There may not be a more elegant combination of black and white paint than on this 1938 BMW 327/28, the most desirable pre-war sports car in Europe, and one of the best performing of the time. This car, built at the German Automobilwerk Eisenach plant was one of 569 models ever built. Probably the most beautiful thing to ever come out of the plant that was open from 1896-1991.
This now perfect example was once in rough shape after the wear and tear of being driven to various West Coast rallies over 13 years(8,000km’s). This is when it was brought North to Canada for a major restoration which took over 5000 very focused hours at Jellybean Autocrafters in Surrey, BC. No replacement panels or parts for this BMW are available for purchase any more so almost everything had to be fabricated.
The attention to detail from the guys at Jellybean is impeccable. The parts recreated were no easy feat. Suspension bushings, hinges and pedals, brake adjusters, lock barrels, the hood, the back end, tail light lenses, dash knobs and much, much more all had to be created for this car. Even the gauges are all modern, but customized to look like the originals.
The classic BMW currently resides in the state of Washington and has been taken to many prestigious events including the most recent 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Carmel, California where it was in a class with a 1940 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS, a 1939 Bentley 4 1/4 litre Vanden Plas Tourer, and the first place finisher 1939 Bugatti Type57C. Simply having this car accepted into the Pebble Beach Concours speaks to the quality of craftsmanship to be found in this car.
It was a pleasure, an absolute pleasure to be able to photograph such a work of art. I am most grateful for the opportunity provided by the brothers, Ewald and Kurt Penner of Jellybean Autocrafters as well as the kind fellow Werner who let us photograph the car along side his stunning 1938 Fairchild 24-C8F airplane. I am also thankful for some of my photos of this car being featured in RPM Magazine. You can find those photos here, simply scroll down after the jump.
One last shot of the car I took in 2010 while the restoration was still underway with some of the old tools used to restore this car, like the English Wheel in the background.
All works © Andrew Holliday 2014.
Please do not reproduce without the expressed written consent of Andrew Holliday.
andrewholliday.wordpress.com 