Category Archives: Sale

Sale

The First BMW M Car Ever Built Is Up for Sale — and It’s a Legend Hiding in Plain Sight

If you ask a room full of BMW diehards which car deserves the title of “first M car,” prepare for a debate worthy of motorsport royalty. Some will swear by the mid-engine M1. Others will cite the South African 530 MLE from 1976. But peel the license plates away from the equation, look strictly at the origins of BMW Motorsport GmbH, and the real pioneer appears: the BMW 3.0 CSL.

And not just any CSL — the first one ever built, chassis E9/R1, the very machine that kicked off the M division’s 50-year dominance in performance engineering. That car is now offered for sale.

A Prototype Turned Motorsport Milestone

The 3.0 CSL arrived in 1973 as a homologation special of the elegant E9 coupe, just one year after BMW formally created its Motorsport division. Twenty-one lightweight CSLs were constructed for racing programs, but only eleven were run by the factory-backed team. E9/R1 was the earliest completed car—BMW Motorsport’s first real test bed.

Built between late 1972 and early 1973, this car served as a development mule during some very cold winter months, with legendary drivers Hans Stuck and Harald Menzel rotating behind the wheel. If BMW Motorsport had a first classroom, this was the chalkboard.

The car is now listed by UK dealer Dylan Miles Ltd on Classic Driver, with the price—expectedly—left blank. For something this historically loaded, the number is probably easier whispered than printed.

Where the Batmobile Was Born

If the CSL is iconic, the “Batmobile” CSL is mythical. But even that legend had humble beginnings. E9/R1 was originally raced without the outrageous aero package because homologation rules prohibited BMW from running parts not yet approved by the FIA.

Once the green light came, engineers scrambled to equip the CSL with its towering rear wing, deep chin spoiler, and boxy extensions. The transformation into the legendary “Batmobile” began right here, with this exact chassis as the starting point.

A Life After Competition

After its time with various racing teams, E9/R1 was pulled from competition and passed through the hands of several BMW collectors. A meticulous restoration brought the car back to its pre-Batmobile specification, and it made a high-profile return at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

A few months later, the CSL reappeared—this time wearing the full Batmobile bodywork—at Salon Privé Concours d’Elegance at Blenheim Palace. In both forms, it drew crowds like a magnetic field.

The CSL Legacy Lives On

BMW itself paid homage to the CSL’s significance when M celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. The ultra-exclusive, 50-unit modern 3.0 CSL—based on the M4 CSL—packed 560 horsepower, a manual gearbox, and bodywork sculpted as a modern love letter to the Batmobile. With an unofficial price of around €750,000, it became the most expensive new car BMW has ever sold.

And yet, that still may not eclipse the value of the original.

What’s a First-of-Its-Kind M Car Worth?

With a provenance that includes Motorsport GmbH’s earliest days, testing by legendary drivers, the genesis of BMW’s most famous aero kit, and a beautifully documented restoration, E9/R1 stands alone.

A modern CSL commands three-quarters of a million euros. But the car that made BMW M what it is today?
Don’t be surprised if it sells for far, far more.

After all, they only made one “first M car.” And this is it.

Source: Classic Driver

Sale

1999 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 30th Anniversary Edition is for sale

If you’ve got around sixty grand burning a hole in your pocket and a craving for good, old-fashioned American muscle, the obvious answers live in the Ford showroom. A Mustang GT or the sharper, track-bred Dark Horse are the usual suspects—modern icons with all the horsepower and digital trickery you could want.

But if those feel a little too predictable, and you’re looking for something rarer, with a bit more nostalgia baked in, this white-and-blue Pontiac might just scratch that itch.

Currently for sale at Diamond Motorworks in Illinois, this 1999 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 30th Anniversary Edition is one of the most collectible remnants of Pontiac’s last great era. The asking price? $58,800. That’s not pocket change for a car old enough to remember Y2K panic, but here’s the hook—it’s covered just 1,426 miles since new. That’s right: fewer miles than most owners rack up during a single summer of Sunday cruises.

A Birthday Car Worth Celebrating

Pontiac built just 1,600 examples of the 30th Anniversary Trans Am, and this one wears build number 1,333. The exterior is a throwback to the original ’69 Trans Am, finished in Bright White with twin Blue Pearl racing stripes streaking over the hood and rear decklid. The pièce de résistance? Those bright blue five-spoke wheels—bold, borderline cartoonish, and utterly unmistakable.

It’s the kind of look that could only have come from the late ’90s, an era when Pontiac still proudly marketed itself as “We Build Excitement.”

Inside: White Leather, Blue Stitching, and a Lot of Plastic

The interior sticks to the anniversary theme, with white leather seats and blue-embroidered logos, all of which look shockingly fresh thanks to the car’s hermit-like existence. The plastics remind you this was the GM of 1999—hard, shiny, and unapologetic—but that’s part of the charm. It’s a time capsule, not a time machine.

The car includes its original keys, manuals, service records, and even the window sticker, which should satisfy collectors looking for completeness as much as condition.

Old-School Muscle

Under the hood sits GM’s 5.7-liter LS1 V-8, good for 320 horsepower in its day and paired to a six-speed manual driving the rear wheels. No turbos, no hybrid assist, no modes to toggle—just unfiltered pushrod thunder and a Tremec gearbox that rewards muscle memory over microchips.

It’s the kind of setup that makes you wish the next owner would actually drive it. But at nearly $60K and with mileage this low, odds are this Pontiac’s next home will be a climate-controlled garage, not a canyon road.

A Collector’s Paradox

And that’s the irony. The 30th Anniversary Trans Am was built to celebrate motion, yet this one has spent most of its life standing still. It deserves to be seen out there, blue wheels gleaming under the sun, exhaust rumbling through the suburbs, reminding everyone what Pontiac once was—and what American muscle used to sound like before the EV age.

Because some anniversaries are worth celebrating more than once.

Source: Diamond Motorworks

Sale

A Full-Size Wooden Bentley Continental GT Is Up for Sale on eBay

When it comes to Bentleys, we’ve seen everything from bespoke Mulliner one-offs to ultra-luxury coachbuilt projects. But this might just be the most unusual Continental GT ever to surface: a life-size wooden replica of Crewe’s grand tourer, painstakingly sculpted from teak and marine-grade plywood, is currently listed for sale in Florida.

The car—if you can call it that—originates from Belgium, though its creator remains anonymous. What is known is that it took over 3,000 hours and thousands of hand-crafted pieces to assemble, with everything mounted on two massive wooden beams serving as the chassis. The attention to detail is staggering: the oversized mesh grille, bumper intakes, quad exhaust outlets, and oval headlamp housings all mimic the 2017 Continental GT, the generation that inspired this rolling sculpture. To highlight contrast, those elements were finished in a darker shade than the body.

Open the exposed-hinge doors, and the wooden artistry continues. Inside, you’ll find a dashboard, center console, and door panels arranged like the real car’s, along with carved seats featuring Bentley’s signature diamond-quilted upholstery pattern—albeit in low-relief wooden form. It’s not plush leather, but the craftsmanship is undeniable.

Mechanically, there’s no W-12 or V-8 lurking beneath the sculpted hood, but this Bentley is not entirely static. Thanks to a steering rack and exposed gear linkage, it can actually roll and steer. With steel axles and acrylic windows being the only non-wooden parts, even the wheels and tires are carved from timber. The whole thing tips the scales at around 2,000 pounds (907 kg)—less than half the weight of a real GT.

Currently displayed at Autosport Group in Boca Raton, Florida, the wooden Bentley is parked alongside a lineup of used luxury cars. But unlike its drivable cousins, this one is destined for collectors who value conversation pieces over horsepower. The asking price on eBay? $98,900. That’s significantly less than a new Continental GT, but still a princely sum for a car that won’t ever leave tire marks on asphalt.

There are caveats, too: the listing admits to visible cracks in some glued joints and minor interior wear. But imperfections aside, it remains an astonishing feat of craftsmanship.

As YouTuber Austin Campbell remarked after seeing it in person, this isn’t about speed or performance—it’s about the spectacle. A Bentley made of wood may not roar down the highway, but it does turn heads in a way no W-12 ever could.

Source: Austin Campbell via YouTube