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The Most Famous BMW Bavaria
The late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' favorite car, a 1974 green BMW Bavaria, which shuttled Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr. from New York City to their New Jersey horse farm, was
sold for $57,100 on eBay, December 11, 2000.
Jackie O behind the wheel
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The buyer of the four-door sedan was martignoni@excelonline.com, a Missouri-based online dealer of
vintage cars and auto parts. According to auctioneer Xavier Maignan, the buyer bought it for his wife for Christmas. Maignan tried selling the car at a vintage car auction on Long Island over the Labor Day weekend, but no one met the
reserve price of $55,000. |
The car, which Onassis bought new from Martin BMW in New York's Upper East Side, was used to drive her children back and forth from the city to Peapak-Gladstone, N.J., where they
rode at the Essex Hunt Club.
"It was her one and only favorite car", says her Peapak neighbor Tom Rossiter. "When she finally parted with it, I purchased it and put it in storage with my
collection."
The purchaser got the original title dated and signed by Jackie in 1992.
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Information
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The BMW Bavaria was basically a 2500 sedan with the 2800 motor. The Bavaria was a US-only model.
The brain child of Max Hoffman, BMW's chief US importer at the time, the Bavaria's most important feature to consumers was a low price tag. At less than $5000 in the early 70's, the
car was considered a bargain.
The Bavaria nameplate was used to connect the car with its German origins, putting BMW alongside Mercedes in the luxury, performance market. It worked ... beautifully.
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Books
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Chilton's BMW: Coupes and Sedans
1970-88
Chilton Book Co, Chilton Automotives Editorial, Paperback, Nichols Publishing, March 1996
One of the few service manuals that includes the New Sixes.
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BMW: The Classic Cars of the 1960s and 70s
by Laurence Meredith
This fascinating and inspiring account tracks BMW's rise from almost certain bankruptcy in the 1950s to its amazing recovery in the two decades following. Although company history is examined, the real story is BMW's stable of four- and
six-cylinder road and race cars from the period. Full performance specifications and production histories are provided, along with a motorsport history. Classic BMWs covered include the 1500, 2800cs, 2002, and 2002
Turbo. |
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