BMW Batmobile Goes Under the Hammer in Dubai

Bonhams auction house recently announced that German carmaker BMW has consigned two cars from their museum reserve collection for sale at the inaugural Collectors' Motor Cars auction to be held at the Royal Mirage Hotel, Dubai in October. According to the auction house, this is the first time that the cars have ever become available from the official factory collection.

The first vehicle to be auctioned off is a white BMW 3.0 CSL with motorsport stripes and concours factory restoration, that became known as the 'Batmobile'.

The 3.0 CSL race cars were the first cars to be developed under BMW Motorsport Divison and also the first to sport the newly designated official colors of BMW Motorsport, namely red, blue and purple. There have been only 57 of this second series design built before production ceased in December 1975, of which only about a third are thought to have survived.

The example on sale is number 46 and is estimated to fetch between EUR130,000-170,000.

Also consigned is a 1979 white BMW M1 with very low mileage and in concours condition. It was the first and only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced. It is also estimated to fetch in between EUR130,000-170,000.

Other cars also consigned for the sale already include a 1993 Italdesign Aztec Barchetta (EUR80,000-120,000) and the one-off 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Break (EUR200,000-300,000).

"By holding an auction in Dubai, we are delighted to hopefully contribute significantly to the emerging market for collector's motor cars in the Middle East. The fact that BMW Classic have themselves consigned two models from their museum, clearly supports our vision on the future of the region in this collecting field," Philip Kantor, International Director Business Development and Head of European Motor Cars at Bonhams, said in a release.