Lot details
Registration No: D85 UGT
Chassis No: WBABB320501881433
Mot Expiry: June 2012

The 3 Series BMW is an automotive phenomenon. All things to all men, it has transported millions of businessmen during the week, won countless touring car championships at the weekend and continuously outsold such cheaper, common or garden offerings as Ford's excellent Mondeo and Vauxhall's Insignia. Moreover, the honeymoon shows no sign of ending, with the car now in its sixth generation and still the class leader by which all rivals are judged. The brand's best-selling model, it alone accounts for some 30 percent of the company's annual sales. This remarkable story began in 1975, when the E21 was launched as a replacement for the 2002. Available in Two-Door Saloon and Convertible (by Baur), it could initially only be bought with 1.6, 1.8 and 2-litre versions of the company's four-cylinder M10 engine, but six-cylinder ones soon followed. Having changed the Saloon market forever, the inaugural model bowed out in 1982 to be replaced by the E30. More evolution than revolution, the newcomer raised the bar still higher and dominated its sector for the next 10 years. The model line-up grew to include Four-Door Saloon and Estate (Touring in BMW parlance) versions and the Convertible was now an in-house affair. The optimum engine package was found in the 325i - a smooth and lusty 2.5-litre unit of 168bhp and 164lbft of torque.

The 3 Series on offer is an E30 model 325i Convertible from 1987, equipped with manual five-speed gearbox. It sports Red bodywork allied to a Black leather interior and features M body trim and wheels, the correct suspension and sports seats. The vendor considers the bodywork and paintwork to be in "average condition", the engine to "run fine" and the gearbox to be "ok for the year". 'D85 UGT' comes complete with factory hard top, perimeter alarm and MOT into June.