Lot Ended
Description
Genuine 740i 'Shorty Sporty' E38; one of only a handful in the UK;
arguably the best-looking BMW saloon of the modern era
At first glance
this may look like any other BMW E38 but it is in fact a rare 740i Sport model.
Not to be confused with the standard 4.4-litre V8, the Sport had different
gearbox mapping; stiffer suspension; lower final drive ratio; anthracite
headlining; M-Par wheels; M-Sport steering wheel; Sports seats; black Shadowline
trim etc.
With 282bhp and 325ft/lb on tap, BMW
quoted a 0-60 time of 7 seconds with four people on board but road tests showed
that the Sport would do 0-60 in 5.9 seconds if you ditched the passengers,
pretty quick for a big saloon in those days.
First registered in September 2001, this 740i Sport must be one of
the last made and incorporates all the improvements that were made to the E38
over the years – wide screen OBC; body colour sills and bumpers; clear indicator
lenses etc.
Our vendor acquired the car in 2021
from the estate of a gentleman in the Home Couties who had owned it for the
previous 12 years. At this point it had been in dry storage for 10 years (2011 –
2021) due to the owner’s poor health.
Our vendor
had the car recommissioned including a service, new battery, four new Brembo
brake discs and pads and a new set of Firestone tyres. It also had some work
done to the front suspension and steering to get rid of the infamous 7 Series
shimmy: new upper suspension arms; new steering rack centre tie rod; new track
rod ends; new idler arm bush. There are only invoices for some of this work
but the new parts are plain to see.
He has since
covered 13,000 miles in the car, including a tour round Ireland in the summer of
2023 when the E38 was much admired by the locals who seem to have a thing
for old BMWs. He reports that the car drives beautifully, very smooth and quiet
with bags of power and decent economy (28mpg on a run).
The odometer currently shows 110,187 miles and the car has an MOT
until June 2025 with just one minor advisory.
The spec includes: Titan Silver paintwork; black Shadowline trim;
Montana black leather Sports interior; M Sport Package; M Sport suspension; 18”
M Parallel staggered alloys (including spare); Anthracite headlining; wide
screen OBM with TV and sat nav; parking sensors; soft-close boot; Servotronic
steering; electric steel sunroof; illuminated exterior door handles (very cool!)
etc. It has the switchable Sport Auto 5-speed gearbox so you can drive it like a
manual if you want to get a move on.
Being 25 years old it does have a few minor faults/blemishes, as
pictured. There are some stone chips on the bonnet and some scratches on the
boot lid that are hard to show in photos. The sunroof has stopped working; the
glovebox handle needs fixing and the headlining has begun to droop above the
rear seats. The ABS lights are also on and there is only one key and no
handbooks.
Looking very smart indeed in our
Classic Car Barn, this rare and sporting E38 is a sure-fire classic of the
future. Exact production figures are hard to pin down, but it seems only around
11,000 740i Sports were made between 1998 – 2001 of which only a handful came to
the UK and you rarely see them for sale.
It has a cult following in
America where it is known as the ‘Shorty Sporty’. Pierce Brosnan's James Bond
also famously drove (and totally trashed) an E38 in Tomorrow Never
Dies, as you can see if you copy and paste this link into your
browser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS8rD7ukEt4&t=41s
On offer here at a modest guide price, this Sport is ready to enjoy
right away and could be taken to the next level as desired.
Contact: James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com