I'm writing this post to create a digital record of this episode and to enlist the help of this community to prevent any further chance of it happening again. In 1965 BMW built 200 homologation specials based on the 1800Ti. The TiSA, as they were called, had a 5 speed gearbox, special head and cam, dual weber carbs, special suspensions, and very cool Restall bucket seats.
This story began about a week ago when my friend sent me a link to an ad on RaceCarsDirect for a 1800 TiSA race car being offered for sale by Silverstone auctions in England.
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/sa073-lot-406-1965-fia-bmw-1800-ti/sa?el=15811&pn=1&pp=50
"An original 1800 Ti/SA that was fully rebuilt as part of Dieter Quester/Scuderia Bavaria's successful entry into the 1991/92 FIA Historic Touring Car Championship. Raced by our vendor for the last 17 years with even more success."read the ad in glowing words. Included was a prominent picture of the VIN plate:
Imagine my shock at seeing a car with the same VIN as the TiSA I have owned for 10 years!! And a car had such notable names associated with it, and such 'provence.'
I immediately contacted the auction house and informed them that the car they were offering was a fake and that I had owned the original for 10 years. I sent along photos of my VIN plate, engine block stamping, radiator surround stamping, and Certificate from BMW and promised to put this information on every BMW forum I could find so that anyone interested in his car would readily find it with a Google search if they did not take immediate action:
I received a reply from the gentlemen at the auction house handling the sale for the owner. In it he claimed that the owner had no idea and was in shock and needed time to assess his position and next steps. He also asked me not to post anything on any forums until they could figure out what they were going to do.
Several days passed and the auction was drawing closer and I still hadn't heard anything.
Well, finally yesterday I received an email stating that they were going to withdraw the car from the sale! Needless to say I was quite relieved.
The fake car is not without value. It has interesting history and some big names associated with it, but it is not an original TiSA.
Now I am asking this community to keep their eyes out for this car re-appearing someplace else still claiming to be my car. If you see it advertised I would appreciate a pm so I can again assert the integrity of my car.
This story began about a week ago when my friend sent me a link to an ad on RaceCarsDirect for a 1800 TiSA race car being offered for sale by Silverstone auctions in England.
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/sa073-lot-406-1965-fia-bmw-1800-ti/sa?el=15811&pn=1&pp=50
"An original 1800 Ti/SA that was fully rebuilt as part of Dieter Quester/Scuderia Bavaria's successful entry into the 1991/92 FIA Historic Touring Car Championship. Raced by our vendor for the last 17 years with even more success."read the ad in glowing words. Included was a prominent picture of the VIN plate:
Imagine my shock at seeing a car with the same VIN as the TiSA I have owned for 10 years!! And a car had such notable names associated with it, and such 'provence.'
I immediately contacted the auction house and informed them that the car they were offering was a fake and that I had owned the original for 10 years. I sent along photos of my VIN plate, engine block stamping, radiator surround stamping, and Certificate from BMW and promised to put this information on every BMW forum I could find so that anyone interested in his car would readily find it with a Google search if they did not take immediate action:
I received a reply from the gentlemen at the auction house handling the sale for the owner. In it he claimed that the owner had no idea and was in shock and needed time to assess his position and next steps. He also asked me not to post anything on any forums until they could figure out what they were going to do.
Several days passed and the auction was drawing closer and I still hadn't heard anything.
Well, finally yesterday I received an email stating that they were going to withdraw the car from the sale! Needless to say I was quite relieved.
The fake car is not without value. It has interesting history and some big names associated with it, but it is not an original TiSA.
Now I am asking this community to keep their eyes out for this car re-appearing someplace else still claiming to be my car. If you see it advertised I would appreciate a pm so I can again assert the integrity of my car.
