenery, alps and lakes, in time to get ready for the group dinner and evening entertainment in the Ammergauer Haus.

Friday was “BMW day“ and boy was I looking forward to that, in Munich of course. But first we headed off towards “new chateau” in Oberschleißheim where the 326 entries met for a fantastic collection. All the cars parked in front of the chateau and a overhead drone picture was taken (spot your 02 time) It must be one of the biggest 02 gatherings ever?

Then in various groups we headed off towards either the BMW Museum or BMW Classic, our team 188 got the Museum (which I’ve not done before so was looking forward to it). After a short drive into the centre of Munich we parked under the famous BMW cylinder building, oh my god what a great opportunity for a photo shoot. Then off we went around the Museum, and “wow” I was in heaven, the pictures speak for themselves and of course highlights for me was the classics and the stunning Florida Green 1600-2. It was also fantastic to see the history of BMW; the beautiful engine displays right up to the latest concept cars (they look better in the flesh than in print, so you must all go there once in your lifetime or more) With a drive back to Oberammergau to have dinner, along with live music from the band Dreisam.

Saturday was the reverse Alpine tour to the groups on the Thursday. Fantastic mountain pass climb in the car, it performed brilliantly. Near the final stages we missed a turn and up popped the GT4, so we followed that through the winding country lanes, only to be persued by the BMW Press team hanging out of the X5 filming us in hot pursuit of the GT4, it finished off our week incredibly, likely never to happen again great pictures and wow, what an event. Once back in Oberammegau it was back to the Ammergauer Haus for the festive buffet and evening entertained by our performers who will provide new surprises on the stage.

Hilaire O’Shea received the award for “Unluckiest Entrant” after his Touring had a stability issues even after John Hudson and Mark Gascoigne replaced the differential bushes one evening and never made the Alpine tours. Other disasters included a biker going into the front of a turbo on the alpine pass and the biker ending up in hospital (we wish everyone a speedy recovery).

Sunday was the traditional farewell breakfast, and start of the two-day drive back to Blighty. Weather was great until we got a few miles out from Oberammegau, the next two days were torrential rain and on the Sunday grid-locked roads due to festivals in German, a four hour trip actually took us eight hours. Finally exhausted we made the overnight stay again, a few well-earned beers and dinner.

Final day for us was heading back via Luxembourg and Belgium before France to catch the ferry home. Six countries in six days, with breath-taking scenery, cars, food and people.

I will say – now I am home, my car performed incredibly, only issue was slight miss-fire on the Sunday morning which was lose spark plug cap and sooted plugs (we were running rich and all week putting high octane fuel in (102 in one place), well the car did deserve it, we soon had that sorted. It was pushed and never let us down. Keeping up with modern traffic and thrown around alpine passes, it was FUN. We swapped over every several hours and not a single back ache, it was a total joy – what a car and there aren’t many classics that would have performed in these conditions, comfortable, fast and strong when required and Fun of course.

Statistics;

326 Total cars entered (900 people)

16 Nationalities

Oldest car 1963, newest 1977

45 Cabriolets (full convertibles) I didn’t know they made so many or ever seen so many

15 1600-2

11 Turbos

1 2002 GT4 (owned by BMW Classic)

Also 1600-GT’s, E3’s, 2000CS, Neu Klasse Saloons

Tail Pipe;

A big thank you to the German 02 Club and team, what a credit and fantastically organised week. I was there in 2002, 2006 and now the 50^th love you guys and thanks again for one of the best weeks of my life and the lifetime of memories.

With this year’s Formula One season in full swing, 2014 sees the fourth consecutive year in which BMW have not entered a team.

Last year, former rivals Honda announced their return to Formula One from 2015, as a supplier of engines to McLaren. They too had been out of the events since 2010, after successfully racing as Mercedes GP that year.

In light of Honda’s return, CEO of Formula One Management Bernie Ecclestone made suggestions that BMW might be considering the move for next year’s event. However, the notion was quickly shot down by BMW’s motor sport boss Jens Marquardt. He said: “I don’t know with whom Bernie spoke. We have absolutely no intention of looking at other categories. We made a conscious decision to withdraw from Formula One.”

The words could fall on deaf ears of Formula One fans, who have watched BMW leave and return to the events in the early 90s and early 21st century. This time around however, Marquardt seems to be adamant that BMW will remain in its place – and there are a multitude of reasons as to why.

Financial reasons would have without doubt contributed to BMW’s withdrawal from the events at the end of 2009. As the world loomed in financial crisis, economic instability did not elude the bigwigs of the motor racing universe. At the time, BMW’s F1.09 chassis was not living up to its expectations on the tracks, and the company became increasingly frustrated by new regulations imposed upon motor engine technology. With little finance to play with, BMW threw in the towel and sold their team back to founder Peter Sauber.

With no financial incentive to return to the F1, it’s no wonder that BMW are sticking to their guns. Moreover, they have a whole host of other successful projects on which they are now focusing, which have proven far more beneficial so far. Today, BMW are more interested in their DTM and sports car activities, as stated by Marquardt.

“We are right on top of our current programme, namely DTM. In GT sports cars at the Nordschleife and in ALMS as well as customer sport programmes we are posting super results.

“We orientated ourselves around that which our customers recognise as being BMW. There is no reason to alter this concept. It is currently running very well.”

The F1 may not be the same without BMW, but it could be a very different event come 2015 when Honda returns, giving the folks at Betsafe the chance to re-analyse their current odds. Perhaps BMW may have a touch of nostalgic jealousy when they watch Honda return.

For the last few weeks before the Bavaria Tour 2002, every time I took my car out of the garage something went wrong on it, some days I couldn’t even get it out of the drive. Having spent loads on it over the passed year (censored as the Wife now reads my editorials) you’d have thought it might have worked for more than five minutes at a time. One day the rear brakes jammed on & I had to remove the rear wheel to free off the brakes, the electric fan packed up so I had to refit the original fan back on, the next time when it was raining of course the bl**** wipers packed up, I felt like kicking it, but bit my tongue. Anyway the day arrived to set off to the International Bavaria Tour in Germany, I got out of the drive ok, & the wipers seemed to work, but as you all know – you dare not say a word. I picked up my Co-driver – Eamonn O’Brien in the early hours & we headed off to Dover. At the port we met up with other hardened 02er’s, Peter Armstrong & Martin Bull (Ex 02 Chair), David Evans (Classic & Sports Car), Ben Weston with his fresh restoration from Jaymic (more later), & Dominic, Maurizio & Mario – some new guys that weren’t booked in on the event but thought they’d take a chance.

The first overnight stop was in Aachen in Germany so with a trouble-free drive across France into Belgium we arrived early evening at the Novotel Hotel in Aachen. After a quick check-in it was down to the bar for a refreshing beer & chat about the days drive, I then managed to get Dominic & his passengers in on the event as Nigel Peckham unfortunately couldn’t make it – “thank you Nigel”. Next morning we were planning the second days route, when some English Sheerings coach drivers advised us of the best route around Stuggart due to severe road works on the Motorway south of Stuggart which properly would have added a few hours on the 500 mile hike straight to Oberammergau. While I am on the subject of Motorways the German Autobahns are amazingly fast as I am sure you’ve all heard, but the flowed traffic jam free, I also felt more relaxed as I found myself actually concentrating on “Driving” rather than looking around every bush & sign for a speed camera, as a result I am sure my driving was better than the stressed journeys encounter on the UK’s Policed roads. At various service areas on the Autobahns we met up with fellow European 02’s, & at one point had 25 02’s in convoy. I think now would be an appropriate time to mention Ben Weston’s gorgeous Black Turbo, I spent the whole trip down to Oberammergau drooling in my rear view mirrors at his car, as you can see I got some fantastic shots of Ben’s car, I now want a Black Turbo, shame Ben’s shipping his back to America shortly after the tour. Ben’s Turbo is a full rebuild by Jaymic with everything new, it is stunning & a credit to Jaymic. Allegedly BMW did build one black Turbo, but no one knows what happened to it.

Oberammergau is a beautiful Austrian village, that looked something out of the Sound of Music, all it’s buildings were beautifully decorated with pictures & flourishing window boxes, the streets were clean & had a fantastic backdrop – the Austrian Alps. Oberammergau was a great location as in this small village was lots of Hotels with an idea meeting point & lots of parking for the appprox 300 cars expected, it really was a picture postcard scene. Outside the town hall (meeting point) I recognised a very rare 02 Diana, this is owned by Andy Andexer the organiser & of course the car was mint & had all the “Diana’s” extras – Steel sunroof, electric windows, sports leather seats, 5 speed gearbox, tinted glass, racing door mirror, extra gauges, special alloys, LSD, tuned engine & in lovely light green metallic. Only 12 Diana’s were ever made, Andy said they only know of four left & his is the only one running, it’s estimated to be valued at €60,000 (Approx. £40,000). That evening after registering we started meeting people from all over the world, we met Vincent & his family who had brought his rare Alpina 02 ti over all the way from Brazil. We met some Dutch guys that I know from Ter Apel trips, Bob Twain & his wife from Australia, unfortunately couldn’t bring his RHD silver Turbo over due to mechanical problems. I met Norbert of the German Turbo register, he’s just found a Red Turbo needing full restoration, no one even knew there was a red one, can’t wait to see it finished. Evan Chong had driven from the USA west coast 6000 miles to the east coast, loaded his car into a container & then drove it across the remainder of Europe to the event total of 12,000 miles (see separate feature).

Refreshments, lunch & dinner were all included in the week & the food was excellent.

Day 1. After registering the evening we arrived, we collected our car plaque, some BMW gifts – care of BMW, & route maps for the first morning. There were several start points all over Oberammergau village depending on which group you were assigned. The first day for us was the Alpine route, a breathtaking trip covering approx. 150 miles all over the Austrian Alps, we made a couple of wrong turns & gave the questions a miss as we had enough trouble understanding the poor road signs in places. The route took us passed many beautiful lakes, through lush forests & excellent roads, making the most of the 2002’s brilliant chassis. Lunch was at the base of mountain on a restaurant terrace, the weather was fantastic & with my sunroof open all day we soon got burnt. Oh & I should mention all those motorbikes, every few seconds throughout the day tonnes of motorbikes would be going in the other direction, all day long, it didn’t stop. When we stopped for fuel there was some bikers there so I asked what were so many bikes doing up in the Alps? Apparently there was a massive European Harley Davidson event & they expected 15,000 bikers, yes 15,000, I have never seen so many motorbikes, we got lots of admiring glances though, even saw some old BMW Classic bikes.

In the evenings at dinner, entertainment was laid on throughout the event with bands, drag singer, speeches from our International guests from as far away as Brazil, USA, Australia & New Zealand & of course Thanks to all involved, the beer was flowing & no headaches next day – great stuff.

Day 2. I was checking my oil & water outside the hotel, when a Mobile Tradition 7-Series pulled up & the guy driving asked if I had a problem – in fluent English of course. I said that it was using some oil & in-fact it was a brand new engine from “Mobile Tradition funny enough”. The driver introduced himself his name was John Bostin originally from England, anyway we got chatting as you do, & John said I’ll have a word for you. Anyway off we went for the second day to Munich’s Olympic park right in the centre of Munich. All the different models parked in their respective groups, I have never seen so many full convertibles & Glas cars in one place at one time, even a 1-off Glas 1600 GT Convertible, apparently a special order for on of the Quant family (so the rumour had it). There was all the Turbo’s together with Ben’s gorgeous black one at the end, tonnes of Tourings including a very rare Alpina car with beautiful Alpina seats in it – want them.

We were due to go to the Mobile Tradition Museum around lunchtime, so after a quick coach ride we arrived at M.T. & told No Cameras, “noooo” I could have died, what we saw with our own eye’s was fantastic, 3 floors of rare, prototype, & famous BMW’s was amazing. BMW or should I say Mobile Tradition keep the first & last of all the BMW’s ever made, that included McLaren F1, CSL’s, Glas Cars, all the Concept cars you’ve seen, M1’s, 328’s, Bikes, 507’s, Coupes, the Mini concept & rare designer Mini’s owned by famous people like David Bowie, Michael Caine & Twiggy. Only on the ground floor was we allowed to take pictures, & as luck would have it, there was the concept Turbo car built in the seventies & designed by Paul Braq, I got lots of pictures of that & will do a separate feature soon. Finally we got to see the Mobile Tradition service workshop & there was John, anyway I was also having trouble with the rear brakes on my car & with Peter Armstrong’s help persuaded Mobile Tradition to take a look at them.

I returned to Olympic park to collect my car with a Danish guy called Anders who was also having mechanically problems, we followed a X5 in M.T. livery back to the service bays & there was also David Evans from Classic & Sports Car, his car was running hot due to a damaged core in his radiator they offered to replace the radiator, unfortunately the only one they had didn’t fit, but they flushed out the old rad’ & refitted it, he’d just have to take it easy. My car was whisked onto the ramps & a team of immaculately dressed mechanics gave the car a once over. Whilst I was standing in the Service area there was two film crews there filming the whole event, & you guessed it, yours truly did an interview for German TV & an American film crew with my Tii in the background – eat your heart out Tom Cruise.

It turns out that my rear brakes required urgent attention, both back plates where the shoe adjustment is were ceased, the rear drums are worn & need replacing ASAP, & scrape out the muck that had built up there over the years. Unfortunately they didn’t have the parts otherwise I’d have had them fitted immediately, but they did get some adjustment on the back plates after heating them up & the rear brakes now work in a fashion. We left there around six o’clock following a X5 & 7-Series all in Mobile Tradition Livery with David’s & my Tii behind, it made a great convoy through Munich with many admiring glances.

Day 3. For us it was the “Castle Tour”, taking us up into the Alps & seeing some fantastic castles on the hill sides (shame we didn’t get to tour one). Refreshment points were laid-on on route at various check points. Again the roads were fabulous clear & empty driving passed massive lakes & through lush forests.

Day 4. Was a late breakfast to say our goodbyes. We decided to make something of the day, so on the way back across Germany we thought we’d look in on Alpina’s headquarters at Buchloe. We arrived at Alpina which was deserted (Sunday) but made a great photo opportunity with my car out front. In their car park was various Alpina’s including 5-Series B10 V8’s & two Alpina Z8’s (not seen one of those before). In the main showroom was a racing livered E30 M3 & a gorgeous Z1 Alpina in a light metallic blue with the gold Alpina stripes. That night we stopped at the historic town of Heidelberg & had a good drink in a bar whilst watching the football.

Day 5. We planned to stop over night at Brussels, I noticed on the map in the centre of the town was marked “Autoworld”. So we decided to take a look. It was a massive museum of motoring history from very early horse drawn carriages up to more modern 70’s classics. Horse drawn carriages included a coach used by Napoleon, lots of pre-war French cars, some very rare Rolls Royce’s & Bugatti’s & even a BMW Fjord blue CSI. If your ever in Brussels it is well worth a visit to Autoworld, it even has a good model shop.

Day 6. That was it, it was all over now it was back to good old “Blighty”, a day driving through Belgium & France & of course the compulsory duty-free shopping at Calais. My old car was virtually scrapping the floor. We managed to catch an early ferry & as soon as we got to Dover – it was raining, “welcome home boys”.

I had done a round trip of 2247 miles & just dumped the car in the garage, I’d seen enough of it for a while, but it did us proud. You would not believe how easy it is to drive in Europe & the roads are far better & emptier than in the UK, I personally can’t wait to go back again.

Finally, we must express our Thanks to the organisers for all their hard work & excellent organisational skills. Thanks also to all the sponsors especially Mobile Tradition & BMW, our heart felt thanks goes out to you all you did the 02’s proud in ’02.