Today, the BMW E10 is a true classic example of a BMW vehicle and a favorite of many collectors, including Sebastian Frenkel.
How widespread the "02" community is in the world is shown by the fact that Frenkel himself bought his BMW 2002 Automatic through an ad placed on Facebook by an advertiser from Beirut.
Sebastian's association with Series "02" dates back to 1972, when he was born and when his father won a gold medal as a participant at the Munich Olympics. That year, the athletic race at the Olympics was led by the orange BMW 1602, the first BMW with an electric motor.
The story fit perfectly with his passion for the 02 Series. This model was in production from 1966 to 1977 and evolved from BMW's New Class 1600 model.
The mid-range sports car used a 4-cylinder M10 engine. It had two doors and hence the model name ending in 02, just like the models produced since 1971: BMW 1502, BMW 1602, BMW 1802, BMW 2002.
The first two numbers in the name referred to the capacity of the M10 engine (with the exception of the 1602 which had an economical 1.6 liter unit).
The BMW 2002 entered series production in 1968 with a volume of 2 liters and between 100 HP (BMW 2002 Automatic) and 170 HP (BMW 2002 Turbo).
The BMW 3 Series replaced the "02" series in 1975, and today the "02" tradition continues with the BMW 2 Series Coupe.
After German reunification, Frenkel worked for a marketing agency and drove a Trabant. His colleague had a BMW 02 Touring and recommended a garage that restored "02" models.
There, in 1990, Frenkel bought a "mint" green BMW 1502 with 75 HP and fixed it with his friend. He paid only 2,000 German marks for it because the "02" models were not that popular at the time. Today they cost even 10 or 20 times more.
Soon, more "02" models arrived, and from the time Frenkel founded his agency until 2001, he drove the Atlantic Blue version. Then followed several years without the "02" model.
"I concluded that it was simply the right car for me. The design was great, it had narrow 'kidneys', round taillights. It fit me perfectly."
Ubrzo nakon što je na Fejsbuku ugledao oglas za BMW 2002 Automatic, ispostavilo se da njegov prijatelj putuje poslovno u Liban, te ga je zamolio da umesto njega pogleda stanje automobila.
Prijatelj je procenio da je veoma dobar, vozio ga je stariji gospodin duže od 20 godina. Diler ga je zatim otkupio, malo doterao i oglasio na Fejsbuku.
Frenkel je odmah otputovao u Bejrut i kupio automobil. Organizovao je transport svog "zlatnog primerka" u Nemačku.
Although the process itself involved a lot of paperwork and expenses, he did not have to pay customs on it because the car was kept as a German cultural heritage.
Frenkel just has some finishing touches left on his latest E10, and he says it's important to him that the parts are as good as the original - they don't have to look like they just left the factory, but they have to be from the same period as this classic BMW- a.
