One should start telling the story of this car with its first owner – BMW Motorsport GmbH. It does not happen frequently that the manufacturer registers the car. It happens in case of prototypes, the cars initiating a new production line. Manufacturers must do it due to the necessity of conducting tests including the road tests that would not be possible without the car registration. So, it was the case with this BMW. As the first manufactured ‘M’ with the Touring body – it was initiating the whole production and so they had to check it properly and thoroughly to the minor detail. Such cars, tested by producers at the very beginning of the manufacturing process, are highly valued by the collectors’ community. But, in this case, on the top of all that, Kai Jakobsen proved to be one of the subsequent former owners of this car. He is the man who knows everything about the history of the post-war automotive industry. And he knows even more about BMW’s history. There is nothing strange about it since he is the chief historian and head of the BMW AG archive. Afterwards there were another four changes of subsequent owners of this car, and each time it went to trusted and reliable hands.

The station wagon with M package – the very beginning of production – should be immortalised. So, one of the former photographers from the US branch of BMW undertook the task. On his web site he inserted a photo of another early produced piece (with the VIN number ending with 001) with the following caption: ‘This is the first M5 E34 Touring ever produced‘. Well, it does happen – mistakes do occur.
The Bonaventura Classic Collection sent a message correcting this inaccuracy. They explained that – according to documents, including the VIN number – the car immortalised on the pages of this album is undoubtedly the first ever produced M5 E34 Touring. But neither the VIN number nor the relations of the current owner could convince the photographer. So, the owner asked Kai Jakobsen himself and did not need to wait long for the answer. The historian dispelled doubts saying that it would have been contradictory to any logic if the higher VIN were given to a car produced earlier. He added that he had never dealt with such a situation, because production cannot go against the order of the numbers stamped on the nameplates. Common sense tells us that one could hardly find a more binding opinion than the one given by the head of the BMW AG archive.

– I have not heard so far about a car with the number 000 produced after a one numbered 001. It is possible that they formally registered this vehicle as a second one, but its VIN is the evidence of the production sequence. I have not heard of any case when it was the opposite.

It is worth mentioning that Jacobsen used this station wagon for everyday driving. Having direct and immediate access to all stylistic innovations applied in ‘Fives’, he kept modernising his car continuously. As a result, the Bonaventura Classic Collection acquired the vehicle with, for example, a newer air intake and rims that were not available in 1992. Luckily, the original parts did not end up on the secondary market but were retained, which made it possible to quickly restore its original appearance. On the other hand, an argument in favour of the fact that BL001 was the first is the production date decoded under vin: March 4, 1992, while it belongs to the Collection of March 5. Perhaps the body was produced first, and then special equipment was added, and the production date was entered with a delay of one day. It is difficult to say today.

– This car has over 240000 kilometres on the clock, but that does not matter. For cars that are so rare and unique, the mileage is not as important as is the case of mass production ones. This car will always be the first VIN number, regardless of how many kilometres it travels and is second or first produced. The history of this specimen and its previous owners make it unique.

One can hardly disagree with the owner’s words. Unfortunately, it was also undisputable that a quarter of a million kilometres travelled has left its mark on the whole car. For the upholstery, it was enough to clean it thoroughly and replace the most worn-out bits, but the car body required a more severe intervention, to prevent transformation of the traces of corrosion into rusty, eroded cavities. The bodywork renovation took a long time, but today the unique in its kind M5 E34 Touring delights anew.

The first made one, the extraordinary owners and almost a scandal – these are but a few of so many advantages of this car.