BMW E36 as a rally off-roader will be auctioned

Curious BMW E36 is auctioned as a rally car in Belgium. There is not much left of the original BMW 3 series coupé. It's cheap for that. The starting price is 1,300 euros.

The E36 from BMW was a success story of the Bavarian automobile manufacturer. BMW built this generation of the 3 Series from 1990 to 2000. A total of 2,745,780 copies rolled off the assembly line. Of course, with this amount, a car has to suffer a special fate every now and then. Like this off-roader that is up for auction in Poperinge, Belgium. The auction house Vavato offers the BMW there.

Starting price 1,300 euros

The starting bid of the car is 1,300 euros. Interested parties have the chance to bid on the BMW until February 3 at 8:10 p.m. According to the odometer reading, the car has run 245,702 kilometers. For a 318is with its robust M42 engine, this number should not cause a sweat to break out. However, looking at the pictures, the question arises as to how carefully the BMW was handled. The in-line four-cylinder delivers 140 hp and has a maximum torque of 175 Nm. According to the vehicle documents, the car was first registered on March 23, 1994.

Thumper makes the E36 jump

The elevated E36 looks a bit sad. The legendary BMW kidney is a bit crooked and the headlights no longer fit perfectly into the body. They are also masked with generous gaffer tape. The BMW has a curved metal bar in front of the fender. If it were bent downwards, the E36 could easily do its job as a clearing vehicle. All kinds of pipes on the car ensure that the BMW can overcome any obstacle. Especially the rabbit on the hood and the sides is striking.

The lettering "Stampertje" means "knocker" in German. This is a reference to the rabbit from the Disney film Bambi. It distracts somewhat from the faded red seen on the BMW. The off-roader seems to have hopped through the landscape like the rabbit Klopfer. Instead of strong rabbit hind legs, the E36 has mud terrain tires for whatever surface it rides and jumps over. The interior looks everything else neat and spartan. Well, that shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, it is a rally BMW that has been beaten over hill and dale. The huge lever for the handbrake is striking in the interior.

E46 springs in the E36

The E46 springs from the following generation were chosen for the chassis. The shock absorbers are from the E85 series of the Z4. The steering lever is supplied by the 3-series coupe from the E92 series. The drive is atypical for a BMW. The classic rear-wheel drive gives way to our own all-wheel drive creation. Definitely a good idea for an off-road car. A thick stainless steel base plate should protect the BMW from injury. The custom made outer cage is necessary for the safety of the riders.

An off-road BMW based on the E36 is available in Belgium. The car is so quirky that it definitely stands out alongside its more than two million brothers that BMW has built. It's also cheap for that. The next time you want to drive across fields and meadows to the supermarket, you should strike.