M Coupe Buyers Guide

I bought my first 1:18 scale model car way back in 3rd grade. Since then my collection has grown quite a bit including several dealer edition M Coupes. It has always felt like something was missing though. I have found that the problem of having a rare color combination is that model companies will never build one like yours. I was very aware that I did not possess the skills to get it done. Thus began a long search for a 1:18 scale steel gray over imola red M Coupe.

I first crossed paths with this coupe way back on May 15, 2011 when Jeremy posted it to his Coupe A Day site; I was immediately smitten. It had been built by model builder 3er_driver and posted on modelcarforum.de (the build thread). He painted the model sterling gray, painted the seats and door panels imola red, added some black interior carpet, and put it on 19″ BBS wheels. I’m not sure what color is was originally, but it appears to have had full black interior, so it may have been silver? It was not perfect, but it was as close as I’d come to a replica of my car.

In December, I randomly came across it’s listing on Ebay.de. The seller did not show that he was willing to ship to the U.S., so I just put it in my watch list and stared longingly at it as it went to someone else. Lucky for me, it happened to have been purchased by an acquaintance of mine from Israel who posted his purchase on Z3MCoupe.com. I immediately put my name out there in case he ever decided to resell it.

After a few emails back and forth over the months, the model’s new owner, Sasha, said he was willing to let it go. He also asked if I’d be interested in having him switch out the interior for a full two-tone imola interior from a donor car and switch the wheels back to roadstars. Ummm…YES!

Thus began customization #2. Sasha dissected it back to it’s basic components, pulled the interior and roadstars off another model, and reassembled it. Lucky for me he got really in to the project. Not only did he do the agreed upon modifications, but he printed off a matching 1/18 scale Colorado license plate and did a 1/18 scale engine swap. Yes, my new model has an S54! He came across one on Ebay randomly, painted it to match and made it fit.

I told my wife on the scale of things I’ve purchased in my life, the list of favorites goes something like this: her engagement ring, my full size coupe, our house, my last computer, this model. Sasha’s daily progress photos just got me more and more excited. I even mailed him an empty dealer edition box just to make sure it had a safe trip, and it arrived after its long trip from Israel safe and sound. I know it’s not exactly steel gray, but only I notice that :). What more could an M Coupe fanatic want?

1:18 UT BMW M Coupe in Silver

For quite a few years before a full scale M Coupe was a financial possibility, I searched high and low for a 1:18 scale model to complement my model collection. Being the picky buyer I am, the normal cosmos black store sold UT model didn’t cut it for me. I wanted the silver model. For a while, I wasn’t sure this model even existed. My only evidence was a single photo posted on Car Domain, but that was enough to keep me going. I eventually found out that it did exist but could only be purchased through dealers and there obviously were not very many of them.

Front 3/4

I searched Ebay, emailed dealers and contacted model resellers for several years before one fateful night in 2006. On my nightly Ebay search for “1:18 m coupe”, there it was: a 1:18 scale silver, M Coupe.  And better yet, it had a buy it now. And even better still, it was only $45 with free shipping. I wondered why no one had purchased it yet because even the more common cosmos black coupes were selling for at least that. I check the posted date and saw it had been listed 2 minutes ago. I ran full-speed upstairs to confirm with my new wife that it was OK to pull the trigger on what was then the most expensive model I had ever purchased. After receiving the confirmation, I raced back downstairs and hit buy-it-now before even sitting down.  It was mine. I still thank her from time to time for letting me splurge a little before we had much extra money.

Rear 3/4

It came 3 days later packaged in a small, plain, black box with silver BMW letters across the top front. At first I was worried that it had been mistakenly listed as a 1:18 scale as the box looked tiny. But when I opened it my doubts were relieved as the box was fitted like a glove and my beautiful coupe awaited. As with all the 1:18 scale UT coupe models, you receive the European version complete with headlight washers, clear front corner lights, European license plates and revised hatch, and a beautiful S50 engine. And it’s a sunroof-delete! The hood and doors open, but the rear hatch does not.

There are several people on Bimmerforums that I have heard have one as well. Good luck trying to get them to sell though. For those interested in trying to track one down it is BMW part number 8043 0020 856. BMW offered scale models of the M Coupe in the following variations:

• 1:18 UT Arctic Silver with Black interior – Part No. 8043 0020 856
  I’m guessing Arctic rather than Titanium model because it’s listed as a 1998
• 1:18 UT Cosmos Black with Kyalami Orange interior – Part No. 8043 9422 193
  Also available as consumer version and some think the interior is actually Imola Red
  
• 1:18 UT Estoril Blue with Black interior – Part No. 8043 9422 194
  Also available as consumer version
• 1:18 Imola Red with Imola Red Interior
  This wasn’t sold through BMW but was a consumer version

• 1:43 Schuco Estoril Blue – Part No. 8043 0020 856
• 1:43 Schuco Blue? – Part No. 8042 9422 195
• 1:43 Schuco Imola Red – Part No. 8042 9422 196

• 1:73 Schuco Cosmos Black – Part No. 8042 9423 172

• 1:87 Herpa Silver – Part No. 8041 9423 112
• 1:87 Herpa Estoril Blue – Part No. 8041 9423 113

Since purchased, my silver M Coupe has been sitting just to the right of my computer monitor. Free for me to gaze at throughout the day and motivate me to keep working hard toward the purchase of a full-size one.

The Black Box

My Desk

My Son Ruining the Sense of Scale