E3 Wondercars at Seattle BMW

[Dick Steinkamp]

All 4 Wondercars were on display today at Seattle BMW. Christian Zschocke flew in from Germany to present each car to the group and to answer questions. A rare opportunity to see some of the most famous E3s ever!

Here is Christian with @BMW Pete...

It was a great, natural light venue to show off how perfectly these cars have been constructed and finished...

The New Horizon had the brushed aluminum dash rather than the more common wood grain...

I'm guessing this is because it is a relatively early car (1969) and the lower level trim (2500). My early 72 model year Bavaria is also equipped this way...

The California was sporting the open lug nut look on sand cast Pedrini's...

I think it is a good candidate for @dave v. in nc 's idea of lug nuts as used on other Pedrini wheels and E28 "bottle cap" center caps...

Thanks to Christian, Peter, the Puget Sound Chapter of BMWCCA, and Seattle BMW. Well done!

 

[bluecoupe30!]

It WAS well done. I was impressed at how devoted Christian is to the E3. What a resource! And Peter was excellent at setting the stage for the appreciation of what these cars actually mean to the heritage of BMW.
I was pleased to attend in my Coupe, and meet with Forum members to participate in such a proper presentation of these exceptional cars.
Have never driven my E9 late in November, departing at 6 AM, at temperatures that started at -2Celcius, ever. But car was running well, heater had recently been re-connected, insurance was renewed, no rain in sight, why not? Nice to see you again, Sven, Dick, Kevin. And thanks for the escort to the venue Kevin, and from, Dick. Mike

 

[cicada]

The California is unbelievably good-looking.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

And thanks for the escort to the venue Kevin, and from, Dick. Mike

It was great to see you again, Mike, and I loved having your beautiful coupe in my rearview mirror for 90 miles on the way home

 

[Markos]

I so wanted to go. This was one of my busiest weekends unfortunately. I’m just now calling it a night.

I was roofing today. Yes I did catch my pants on fire.

 

[lip277]

It was a fun day. Was great to see everyone and meet Mike and Dick.
And I also enjoyed seeing Mike's Coupe in my mirror on the way down to the event (as Dick mentioned for their return trip north). Looking forward to being able to do these things with my own Coupe...
Christain did such an awesome job on each of his E3's. Was a wonderful event.

 

[dang]

Yes I did catch my pants on fire

Liar liar...

 

[AustinOski]

Will the cars stay at the dealership for a few days or have they moved-on? I’m going to be in Seattle on business next week and would love to check it out.

 

[Christoph]

Will the cars stay at the dealership for a few days or have they moved-on?

The Wundercars will stay at BMW Seattle for some weeks, how many, I don't know at the moment. Hope you love them.

The California was sporting the open lug nut look on sand cast Pedrini's...

I feel that on behalf of the Wundercar people I must apologise for this. I spoke to Christian a few hours ago and we agreed the centre caps are part of the California concept that is "Elegance". A set of caps is safely stored in the boot. Simple explanation: The caps are most delicate pieces, they were removed for the flight and further transportation. Weeks later no one remembered to put them back on.

Christian is really happy he took the tour to Seattle. The event and all the people he met were worth it. Never mind the wheelcaps.

 

[bluecoupe30!]

Wow, Christoph, you are SO plugged in! Thank you for sharing feedback from Christian. He is a remarkable enthusiast. Happy he was able to share his cars with this venue. He said this was the only stop in the US, so I feel especially grateful that this showing was close enough for a Canadian to drive down and experience! What has not been mentioned as of yet, is the music that was commissioned to represent each of these Special E3s. There were 2 compositions that registered with me, first was for the Pink Panther E3, I closed my eyes and could imagine the year was 1969, I was in a theatre, and just before the man event, a Pink Panther vignette would be shown. Always without voice. The music exactly captured that experience. The music attached to the Californian, made me feel like I was driving along the California Highway 1, in the sun, of course, passenger
with arms in the air....well, you get the picture. In other words, this event was simple ethereal! Mike

 

[AustinOski]

@Christoph - Thank you for the information. I’ll head there on Tuesday straight from the airport, before my business events get started in earnest!

 

[ricsix]

These are definitely easy on the eyes

 

[CSBM5]

Thank you for sharing feedback from Christian. He is a remarkable enthusiast. Happy he was able to share his cars with this venue. He said this was the only stop in the US

Dang it! I was hoping they were on their way to South Carolina for display here at the Zentrum museum!

 

[Bmachine]

E3 ignoramus here... Can you shed some light on what the E3 Wondercars are? I'm guessing custom versions built at the factory? And one Art Car? Link maybe?

It seems odd that they would pay to fly 4 cars from Germany to do only one stop on this continent. Unless it was that dealership that paid for it.

 

[HB Chris]

Bo, You need to visit here more often!

Wundercar Collection at Seattle Auto Show November 10-13

Good news! It seems almost certain the Wundercar Collection will be on display on the BMW booth at the Seattle Auto Show in November. For the Auto Show see here: . Taking place on November 10-13. About a week later there will be another presentation at BMW Seattle. I don't know, however, if...

e9coupe.com

 

[Bmachine]

Very nice, thank you. I did not see that.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

More on the Wondercars in the US...

E3 Wondercar Collection at Lemay-Tacoma, WA

Christian Zschocke brings his E3 Wondercar Collection (4 cars) to the Lemay America's Car Museum starting Saturday, September 10th. On Sunday, September 11th, the Puget Sound Chapter of the BMWCCA will hold their annual show at the grounds of the Museum. BMWs only, but you don't have to...

e9coupe.com

 

[BMW Pete]

E3 ignoramus here... Can you shed some light on what the E3 Wondercars are? I'm guessing custom versions built at the factory? And one Art Car? Link maybe?

It seems odd that they would pay to fly 4 cars from Germany to do only one stop on this continent. Unless it was that dealership that paid for it.

Hi Bmachine,

These have been talked about a lot and if you just put "wundercar collection" in your browser you will find them.

Absolutely nothing to do with BMW,

Christian designed and built all these himself and paid all the shipping etc to get them to the USA and all internal costs. They were meant to be on display at LeMay Americas car museum and they cancelled a day after Christian had landed them here, after spending $135k of his own money. He called me asking for help, which of course I was happy to help a fellow car guy in trouble.

I have stored them at my warehouse and arranged both shows, one at the Auto Show and the other now in BMW Seattle, which Christian kindly flew over a week ago to tell the story and sign books etc

Just this weekend, I have agreed with The BMW CCA Foundation that they will be heading to The Ultimate Driving Museum for showing during the month of February and then onto The Petersen in LA exhibition I have arranged from March.

So for all East coasters, expect to see this announced soon and I hope many of you will get down to The Foundations Museum, opposite the BMW factory and next door to the Performance center in SC. Supporting, all the effort and extremely costs Christian has spent sharing what is the best collection of E3s in the world - period.

Also donating to the BMW CCA Foundation and its Street Survival program would be a great idea as well during the holidays.

Thank you

Pete

 

[CSBM5]

Fantastic news! Can't wait to see them in February at the Ultimate Driving Museum. It's a fantastic facility, and the current 50 years of M cars on display are incredible.

 

[Bmachine]

What a great story, Pete. Thank you so very much for providing all of the “behind the scenes“ details. And thank you for facilitating this very unique exhibition.