E30 Zone

There is an ad up at the moment saying the Motorsport edition started in 1988.

My car is a 1986 and has M badging on the steering wheel, gear knob and interior door locks. It also has 15" BBS wheels. Not sure about the suspension.

What have I got?

Not a Motorsport.

Delusions of grandeur?

Is there anyway of telling how the car left the factory from stock & what optional extras it left with , mine has full sport kit , black headlining but grey leather interior & carpets ?

Any BMW dealer will give you a print out of the original spec. if you give them the VIN, or there are a few websites that have the same info.
This is one: http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Were people able to add Msport bits and pieces throughout production?

Great site that Brian, thanks.

It just gives you a code for the upholstery spec though. I goggled it and found this page: http://www.rtsauto.com/e30-seat-upholst ... s-by-year/

My touring came with some correspondence from Cheyne to the original owner, and all the info tallies. I knew my leather was fitted by them (along with a Pioneer stereo and air-con), but it was interesting to find out what the original cloth was.

I must get a life...

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm actually a little curious about if my 325i is a Sport or not, I've used a couple different VIN decoder site's now and they all say different things. Well, they all state the car has the same optional extra's (including Sport's package) but they tend to differentiate in the title, some say 325i and others say 325i Sport.

Can anyone clarify if the Sport's package does make it a genuine sport? I can post/PM my VIN # if needed. V5 say's its a Sport, however I know this is changeable by the current owner.

So there is a Sport version and a Motorsport version?

Motorsports were cabs

gooner1 wrote:Delusions of grandeur?

Behave and use etiquette lol !!!!

HartgeH27 wrote:

gooner1 wrote:Delusions of grandeur?

Behave and use etiquette lol !!!!

Thanks and quite. Context might help. I am advertising the car for sale. I couldn't give a shit what it is. But I would like to get as much cash as possible for it.

Post the chassis number here and someone will check the original spec.

Does it have a tech 1 kit? That would be a pretty big give away normally, unless it has "lost" it over the years

According to the wiki, the best visual clue for a genuine sport is the black headlining, but this isn't 100% proof on its own.

It also lists the full spec and limited range of original paint and interior colours:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/325i_Sport

It seems to be implying that the VIN spec (see Brian's post above) will show 'Sports Equipment' package if the car is a genuine sport.

If it doesn't have this package from the factory, then any sport items present have either been retro-fitted or chosen as individual factory options (as shown on the VIN spec) and so the car is not a 'genuine' sport.

Also, the Mtech 2/facelift version appeared in 1988, which might explain the info seen by the OP?


A sport isn't a sport without close ratios and an lsd imho, genuine or not. But having that 'genuine' tag when you're selling is always a bonus

Mungo1337 wrote:A sport isn't a sport without close ratios and an lsd imho, genuine or not.

If it isn't genuine, it isn't genuine full stop!!

True enough.. I was just thinking a car with all the right bits would still be nice to have - even if it didn't leave the factory that way.

Mungo1337 wrote:True enough.. I was just thinking a car with all the right bits would still be nice to have - even if it didn't leave the factory that way.

Indeed so and will be cheaper than a Sport in matching condition