Pictured here is the car that started it all. The announcement of its sale appeared online in 2008. The vehicle was in the USA and, in the photos taken in California, it looked at least inviting.

It left the factory in November 1987. Its first and the only owner in America was a manager working for Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The BMW was sold by a Bulgarian broker, but its past, appearance and general condition were beyond doubt, and all that led to the decision to buy. Now the only thing to do was to wait excitedly for the day when the ship with the car would arrive in the port of Hamburg.

The longed-for takeover turned into having to swallow a bitter pill. Without a doubt, it was the same car as in the pictures on the internet, but in a condition that had nothing to do with the declared one. The man putting the car up for sale had used photographs taken much earlier. The only current photograph was the one showing the odometer, and had been taken in such a way that nothing else was in the frame apart from the numbers. The mileage of 166000 miles, the lack of modifications and the full documentation were the only components of the ad’s content where the broker did not misrepresent the truth.

Despite the obvious fraud, it was clear that the pursuit of justice would consume time and a huge amount of money. Since the car had already arrived in Europe, the best option was to simply put it in the workshop. This is how the repair marathon began. Unfortunately, one had the impression that after each visit to the mechanic, the car was in an even worse state. Enough to mention that the mechanics unfortunately wasted two engine blocks, which broke every time. The poor-quality repair work lasted for two years. In the meantime, the bodywork was repainted, although…. nobody had asked for that. There was a suspicion that the mechanics had simply wrecked the M6 and wanted to avoid responsibility. However, subsequent dismantling of the car and cleaning of the bodywork down to the bare sheet metal ruled out this possibility. It remains a mystery to this day why the workshop allowed itself such arbitrariness.

Time passed and the BMW was still not ready. Finally, in 2010, patience ran out. The owner contacted the BMW E24 club and found out when a meeting of owners’ club for the model was taking place. He went to the event to meet people from the BMW community, and this was an incredibly good decision. It is how he first met a mechanic and former rally driver who became the face of the Bonaventura Classic Collection for years to come. That mechanic was Helmut Bannert.

The biography of Helmut Bannert is a subject worthy of a separate publication. BMW commissioned him to make the cardan shafts for F1 cars himself in his workshop. At one stage in his life, he worked as a sports tester for ZF, a manufacturer of gearboxes and differential shafts. As part of his duties, he evaluated cars with a new model of gearbox. Helmut would try out the new component and then report back on what needed improvements. His task did not end there. In the next stage, he and his partners implemented the changes using computer-controlled machine tools. It was only then that the checked and modified box went into production. BMW replaces its tooling set every few years. Helmut took advantage of this fact and bought machines that were going out of use. As a result, he now has equipment that, although not state-of-the-art, is top-of-the-range and ensures that nothing is impossible for the Bannert workshop, especially when it comes to classic BMWs.

– Helmut is unique. He is the one who brought the car to me in a good technical condition. Today Helmut specialises in my collection and is a part of the Bonaventura Classic Collection Family. I know that I can always rely on him.

This time it was no different. The M6 finally got into the right hands. One of the tests conducted was a dynamometer check. The result? 160 hp, a power output that has nothing to do with the BMW M6. Looking into all the nooks and crannies, Helmut caught himself every now and then. There was giant work ahead of him, but it was clear that this was a car that would repay him for his time.

Helmut Bannert decided to bring the American car up to European standards. He replaced the catalytic converter with a jet and spliced the head to a compression ratio equal to that of a European engine. A European computer (EQ) also appeared in the car. As a result, the dynamometer test showed not 261 (factory value), but 289 hp. This is even more than in exemplars with a European pedigree where 286 hp is the factory standard. Free of foul play, the BMW was finally able to show what it was capable of.

Today, the black M6 accelerates over 250 km/h with ease. It can go much faster and is a pleasure to drive. The car is not in original condition and the Collection owner uses it for driving during his pleasure trips around Europe. It has just small, not very visible, modifications like 6 -gearbox (from M5E34), stronger brakes (also from M5E34), shorter differential. With six gears the car is still faster than ordinary M635E24 – but can also accelerate to 100km/h in about five seconds. It is appreciated not only by its owner, but also by the motoring press. In 2010, you could encounter this vehicle at newsstands, on the cover of the Polish monthly ‘Automobilista’. Eight years later it appeared on the cover of another magazine in Germany.