1965 BMW 1800 TI Competition Saloon
Registration no. not registered
Chassis no. to be advised

The foundation of BMW's post-war resurgence was the four-door 1500 saloon and its derivatives - the 'New Class', introduced in 1961. All variants came with the Munich firm's dependable, single-overhead-camshaft, four-cylinder M10 engine under the bonnet, which despite its humble origins would go on to form the basis of a turbo-charged 1,000-horsepower Grand Prix unit and Formula 1 World Championship winner.

New for 1963, the 1800 model used a 1,773cc 90bhp engine at first before rationalisation saw it replaced by an updated short-stroke 1,766cc unit in 1968. Soon there was a more sporting version available – the 1800 TI (Touring International) – which had been developed by the tuning company Alpina and came with two twin-choke Solex carburettors and a higher compression ratio, modifications that raised peak output to 110bhp. This in turn led to the more powerful and track-focused 1800 TI/SA 'homologation special'.

Intended to raise BMW's international sporting profile, the 1800 TI/SA succeeded brilliantly; Hubert Hahne won the German national championship in 1964 and with co-driver Rauno Aaltonen disputed the lead of the Spa 24-Hour race with a Mercedes-Benz 300 SE, eventually finishing 2nd. BMW went one better the following year when Pascal Ickx and Gerald Langlois' 1800 TI/SA secured the first of the Munich manufacturer's string of victories in this prestigious event. Only 200 genuine factory-built TI/SAs were made, most of which are either in private ownership or German museums. In more recent times enthusiasts have turned to the more affordable 1800TI as the basis for a competitive historic racer, it being relatively easy to upgrade the latter to 1800TI/SA specification or even better.

This immaculate BMW 1800TI racer was built to a high specification by Laranca Engineering for Martin Hines under his personal supervision, and has since been upgraded for the current owners by BMW race specialists, Retro Engineering. With new HTP papers (valid until 2028), this is a race-ready and competitive BMW 1800TI with distinctive blue livery and less than two hours on the engine (rebuilt in 2019) and five hours on the gearbox.

A regular entrant in the St Mary's Trophy at the Goodwood Revival and Members' Meeting, this car is eligible for the best high-profile events in Masters Pre-'66 Touring Cars, U2TC, HSCC, HSDC, CSCC, and other race series. It achieved U2TC Class podiums at the 2017 Silverstone Classic and 2017 Spa 6-Hour meeting, and is a potential winner in the right hands. The car is offered for sale only because of a change in the owners' racing plans. A quantity of spare parts, including an engine, is available by separate negotiation.