With a fascinating race history at its Season Opener on the 5th and 6th March.
Built to an exceptionally high standard by the renowned BMW expert, Ton Vink of Vink Motorsport in Holland, this rather special BMW Touring Car has a very interesting back story, and still has much to offer on the competitive race scene – its FIA HTP (Class CT40) is valid until 31/12/2030.
Originating from BMW Motorsport in 1984, ‘RA-2-49’ was initially sold to Herr Fritz Möller who campaigned the car in DTM events for three years between 1984 and 1986, and competed in iconic endurance events including the challenging 24-hour races at Spa and the Nurburgring.
The story of this BMW unravels further. Having exchanged hands between several owners, it was around 2005 when it ended up with Michael Bonk Motorsports (MBM), who had been mechanics for Fritz Möller in its DTM days and had a true appreciation for the car’s heritage. MBM restored the chassis, and the BMW 635 went on to Joseph Kolliker who completed the final elements of its restoration. Disaster struck when the car was heavily damaged in a workshop blaze, and it sat dormant for many years.
Saviour came in the form of another purchaser who spotted its potential as a ‘project car’. Its new owner enlisted the services of BMW supremo Ton Vink in Amsterdam and the BMW body experts, Matter Motorsport. This knowledgeable ‘BMW collaboration’ replaced the body and decided to start afresh from the bottom up, with the aim of RA-2-49 becoming a world-class benchmark for Group A 635s. BMW engine experts, Bosch Tuning, also joined the project renewing the complete engine to modern standards resulting in 320bhp and 400Nm of torque. The gearbox has also been fully rebuilt using brand new homologated internals from Samsonas, to name but a few contributors to this incredible BMW’s remarkable makeover.
RA-2-49’s exacting restoration was complete a couple of years ago, and since then this amazing example has campaigned in the competitive Peter Auto Series with much success, securing a very impressive second place. This was its first and last competitive outing, and now this superbly engineered Touring Car is perfectly poised to fulfil a new owner’s competitive dreams. This is a great opportunity for a new owner to take the fabulous RA-2-49 into a new racing chapter as it continues its motorsport story. It comes supplied with a set of six wheels.
Full details about the 1984 FIA BMW 635 CSi are available on Silverstone Auctions website. The guide price is £120,000 - £140,000 and there is the option of bidding at the event on 5th and 6th March at The RAF Museum London or by phone, live online or via commission. Pre-registration can be done on the website or by emailing bid@silverstoneauctions.com
