Germany - There is something particularly fascinating about a ‘time capsule’ car and this 1998 BMW 740i certainly qualifies for that title as it has been stored in an air capsule for almost all of its life.
And now it’s for sale, although you need not apply unless you live within the European Union as the owner says it will not be shipped to other regions.
The car has been advertised on
, and the highest bid at the time of writing stood at €48 350, which at the time of writing was around R920 000 in our rapidly depreciating currency.
The car is not technically new as it has 255km on the clock, which we presume were covered in the very early days of its existence. But having been stored in an air capsule with “mechanical air recirculation” the owner claims that there are “no signs of the passage of time”. Needless to say, there is not a single scratch, or any dents or rust to speak of.
The E38 generation BMW 7 Series was first launched abroad in 1994 and was replaced by the controversial Bangle Spangled E65 in 2001. It was offered with a wide range of engines, all available with a five-speed automatic gearbox. The 740i that’s advertised here was powered by a normally aspirated V8 petrol engine that produced 210kW and 400Nm.
The E38 was also the first car in Europe to be available with an on-board satnav system, although in the model advertised the infotainment ambitions don’t seem to stretch further than a radio with a cassette player.
It's still a luxurious car though, with features such as automatic climate control and electrically-adjustable seats with heating.