BaT - E39 M5-Based, Custom-Bodied E9 CS by MKO

guys since this is the 3rd thread (2 of which were posted in e9 discussion), i have merged all of them together and moved the original post to e9 discussion. great comments, just wanted to keep them together.
 
I admire the testicular determination to undertake this build. It's a staggering amount of design and fabrication. Given how different the two unibodies are, this is the most successful blending of the two that was possible. Somebody was really determined ($$$$$) joined with somebody that was very talented. For that I applaud them. This was my comment on the BaT auction on the specifics of how they carried it off:

@itsonlyCamrymoney "Image 234 is the most revealing – of the staggering amount of fabrication required to graft the narrow E9 body on to the wider E39 pan.

Also Image 239 shows how this magic was accomplished. Note the widened splice in the center of the E9 rear bumper. Everything above this ‘line’ is the original narrow E9 body, everything below is the wider E39 pan. This allowed them to retain the original E9 windscreen and backlight. Extremely difficult to visually carry off. Very elegant execution."

This car will sell for 43% of the cost of the original build.
 
guys since this is the 3rd thread (2 of which were posted in e9 discussion), i have merged all of them together and moved the original post to e9 discussion. great comments, just wanted to keep them together.
I was asleep at the wheel. Thanks for the move Scott!
 
1. So it's interesting regarding the "hotrod rake" concept. I agree that something about the E39/E9 looks off - the lines between the door handle/stripe compared to the lower edge of the rocker panel look non-parallel, forming a trapezoid. Looking at the recent Malaga E9 that many of us thought was quite beautiful, it also has a fairly aggressive stance but that same line looks much more parallel and the whole car looks much more balanced. It's racy and ready to pounce while the E39 version looks too short and just off.
Actually, they are pretty much exactly the same...
Here is a side by side comparison. I adjusted the images so the cars are the same size. The yellow rectangles are also the same size.
Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 1.30.04 PM.png

I think the visual effect your describe is actually a result of the more pronounced door gap on the Polaris car, vs the almost invisible door gap on the Malaga car. The Malaga car actually looks like it is raked more aggressively (see lower horizontal yellow line. The one onthe Malaga car is the same as the one onthe Polaris car, but the Malaga car is higher at the rear.

I think the overly large wheels also disrupt the look. I like 16's on the couple, but 19's just start to look a bit clownish (not to mention the 19's are just not the right style for the car...).

I am never much of a fan of trying to make a coupe that isn't a CSL look like a CSL (sort of like the folks that add BMW roundels to Pontiacs to try to feel more cool...), and there is something jarring about a modern car interior in a classic car.
 
I was trading ideas with one of the e9coupe members.. now that @ScottAndrews has posted a cool photo comparison, I'll post my observations...

A. On the E9/E39.. the black CSL stripe above the chromed body line is distracting to me.. almost visual overload. The E9's body has a beautiful complex curve in that area which provides a natural highlight to the paint. The CSL stripe hides this.. while the highlights are very visible in the Malaga (part of this is the lighting and professional photography)

B. I also note that the rocker panels are different colors, which can also distract the eye. Malaga has black rockers, while E9/E39 is polaris. To me, the chrome strip on the rocker defines the lower edge of the car, and the transition to black allows the underbody shapes to blend.

C. There is a significant difference in the lower front valence on the two cars as well.. their high above the road, and where their vertical edge lies relative to other details on the vehicle's nose.

D. On the E9/E39.. the rear section is painted black below the rear bumper... probably the last 2 to 3 inches... to my eye, the body line from the rockers does not transfer seamlessly across the rear tire and continue...
 
I was trading ideas with one of the e9coupe members.. now that @ScottAndrews has posted a cool photo comparison, I'll post my observations...

A. On the E9/E39.. the black CSL stripe above the chromed body line is distracting to me.. almost visual overload. The E9's body has a beautiful complex curve in that area which provides a natural highlight to the paint. The CSL stripe hides this.. while the highlights are very visible in the Malaga (part of this is the lighting and professional photography)

B. I also note that the rocker panels are different colors, which can also distract the eye. Malaga has black rockers, while E9/E39 is polaris. To me, the chrome strip on the rocker defines the lower edge of the car, and the transition to black allows the underbody shapes to blend.

C. There is a significant difference in the lower front valence on the two cars as well.. their high above the road, and where their vertical edge lies relative to other details on the vehicle's nose.

D. On the E9/E39.. the rear section is painted black below the rear bumper... probably the last 2 to 3 inches... to my eye, the body line from the rockers does not transfer seamlessly across the rear tire and continue...
All interesting observations.

I think the black area in the back of the E9/E39 is actually the E39 tub...
 
The rear quarter panels are shorter, see how close bumper ends come to the wheel well. And the tail panel below the bumper is huge and impacts the proportions.
Yeah, I remember asking them about this, and they said that the wheel base from the donor chassis is slightly longer relative to the body panels. Hence the closer rear bumper to the fender edge. To reiterate, they told me it was $250K and two years to replicate if I wanted to buy one. I took a pass :)
 
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Suggestions:
Get rid of those wheels, they are very distracting and go with Alpina open or closed caps.
Paint rocker trim in rock guard black like our Coupes are.
Paint rear section under bumper rock guard body color.
These 3 changes would improve its looks and be more parallel to what a real E9 Coupe looks like.
I can't unsee those wheels. Hope I don't have nightmares about them tonight!
Regards, Jon
 
Something else I just noticed. The rear bumper is angled up onthe E9/E39 car. On the Malaga car it is parallel to the belt line.

Here's a comparison. The curved line of there belt line on the Malaga car translates directly down to the bumpers (that long yellow horizontal between the bumpers is the same line as along the belt line in each photo. You can see how the line of the bumpers onthe E9/.E39 car ar angled up, so they disrupt the visual flow. It's a subtle difference, but your eye sees it. One is in harmony and the other is off key...

Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 6.33.46 PM.png
 
I admire the testicular determination to undertake this build. It's a staggering amount of design and fabrication. Given how different the two unibodies are, this is the most successful blending of the two that was possible. Somebody was really determined ($$$$$) joined with somebody that was very talented. For that I applaud them. This was my comment on the BaT auction on the specifics of how they carried it off:

@itsonlyCamrymoney "Image 234 is the most revealing – of the staggering amount of fabrication required to graft the narrow E9 body on to the wider E39 pan.

Also Image 239 shows how this magic was accomplished. Note the widened splice in the center of the E9 rear bumper. Everything above this ‘line’ is the original narrow E9 body, everything below is the wider E39 pan. This allowed them to retain the original E9 windscreen and backlight. Extremely difficult to visually carry off. Very elegant execution."

This car will sell for 43% of the cost of the original build.
How come nobody applauded @paul cain on his vocabulary..."testicular determination"...:D
 
How come nobody applauded @paul cain on his vocabulary..."testicular determination"...:D
I'd quibble that the correct adjective is "fortitude"...Testicles have no determination, they do the job guided by the "little head"...But they often do need fortitude...

But that's really just a quibble. I thought it was rather magnanimous of Paul to avoid directly slamming it..
 
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