£POA+VAT
Race Cars
$ POA
1978 BMW Group 5 320 Turbo. Ex Works - SOLD
This is now SOLD. Search for similar items.
Description:
1978 BMW Group 5 320 Turbo. Ex Works
E21-R4-32 was built in 1978 by BMW Motorsport as the last Gr5 320 and one of only two “Lightweight” 2 liter 320 turbos built by the factory.
This car has had 3 major lives (or eras):
1978 as a BMW Motorsport works car for Hans Stuck and Ronnie Peterson for use in the World Championship of Makes.
1979 with Jim Busby for use in the USA IMSA GTX series. Coors and Cox Communications sponsorship (first racecar sponsorship for Coors)
1980-83 with the Frank Gardner JPS team with Jim Richards driving in the CAMS GT championship.
This car could be run in any of those liveries.
In late '78 after Ronnie Peterson's untimely death in F1, the car was sent by BMW Motorsport to Jim Busby to create competition for the McLaren team as Busby was sponsored by BMW Motorsport in Munich whereas the McLaren car was sponsored by BMW North America. Already having experience with his early chassis 320 Turbo, Jim knew the chassis could use some reinforcement as it would flex and not respond well to chassis adjustments. The decision was made to have his Crew Chief Glen Blakely design and fabricate a semi tube frame for the car including a removable front subframe and the movement of the engine, transmission and driver to the rear by about 8 inches. At the same time, some careful rule book reading led Jim to design and add the aero rear window to smooth the airflow to the rear wing. Beyond the modifications that Busby made to the car, the lightweight 320s are already quite different from the earlier 320s as they have a much revised cooling system with rear mounted water radiators for better weight distribution and cooling, longer and wider rear semi trailing arms, larger rear wheelhouses, revised suspension geometry and some unique materials used for weight savings. The next step in the cars history is In 1980, it went to Australia to Frank Gardner and Allen Grice. Allen spent a small amount of time with the car and Jim Richards was brought in. During a phone call with Frank Gardner and the current owner a few years prior to Gardners passing, Frank said "that is the only car I've ever bought that had been modified by another team that I didn't change" He also said "Anyone can drive that car fast" The team was very successful until a startline crash at Adelaide ended it’s season with Gardner's team, luckily, the chassis was lightly damaged in the crash as the stripped chassis shows almost no real repairs made. The car was tracked down in Australia by a US collector/ racer in the mid '80s and brought to the USA where it sat disassembled for years.
The current owner acquired the car in 1998 and started a very thorough, correct restoration, tracking down necessary bits and pieces from all over the world.
In 2016 the restoration of the car was completed by Jim Busby in the same shop it was run from in the '70s. It was then successfully driven by Jim in the 2016 Monterey Historic's 100 year anniversary of BMW. Where it was the only running BMW turbo. This was the same same track where Jim last drove the car in a 1979 Trans Am race.
The car has current FIA papers and a huge file of restoration invoices. There is also a very substantial spares package which also includes items from it's time in Australia including a redesigned fuel tank and complete inner panel set.
Brief list of major spares: New trailing arms, Front struts, Injection pumps and parts, doors, Sills, Getrag transmissions (2, one Magnesium) M12-9 blocks (3) misc engine components, Final drive parts, Misc suspension parts, tail molds, plus much much more. The rear flares pictured with the spares don't fit the car, they came with parts I bought from McLaren.
The last pictures are of the Australian JPS undertrunk fuel tank.
Partial interesting trades considered
Copy and paste link to pictures of the majority of the spares:
https://munsty.smugmug.com/320-All/Spares-2/n-Wp6FXD/
