This car is the ultimate BMW e28; a 1985 BMW 535i that has been modified by Hartge, a renowned third-party BMW tuner. Not only that, it’s been restored by Ron Perry, a long-time e28 aficionado, known for his quality work.
The color combination on this car is perfect, and the work Ron has done to restore it is perfect. The Euro bumpers, Euro lights, driving lamp wipers… An e28 just doesn’t get any better than this, unless maybe it had a turbo under the hood. Nah; then I’d probably just want to drive it around with my foot on the floor.
As much as I would love to have a car like this, it just ain’t gonna happen. This one just sold on eBay for an astonishing $36,463.63. That’s for a 25 year old car. The closest I’ll get is the set of spiffy-looking valve caps with the Hartge logo on them that I got in a Priority Box Exchange earlier this year.
Update: This car is still for sale, and still way out of reach, but I thought it appropriate to update the post with some more photos and info on it. Apparently the eBay sale fell through, and Ron still has it. Price is set at $39,500 with the pictured Hartge wheels, or $36,500 with stock wheels — $3,000 for those wheels! I’d be more likely to spend that much on an entire car than on a set of wheels, no matter how nice! More photos of the finished car — beauty shots and some candid shots from the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where the car won… something, along with a pile of photos from the build log posted on mye28.com. Truly an amazing car, and amazing that the restoration came together so quickly, getting it ready for the Pebble Beach show.
Original 1985 HARTGE H5S (Based on Euro 528i E28) Grey Market Import
For Sale – Contact Ron Perry for Details – Phone: (949) 278-1282 , Email – ronkperry@gmail.comOne of the rarest tuner cars from the 80’s when the grey market was thriving in the U.S. is now offered for sale. A “no expense spared” restoration was performed in 2009 to the highest level. this car has not only been featured in Bimmer Magazine (April 2010), but it has also won the prestigious Monterey Central Coast’s Chapter Concourse and not only first place, but best in show as well. The entire car was gutted and re-fitted. There have been some changes from the original livery such as a full leather dash, leather center console, leather door caps, leather HVAC control surround, and full leather door panels. There is also (added, but available from Hartge as an option) a full leather gauge cluster on the parcel tray. The seats have all had the leather replaced, but the factory carpet was in excellent condition so that was left in place. Also, rear headrests were fitted which accompany the factory sunshade. The car came with the following options from BMW: 4 power windows, electric sunroof, rear sunshade, bronze tinted glass, power door locks, on board computer, and a dealer installed a/c unit. There is also a red back-lit Blaupunkt stereo to compliment the gauges. We also had the instrument cluster completely rebuilt at Hollywood Speedo with the Hartge logos on the tachometer and speedometer.
The exterior has been completely re-painted in the factory color and the original silver deco set was replaced with an anthracite deco set. We changed the wheels to an OZ Hartge 3 piece 17×8.5 and 17×9.5 wheels and a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires. The headlamp wiper/washer system was added and is fully functional, new sunroof felt was also added. The entire undercarriage is completely detailed to near perfection and the OEM sway bars were powder coated as per factory spec colors. New slotted rotors and pads all around. Transmission and rear end oil was replaced with Red Line.
All new window, door seals, and window squeegees as well. Removal of old window tint revealed all factory bronze tinted glass! The original factory steering wheel was re-wrapped in leather. We replaced the old trunk mounted “wing” type spoiler with a Hartge rubber spoiler. A U.S. spec full M5 trunk and tool kit was also added.
In the engine compartment, the entire inside was re-painted the factory color and all new repro stickers were re-fitted. The engine was dis-assembled down to the long block and we replaced the timing chain guides and chain, water pump. We performed a leakdown and compression test and all numbers were within normal levels.
Here are the compression numbers:
1-150
2-149
3-149
4-150
5-150
6-149Brand new high flow catalytic converters (dual in and dual out) and a cat-back Ireland Engineering Stainless exhaust system along with the original HARTGE tip has also been added.
There are so many external engine parts that were powder coated, that I just can’t remember them all, but we do have all of the receipts. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ronkperry at gmail dot com.
This is a one of the finest examples in the world and one of only five know to be in the U.S. and could be a main contender in any concourse tomorrow!
Ron Perry
949-278-1282 Phone
949-281-5199 Fax