Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; effectively one lady owner from new; only
74,700 miles with 15 services to date; rare and sporting 134bhp 318is
model; lots of invoices; has the potential to be very nice indeed with
some minor tidying
Only in
production from 1989 – 1991, the 318is is one of the rarest BMW E30 variants and
was only available as a two-door saloon with 5-speed manual transmission.
The sportiest of the four-cylinder E30 models,
it had BMW’s M42B18 1.8 double overhead cam straight-four which produced 134bhp
and 127lb/ft. This may not sound much today but it was 30bhp more than the
single cam unit fitted to the standard 318i and made it just about the most
powerful naturally aspirated 1.8 four-cylinder engine available.
Other trick features included an aluminium
cylinder head with hollow camshafts to reduce weight and power-sapping inertia;
four valves per cylinder; sodium-cooled exhaust valves; BOSCH DME management
system with individual coils on each cylinder; twin-barrel throttle bodies; 10:1
compression ratio and a sports exhaust and manifold.
It also got M-Technic sports suspension; sports seats; sports front
air dam; lip spoiler on the boot; sports steering wheel; electric windows and
sunroof; central locking and alloy wheels. The result was a fine-handling
compact saloon that could sprint to 60mph in 8.5 seconds with a top speed of
125mph.
This 318is was supplied new as a company
car to its sole lady owner by BMW dealer RF Brown & Son of Hereford in
November 1990 and she was to keep it right up until she passed away earlier this
year.
It has covered only 74,700 miles and comes
with an impressive service history including 11 stamps in the book, the last at
52,290 miles in October 2007 (see photos). There are also invoices for another
three services at Fast Fit of Stockwell in October 2009 at 55,557 miles, in
October 2010 at 57,139 miles and in September 2015 at 64,060 miles plus another
at Wye Bridge Motors of Hereford in October 2018 at 71,368 miles.
While the last four are not stamped in the book,
that gives a total of 15 services which equates to average service interval of
just under 5,000 miles – pretty impressive by any standards.
There are also dozens of other invoices for
routine upkeep and new parts fitted, including an undated one for a full repaint
in the original Alpine White which may have been in 2000 when it had repairs to
the n/s rear wing and door, although it also had sill repairs in 2010 and a new
o/s front wing in 2012. Most recently it had a reconditioned steering rack in
2019.
Barely driven in the last half-dozen years
apart from an annual trip to the MOT station, it has a current MOT valid until
November 2025 with just a few minor advisories relating to the brake pipes.
There are also 25 old MOTs back to 1994 at 22,865 miles.
As you can see in the photos, it looks pleasingly sound, straight and
original with just a few minor blemishes here and there – we noted a cigarette
burn on the driver’s seat squab; a couple of cracks on the dash top; slight rust
marks around the sunroof; missing wheel centre caps, front lip spoiler and
318is boot badge.
The V5C records three former
keepers but this is because the lady owner bought it from her company in 1993
and changed her surname in 1996 when she remarried and it was put into the name
of another family member earlier this year when she passed
away.
Starting promptly and running well as we
have moved it around on site, this rare and sporting E30 could be turned into a
very nice example with relatively little effort and looks mighty tempting at the
modest guide price suggested.
Consigned by
James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com