1981 Hyper Rare Euro Bmw 323i Baur Targa E21 320i on 2040-cars

** NOTE - Click on the picture to see a gallery of 24 images **

This may really be the nicest E21 in the country.  I’ve owned a dozen E21s over the years, and this car is the nicest I've ever seen.

If you’re here, you probably know what you’re looking at, but this is a very rare car for three reasons:

First, it is a Baur TC (Top Cabriolet).  These cars were pulled form the BMW assembly line in Munich and taken to Stuttgart where coach builder Baur fitted them with a cabriolet top.  The cars were then returned to BMW dealers in Europe and sold like any new BMW (but much more expensive).

The top comes off in two sections:  The roof panel pops out and slides into a dedicated storage rack in the trunk.  Everything aft of the center section folds back like a convertible top.

In Europe, Baurs were expensive, rare, and highly sought after.  Here in the US where they were never sold, they're that much rarer.  

Secondly, this car is an E21 323i.  In the US, E21s were only fitted with a relatively anemic 1.8L 4 cylinder engine.  This car has the factory M20 inline, fuel injected 2.3L 6 cylinder.  It is night/day in performance vs. any US spec E21 you’ve ever driven.

Third, this car has incredibly low original mileage.  51k miles in 33 years.   It’s been babied its whole life.

Do you know how you see E21s all of the time that lived a tough life - lots of aftermarket parts, etc., a history of cobbled repairs, a stint as an urban aspirational vehicle?  This isn’t one of them.

Pros for this car:

- Again, it’s a Baur Top Cabriolet. (Do some research on how desirable these cars are)

- The top itself is really nice (I’ve owned a few Baurs, and this is the best).  The fabric covering the fiberglass top panel is in excellent condition, and so is the rear part of the top.  The rear plastic window is clean and nice.

- The engine runs smooth, perfect, and it’s the 323 Fuel Injected engine - the largest one ever built for the E21, and never sold in the US.  (The good news is that this engine was sold in the 5 and 7 series cars, so parts for the M20 motor are readily available).  Given the wonders of the Internet, even the Baur-specific parts are easily ordered from European specialists (the only thing I've ever had to do was to replace one of the latches).

- I’ve installed newly recovered Recaro seats (with factory adapters) built by aardvarc with german vinyl.  This was over a $1500 custom job.

- BBS wheels all around.  They have the BMW logo inserts, but I have the BBS logo inserts also.

- Factory 5 speed

- NEW tires

- New high end Kenwood Radio (built in color lcd).  Unlike most of those cars, no one cut anything structural to put in big speakers.  Speakers are tastefully put into the floor panels forward of the front doors and in the rear seat sides.  External amplifier, MP3 capability.  iPod jack in glove compartment.  The head is just a year or so old.  I replaced the former aftermarket head with the latest and greatest.

- Momo steering wheel and shifter.

- Mats/carpets are excellent.

- Headers (see the one header pictured that says ‘Brandy’ on it from a previous owner.  I’ve subsequently always called the car ‘Brandy’)

- Full toolkit

- Paint is good.  Someone spent a fortune doing a high quality paint job a few years ago, and it shows.   It’s a beautiful color

- NO SIGNIFICANT RUST.  Yes, there are couple of VERY SMALL cosmetic pieces, and they’ll be talked about in a second (and are highlighted in the last two pictures), but nothing that should worry you and better than 99.999% of E21s out there. 

- Comes with Baur factory tonneau cover which covers the top when folded down.  I had one of the leather straps and snaps repaired.  It’s in perfect shape.

- Factory NON-AC car.  This is a positive.   If you know much about E21s, the cars with AC used a dealer installed nightmare of an AC unit which barely worked when new and never works now.  Essentially, the AC unit just makes the center console clunkier, harder to keep together and is almost always disconnected.  

- Everything works

This car could hold its own in a car show today.  Due to its rarity, beauty, and speed, you’ll get it featured instantly at any BMW or European car show.  To make it concours-ready, here’s what you’d need to do:

- There is a small spot of rust (pictured) just below the taillight lens on the drivers side.  This is really common for E21s.  The taillight gaskets leak and they rust along the weld under here.  It’s not a big job.

- On the left front wheel arch, there is a small dent at the top of the arch, and there’s a tiny amount of surface rust near that dent.  I have no idea how that happened.

- There are two places where falling fruit from my trees put tiny dents in the hood.  The Dent Wizard should take them out no problem.  You'll see that they are slight enough to not be visible in the pictures.

- There is a dash pad covering the dash that has warped a bit from the sun.  I’ve never pulled it off (because it’s glued down) to inspect the condition of the dash underneath.  I was told by the previous owner that it’s in good shape, but I can't verify.

- The tools in the toolkit are a little rusty.  I’d replace them.

- The fabric on the door card on the driver’s side door is a bit worn where the door handle has been grabbed (you can see this if you zoom on the picture - it's slight).

And really, that’s it.  Here’s a hyper-rare, hyper-cool car in fantastic shape.  It is already a mind-blowing daily driver, and I know this because I drive it today.  With a little work, it could truly be concours quality.

Comes with a maroon Griot’s Garage custom fit car cover ($400).

I also have a 'front bumper tuck-in' kit which has never been installed.  I have a clear US title and a valid PA inspection.

Winning bidder to pay a $500 paypal deposit in 3 days, nonrefundable for any reason.

Winning bidder to provide cash or cashier's check within 14 days.

Car is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  I'll pick you up at the airport or train and you can drive it anywhere.  Alternatively, I'll help with whatever shipper you arrange to inspect and load the car.  That said, I will not coordinate shipping for you, and you are paying for any shipping or transport.

Why am I selling?  I've had the BMW bug since I bought my first beater E21 in 1989.  I've successively traded up in the E21 family over those years until ending up with this car.  I've also had 2002s, E30s, E39s, and E46s along the way.  While I love these cars, I've recently come to the realization that I've spent 25 years driving the same model of car.  As a car guy, I just want more experiences, and someone else should get a chance to own this (which is a way to say that if you have a very cool trade, I'd consider it).

Check my feedback.  I've bought and sold over a dozen cars on eBay personally.  Please respond with any questions.

A few people have asked about the Baur build plate.  A photo of it is below

Image of Build Plate

Just so everyone knows, this is well on track to hit the modest reserve.  The reserve is less than I paid for it, and far less than I have in it. 

So, I just went on a walk around the car to consider "If I bought this reading the description, is there anything that could possibly disappoint me?"  I've bought a ton of cars on eBay sight unseen so I know this moment of truth pretty well.  

I'm forwarding on the full Autocheck report below

Autocheck Report Here

I've heard from a few people who knew this car in the past in the US, and the mileage is consistent with their memories.  It does, however, seem to materialize here in the US around the year 2000 with 36k miles on it with use consistent with a hobby/weekend car.  My guess is that this is when the car was brought to the US and repainted/restored.  

Because the car was imported from Europe, I can't certify the mileage.  As I said, it looks like someone put a sticker on the odometer to recalibrate the display in miles per hour instead of kilometers per hour.  As such, is the odometer counting kilometers or miles?  Did the year 2000 restoration start with a 36k mileage car?  A 36k kilometer car?  I really don't know.  

Hopefully the car's condition speaks for itself.  Thanks again for bidding.

Sorry, bad link to the autocheck report.

The proper link is here