One to Buy: ex-Gustav Fischer 1978 BMW E21 320 Group 5
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Once aerodynamic addenda went mainstream in top flight motor racing during the early 1970s, the years that followed saw some wild appendages begin to appear. Nowhere was this more evident than the production-based Group 5 class that came into effect for 1976.
Sometimes dubbed a Silhouette formula on account of regulations that required little more than a passing resemblance to the production-based donor platform, Group 5 went on to be dominated by German manufacturers Porsche and BMW in part a result of the high profile DRM series played out on domestic circuits around the country.
Group 5 cars also raced at World Championship level and the Le Mans 24 Hours where they often rivalled out-and-out Sports Prototypes for single lap pace.
Although BMW occasionally raced turbocharged Group 5 versions of their E21 3-series against the mighty Porsche 935, these handsome GT machines normally contested the udner two-litre category where they proved dominant.
This particular Group 5 320 on offer at Duncan Hamilton ROFGO in Micheldever, Hampshire, was raced in period by Gustav Fischer, Gerd Reiss and Kenneth Leim. It competed in the DRM and World Sportscar Championship from 1978 to 1982, after which it contested domestic events in Sweden.
It is fully race prepared and would make an ideal mount for all manner of historic events, or simply an evocative centrepiece for any collection.
