BMW 320i Convertible | Spotted
The best-looking car ever made? No. But let's talk about why it's on the shortlist...
There are many, many pretty cars in the PH classifieds, so I am not going to say the E30 BMW 3 Series – saloon, estate or convertible – is the prettiest; that would be to needlessly court controversy. But here’s the thing. It’s all very well making something like a Lamborghini Miura look slinky and sexy. Often, the practical bits, like leaving enough room for someone to actually drive the thing or providing a place to stick a washbag, so you can travel with a toothbrush and flannel, are conveniently forgotten. Designing everyday family transport is a far bigger challenge, because the fella or lass with the crayons and a blank sheet of A3 must consider such things and many more besides. That’s when the compromises kick in and possibly the frumpiness, too. But the E30 isn’t frumpy, is it?
Why isn’t it, though? I mean, just for a moment, don’t view it as an E30 – as the ubiquitous car you’ve always loved. Look at it through fresh and dispassionate eyes. What do you see, other than a bunch of straight lines and right angles? Apart from the wheels, the arches, the headlights and the badges, everything is straight up or straight down. If you were to describe what makes a car beautiful, it would be when a designer uses curves and swoops, not set squares. That’s not designing. And yet, isn’t the E30 a magnificent piece of design?
Even making it a convertible works. There are plenty of convertibles that don’t. The ones that look good with the roof up, instance, like the original Jaguar XK8, but when you put the roof down, there’s a mass of steel and rucked up canvas sticking up behind the driver’s head that rather spoils the effect. And don’t talk to me about the tonneau cover. Most people can’t be bothered to popper it on, and even if they do it’s nothing more than a big PVC sticking plaster with funny, protruding ears.
There are also cars that look better the other way around: handsome when the hood is down but an eyesore when it’s up: yes, Renault Megane II, I am thinking of you, with your fat, heavy-looking, unsavoury bottom. And then there are cars that were designed with such a high-powered ugly stick that they look comprehensively gawky whatever the hood status, like the only-its-mother-could-love-it Peugeot 308 CC. Or the Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. Or the Crossfire… But not the E30 Convertible. It looks effortlessly pretty hood up or hood down, right?
So there you go. Claus Luthe designed a car with all the wrong tools, all the wrong lines and all the myriad compromises of the everyday, and yet, somehow, came up with a peach: a car that looks as fabulous today as it did on the day it arrived, and every single day in between. Have you ever heard a dissenting voice on the beauty of the E30 over its lifetime? I haven’t. It’s a work of genius: clean, pure, unfussy and perfect – not something you can say about BMW’s latest efforts.
You might think £13,950 seems like a lot for the everyday E30, even in convertible form, but think about what you’re getting. A supremely handsome car that will only ever be considered as such. And here, one that looks to be in great condition to show that beauty off perfectly. It comes with what’s described as smart-looking hood, unworn seats, wax oil in all its nooks and crevasses, and ‘folder full of service history’. Plus it’s a six-cylinder with a manual ‘box to top it all off. So, with my case laid out and brimming with confidence about why no one will have anything negative to say about this car’s design, I open the floor to comments. And, of course, duly expect to be shot down in flames.
Specification | BMW 320i Convertible (E30)
Engine: 1,990cc, straight-six, naturally aspirated
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 129 @ 6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 120 @ 4,300rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1988
Recorded mileage: 71,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £13,950
You're spot on in pointing out the two keys factors: it's actually an everyday car with all the other priorities it brings instead of "design" and "beauty"
+ it looks effortlessly beautiful whereas many, many other (BMW) cars are clearly trying really hard to be pretty and thereby failing utterly.
Fabulous vehicle in all body configurations!
I was 18 when I had a 325i Sport (m-tech 1) in Dolphin Grey. Really didn't know what I had until years later.
The engine and styling really made it feel special to drive looking back. I think I paid circa. £3000 in 2003......part exchanged it against a brand new mk4 Astra SRi............
In 2001 I inherited a small amount of money and decided I'd buy a convertible to go on holiday in and then sell afterwards. I looked at a few of these, following the 6-cylinder and manual formula, but never really gelled with them even though they were all beautifully maintained and low mileage (this was 20-odd years ago, so none were older than 12 or so years). I ended up with a Saab 900 Turbo convertible, which I still have. It felt a much nicer place to be.
Annoyingly, the E30 has lived off the M3 legend and is now worth more than 900s are, so I am happy to accept that, financially, I made the wrong decision. But I'm still glad I bought the Saab.
Word on the street at the time was that the 320i was a bit of an in-between thing: not as economical as and no faster than a 316i / 318i, and a lot slower than the 325i.
I have always liked the E30 to look at (though I was not impressed by ownership of the 318iS that I had).
The 320's six is a fabulous engine that sounds wonderful extended if a bit light on torque. A convertible would be a bonus, and probably a good choice as dynamically they aren't stunning as standard/SE.
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