MY FEEDLY

This Is The Rare BMW-Glas 3000 V8

This is one of just 389 examples of the BMW-Glas 3000 V8, they were only made in 1967 and 1968 before BMW discontinued the model, and today they’re among the rarest BMWs money can buy.

In the early 1960s Hans Glas GmbH, one of Germany’s smallest automakers, was in dire financial trouble. The company approached Italian design house Frua to design them a new GT car, a car that company executives hoped would turn their fortunes around.

Fast Facts – The BMW-Glas 3000 V8

✱ The BMW-Glas 3000 V8 was originally developed as the Glas 3000 V8, the name changed to include BMW after the Bavarian automaker acquired Hans Glas GmbH in late 1966.

✱ The V8 used in the car was essentially a new block with the upper part of the Glas four-cylinder engine fitted in a “V” configuration. This helped keep development costs down.

✱ By the standards of the mid-1960s the car was quite advanced, with belt-driven overhead cams, independent front and rear suspension, and front and rear disc brakes.

BMW-Glas 3000 V8

The BMW-Glas 3000 V8 is a car that very nearly didn’t go into production, in fact it likely would never have ever seen the light of day if not for the fact that BMW acquired Glas when the smaller company was already ramping up for production of the new car.

Above Image: The Glas V8 was created by taking the top end of the company’s four-cylinder engine and using it as the cylinder banks of the new V8 to help reduce development costs.

The design of the Glas 3000 V8 wasn’t quite aligned with the BMW design language of the time, in fact it was considered so similar to Pietro Frua’s other designs for Maserati that these cars were nicknamed “Glaseratis.”

Under their Italian-designed skin the Glas 3000 V8, and its earlier stablemate the 2600 V8, were relatively advanced cars for the period. They were fitted with independent front and rear suspension, with upper and lower A-arms and coil springs up front and a leaf-sprung independent De Dion rear axle in the rear.

The cars also had front and rear disc brakes, inboard discs were used in the rear, as well as a belt-driven overhead camshaft for each cylinder bank. By the standards of the mid-1960s these Glas coupes were impressive from and engineering standpoint, and it’s clear that Glas company executives were working hard to deliver the best cars possible in the hopes of saving the company.

The 3000 V8 has 160 hp at 5,100 rpm and 173 lb ft of torque at 3,400 rpm, and it sends its power back through a 4-speed manual transmission to the rubber-mounted differential. The model is said to be capable of 200 km/h (126 mph), making it an ideal candidate for journeys on the Autobahn.

When BMW acquired Hans Glas GmbH in late 1966 it wasn’t because they wanted access to the Glas catalogue of cars, it’s because they needed to expand and they wanted to use the Glas factories increase their own production.

There must have been no small amount of debate at BMW about what to do with the unusual Glas V8 coupes. It seems there was enough interest in keeping the model in production to hire Pietro Frua to design an all-new fastback body for the car specifically for BMW – the BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback prototype of which only one was made.

Above Image: The Italian Frua styling of the car has won it both fans and detractors over the years.

In the end BMW kept the BMW-Glas V8 in production until only May 1968 when it ceased production. 277 examples of the 2600 V8 had been made followed by 389 examples of the 3000 V8, today the surviving examples are much sought after by enthusiasts who extoll the virtues of the cars to all who’ll listen.

The 1968 BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1968 BMW-Glas 3000 V8, the second and final calendar year of production for the model. Interestingly this car spent over 20 years on display at the Berlin Auto Museum where it was seen by countless visitors, many of whom had likely never seen one before.

This BMW-Glas benefits from a comprehensive museum-grade restoration to its original specifications, with red paint and a two-tone black vinyl with beige corduroy insert interior.

It has a Becker Grand Prix tri-band radio, a fender mounted Talbot mirror, silver 14 inch wheels with chrome hubcaps with 185 wide Michelin XVS tires, and a more modern aftermarket electronic ignition for enhanced reliability.

The car is due to cross the auction block with Mecum in mid-August, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post This Is The Rare BMW-Glas 3000 V8 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bmw-glas-3000-v8/
via gqrds

proudfromafar:Via BaT

proudfromafar:Via BaT
from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/657221478068125696

Tom Hanks’ Airstream Model 34 Is For Sale: $150,000 – $250,000 USD

This is an Airstream Model 34 travel trailer that was ordered new by Tom Hanks in 1992 and used by the American actor for close to 30 years as his home away from home while filming many of his most famous movies.

Hanks used this Airstream during the filming of at least 18 movies starting with Sleepless in Seattle in 1993. It was also used while filming Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Catch Me If You Can, Castaway, The Polar Express, Sully, and a slew of other films, the culminating with The Circle in 2017.

He’s now decided to offer it for sale, the price guide is $150,000 – $250,000 USD, and it’d due to roll across the auction block in mid-August in California.

Fast Facts – Tom Hanks’ Airstream

✱ Tom Hanks ordered this Airstream Model 34 as he had grown tired of spending countless hours in the uncomfortable, cookie cutter trailers typically offered on set.

✱ The trailer was delivered from Airstream largely empty inside, Hanks then had a new interior built to his own specifications with ample use of natural wood and fabrics.

✱ The trailer is equipped with a bedroom in the rear, a bathroom, a kitchenette, a dining table, and a lounge area with a gas heater.

Above Image: This Model 34 Airstream is a triple axle trailer with with the signature riveted aluminum body.

Tom Hanks And His Airstream Model 34

Apollo 13 was released to global cinema audiences in 1995, it became one of the most memorable films of the decade, and it was nominated for nine Academy Awards (including Best Picture), and it won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

What audiences didn’t know when they saw Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton in the famous NASA Airstream trailer before their fateful launch, was that Hanks spent much of his free time on set in a similar looking Airstream on the other side of the lot.

“I got it in the days when movies moved slower. I had spent too much time in regular trailers with ugly décor and horribly uncomfortable furniture, so I decided to buy a brand-new Airstream shell with an interior made to my own request.

I didn’t want anything built-in, other than the kitchen and bathroom, so it had only a desk and cupboard in the back, a futon platform on the floor, and room for a small table and chairs. I wanted a regular sofa, too, so I had one made with removable legs so it would get through the door.” – Tom Hanks, Bonhams Magazine interview.

After growing tired of the impersonal and often uncomfortable mass-produced trailers on movie sets Hanks ordered this Model 34 Airstream with an almost empty interior. He then worked with a specialist to have a custom interior built to his specifications.

Above Image: The trailer has a roll-out awning providing a place to sit outside and watch the world go by.

Rather than the plasic, vinyl, and formica that’s so prevalent in travel trailers Hanks went in the other direction, with ample use of natural wood for the floors, cabinetry, chairs, and table. Natural fabrics were used throughout, and over time he added little mementos from various films – like an FBI evidence tag from Catch Me If You Can, a FedEx sticker from Castaway, and an Apollo 13 decal from the 1995 film.

In the rear of the trailer there’s a modestly sized bedroom with a single bed. As you move down the hall you pass the bathroom and kitchenette area as well as the small dining table with two chairs. At the far end there’s a small living room area with a couch and a gaslit fire that adds both warmth and a little character.

Twin roof-mounted air conditioning units have been fitted to keep the trailer comfortable year round regardless of location, and there’s a roll-out awning off the side that provides an area to sit and watch the world go by.

Interestingly the door and one of the windows are adorned with clapper board decals that show the locations that the Airstream has visited while filming, a small hat tip to the extraordinary 30 year life it’s lived so far.

As mentioned in the introduction, he’s now decided to sell his Airstream and Bonhams are estimating it’ll sell for between $150,000 and $250,000 USD. Although that sounds steep it really isn’t much more than you would expect to pay for an Airstream like this without the 30 years of Hollywood history.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.