This story below is a follow up to a story posted online years ago. An interesting next chapter and a wonderful BMW reunion story:
There were two brothers, Jon and Andy Maddux. Jon was the older brother living in Seattle, Washington and Andy was living in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Back in 2000 Jon wanted to buy a brand new BMW M Coupe with the rare S54 engine. He specifically wanted a Imola red exterior and a walnut leather interior. He tried to order this car from BMW but they told him Imola red cars could not be produced with the walnut leather interior he wanted. He tried several times to place this custom-order BMW M Coupe ..........but BMW said no.
Undeterred, Jon and Andy hatched a clever plan. Jon would buy a 2001 BMW M Coupe in Imola red with a black leather interior. Andy would buy a 2002 BMW Z3 Coupe in Dakar yellow with a walnut leather interior. Jon got his car in Seattle and Andy got his car in Cincinnati. Then, as planned, they both removed the interiors. Carefully extracting the seats, door panels, center consoles, etc.... Then Jon placed his black leather interior into a large wood crate he nicknamed "the ark of the covenant". Next he shipped the wood crate by train to Andy. Then Andy removed the black leather interior and put his walnut leather interior into the wood crate. Next he shipped the crate back to Jon by train.
Over the course of several months they both painstakingly began replacing the new interiors into each car. They helped one another during family holidays and get togethers. Both cars were completed and the results were nothing but spectacular! This story was featured in BIMMER Magazine in November 2003. See the photos.
Two decades later Jon sold his red Imola M Coupe and then Andy sold his Dakar yellow Z3 Coupe. The two cars had always been 2,000 miles apart. The two cars parted with their original owners and the story ends there.
However, there's a new chapter to this story. In 2020 I bought the Dakar Yellow Z3 Coupe from Andy and had it shipped from the midwest to California. In June 2021 I learned that Jon's red M Coupe was now owned by, Alex, the owner of Exclusive Motors located in the Sacramento CA area. I drove 2 hours to that dealership for a meeting with Alex. Finally, the two cars which had transplanted interiors, were together for the first time ever. We had a champagne toast and took a few photos.
Jon's red M Coupe was sold and is now in the Chicago area with the new owner. For a brief time, both cars shared the same pavement next to one another. It was a memorable day for sure.
Special thanks to Jon Martin from The M Coupe Buyers Guide website for posting these stories.
Cheers,
- Paul DaCruz
Below is a link to the original story:
https://www.mcoupebuyersguide.com/leatherz-s54
Below is a link to Jon's M Coupe for sale on BaT
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-bmw-m-coupe-27/
Below is a link to Andy's Z3 Coupe for sale before I bought it
http://www.z3coupebuyersguide.com/listing?ListingID=22399