At $25,000, Does This Supercharged 2000 BMW M Roadster Mean Dinan Is Served?
BMW's M-Roadster was the raw-edged take on the more genteel Z3, and yet as today's Nice Price or No Dice Dinan-massaged edition proves, there's always more raw to be had. Let's see if this rare ride's price tag demands a premium for that added power.
In the mid-1970s, Gene Simmons, of the band Kiss, wanted to peel off from that homoerotic clown show and form his own group, if only as a side gig. Simmons heard about an up and coming band that happened to be in New York scouting record deals and went to listen to them. He was blown away by the band's young guitarist and how well he and the tight the rhythm section jelled. The only problem was the band's lead singer. Not only did Simmons think he sucked, but the dude was also in the way of the Kiss bassist making the remaining band members his own. That lead singer was David Lee Roth and the band, of course, was Van Halen, with Eddie on the stick and Alex hammering the skins, along with Michael Anthony on bass. In the end, the band declined Simmons' approaches, kept Roth on as their initial frontman, and spent many unhappy years together as a result.
I bring this little piece of Rock and Roll history to light as evidence that not everyone is all that enamored with the band Kiss, right down to its own face-painted members. That fact naturally impacts any Kiss memorabilia which brings us to yesterday's 2011 Mini Countryman Kiss Tribute car. This was one of four styled for a charity auction—one for each original band member—and now was seeking a new venue at a $30,000 price. That was not music to pretty much anybody's ears, however, and the "Starchild" car fell in a massive 97% No Dice loss.
That Mini was one of only four cars, and it came with a certificate of authenticity attesting to that fact. Today's 2000 BMW M Roadster Dinan, contrastingly, is claimed by its seller to be one of five to feature the tuner's supercharged engine and BMW's bold Dakar Yellow paint job.
Now, I'm not quite sure of the algebra here, because the seller is saying that only 326 M Roadsters were ever painted in the screaming yellow zonker paint and there were only 50 Dinan supercharged cars out the dealer's doors. I guess that you have to carry the one and maybe graph the sine to arrive at one in five, but what the hell, let's get on to the car.
This M Roadster certainly looks the part of being something special. Not only does it exhibit all the expected accouterments of the M engine lying behind its iconic twin-kidney grilles, but it also sports the rare hardtop and a tall boot lid-mounted wing. Now admittedly, these two features do give the little car an uncomfortably close resemblance to an old Suzuki X-90 from the rear three-quarter angle, but then maybe you're into such things.
The paintwork and nickel-finish M alloy wheels appear to be in fantastic shape, with no dings, scrapes or chips to be found in the pics. The model's bona-fides are announced by way of the DINAN badge on the boot lid, and those include the aforementioned supercharged engine, a Stage 2 clutch negotiating between it, and the five-speed stick, which sends the ponies to the 3.38 LSD in back. Along with that, the car comes with a Stage 3 suspension set up and strut tower brace to keep the engine from leaping out of the car.
That engine is BMW's S52, but the Vortech V2 supercharger boosts the horsepower from the stock 240 to a more entertaining 270. The seller says the Dinan updates were done before the car's first birthday, and with only 6,100 miles on the clock. Now the car rocks 102K but is claimed to have been meticulously maintained, and garage kept for the past 10 years of racking those up.
Recent work undertaken includes a paint correction, new Kumho tires, and a new battery to get the party started. The title is clean and, this being a California car with what appears to be current tags, it shouldn't be too much trouble to switch that title to a new owner's name.
The asking price is $25,000. Imagine that, you could spend twenty-five grand and get this cool Bimmer, or you could spend five more and buy yesterday's Kiss Mini. And you thought Sophie's Choice was emotionally taxing.
Separating this car from yesterday's Mini, do you think it really could be worth that $25K as it sits? Yes, it seems to be a rare car, and presents in stellar fashion, but is it enough to ask half-again as much as you would for a standard M edition?
What do you think, is this Dinan-imbued M Roadster worth that $25,000 as presented in its ad? Or, does that price make you say DINAN-denied?
You decide!
Los Angeles, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
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