Historically it has always been the ‘ugly duckling’, quirky or obscure classics that tend to be a safe bet for making money in the car market. Many of history’s oddballs have typically been produced in low numbers or featured a design so unique that we only see their likes once in a lifetime. As such many of these cars get hoarded away in the hopes that individualism will one day equal value.

Often times this is proved true as low volume production cars or ones with unique styling rocket in value. You just need to look at the Miura, the Porsche 2.7 RS or the XJ220 to know that revolutionary design and low volume numbers have historically translated to upwards trends in values. Of course, these were all exceptional cars that offered the car industry a slice of something new mechanically, but in terms of design it was their singularity that set them apart.

But how far does this translate down the market? Can the everyman dip his toe into something with a design that defies convention? For many the Baur BMWs fit this mould perfectly. With their unconventional but not offensive styling they offer discord without the lawlessness; they are the hipster roadster, different but safely so.

Baur are most commonly known for their distinctive style of roofing, primarily on BMWs, including the 2002, 1600-2, E21 and E30. They provided the roofing for a small number of factory BMWs as well as a host of coach built and commissioned projects on the side. You could identify the Baur convertibles by their Targa style top and retractable back canvas roofing giving a characteristic roll bar or ‘Top Cabrio’ (TC as Baur called it) aesthetic.

This gorgeous red 1982 Baur E21 320 cabriolet came up for sale with Anglia Car Auctions last weekend, and stirred up quite a fuss in the process. A post-factory Baur conversion with a full bodywork restoration, this 100,000+ mile example was as tidy as they come. Estimated to sell for between £4,500 – £5,500 this 320 came in just under it’s estimate at £4,200 including auction fees, a steal considering its price point within the sale. But how does this price compare with others from the same family? We have their UK values for you below so you can see how this £4,200 E21 compares.



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Table of Results PAST AUCTION FUTURE AUCTION Car Image Auction house Auction date Value Car Image Auction house Auction date Low Estimate High Estimate

So what do we make of this?

Due their low numbers we tend not to see the Baur BMWs come up for sale, and when we do they often are not met with great enthusiasm other than from the hard core fanbase. The public reception for the Baur cars defies any previous logic or objectivity that we applied earlier in the article. Limited production numbers and quirky design usually a cult classic make, but it seems not in the case of the Baur cars where their values are less than inspiring.

Notably it’s the 2002 Baurs are enjoying their moment in the sun, but no more so than their tin top or full cabrio counterparts. Across the board it seems that the other Baurs are set into their price bracket as well, neither rising nor falling with any great momentum. It appears as if the Baur cars have taken on that ‘strange uncle’ role, a role that suits them rather comfortably.

So to answer our original question, are Baurs set to take over the auction house? It doesn’t look like it.