Unusual or Rare Cars - Part 2

[Carbon82]

Time for a Part 2 as the original thread has clocked >10,000 posts (10,100 posts to be exact). Kudos to @Theoldjaffa for starting the thread and allows many of us to have a glimpse of unusual / rare car models on our road, or even overseas!

OK, this is a definitely an unusual car in BMW history. Look closer, this is NOT a normal E30 320i Convertible...

For those who still catches no ball, it has a fixed B & C pillar!

Yes, this is the BMW E30 3 Series Baur TopCabriolet.

The convertible came courtesy of a Stuttgart-based coachbuilder named Baur, who had a long history with BMW and apparently saw the market for a BMW convertible before BMW did. So the two teamed up to make a convertible 3-Series – with only one little problem. It wasn’t quite a convertible.

Baur had to start its convertible 3-Series by taking an already-built 3-Series coupe and sawing off the roof. As a result, there wasn’t any extra rigidity built into the body or the chassis – since the car was never intended to be a convertible in the first place. So Baur had to engineer this rigidity into the top.

The result of this was a convertible of … unusual proportions. For one thing, it isn’t a full convertible: the top panel comes off, and only the soft top over the rear window retracts like a typical convertible top. But then there are the pillars. In “roof open” mode, the A-pillar is still in place, of course. But so are the B-pillar, and the C-pillar. And there’s a huge bar connecting the B-pillar on the left side of the car to the one on the right side – even when the top is off.

Even though there was a factory BMW 3-Series convertible on the E30 body style, it didn’t start out that way. Instead, Baur made another 14,426 E30 3-Series convertibles, with the unusual targa-ish convertible roof and all the pillars and bracing in place before BMW finally took the reins and did a factory convertible with a normal roof and no extra pillars or bracing.

Read more about the 3 Series Baur in the following post I have made last April.

@jimmyfong @Mockngbrd any idea how many Baur left in Singapore?

[Theoldjaffa]

Thanks @Carbon82!

Here's my page 1 contri. Not rare but unusual 😬

 

[ALTK]

 

Simi chia?

Edited September 23, 2019 by ALTK

[Gnahp]

heavily chng-ed NC Mazda MX5 😅

[Cook123]

1 hour ago, ALTK said:

 

Simi chia?

Should be a hamiko

[Adrianli]

Subscribed

 

[Theoldjaffa]

1 hour ago, ALTK said:

 

Simi chia?

Himiko

[ALTK]

4 hours ago, Phang said:

heavily chng-ed NC Mazda MX5 😅

I tot it is a heavily chng-ed Z4 🤣

 

3 hours ago, Theoldjaffa said:

Himiko

Wa...li hai man!👍 Honestly, i really never heard of this car name before. 😅

[Cook123]

Rare Renault 

[louisbosco]

 

21 hours ago, jimmyfong said:

only 2500 made, so definitely rare...think we have 10 here

 

wah. like that really tempting to go import one for myself. keep and store in australia. hand itchy went to search after i post, found one for auction/sale in japan.. been thinking of evo for years already

 

[Hamburger]

I luv old cars.....especially E30

[Mockngbrd]

35 minutes ago, Hamburger said:

I luv old cars.....especially E30

E30? 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Mockngbrd

[Mockngbrd]

[boonhat_91]

Architecture or aerodynamic

[SGMCF328]

May I know what model is this? It is very tall, much taller than normal Mercedes van. First time I see such van.

Edited September 24, 2019 by SGMCF328

[inlinesix]

Should be Merc Vito

[Beehive3783]

MERCEDES BENZ / SPRINTER 316CDI 3665 4X4 VAN

[13177]

3 minutes ago, Davidtch said:

Should be Merc Vito

This van is registered as Sprinter. Never heard of such model.