This story is based on a happy juxtapose. How many times are we able to see two classic BMWs, sharing the same body color, together? Very rare. Well, today is that rare situation, when a perfectly restored BMW E9 and a invisibly upgraded BMW 2002 smile together side by side. Why is the upgrade invisible? Don’t tell me you can spot that E30 M3 engine under the hood!

The Chamonix white perfectly compliments both items, being inoffensive and vintage. That’s one of the reasons why, looking at the pictures, it seems that we’re back in the ‘70s, when the cars had a truly beautiful silhouette, and were built from more metal and less plastic than these days.

The 2002’s story is narrated by its owner, which also restored it: Jeff Tighe. In this condition, it values $55.000. Useless to say – it’s perfectly preserved. Outside – it’s restored to the original look. There’s also this pair of fog lamps, which adds style to the front grille.

Inside, the Recaros bring the luxury of our days into the ‘70s atmosphere, without being too intrusive. The black, perforated leather floods the seats and the door cards, while the bucket seats keeps the driver in position, during the tight corners. Wood trim, steering wheel and shift knob adds color in this sea of black, while the chromed elements bring a touch of sportiveness.

There’s a lot of sportiveness under the hood, though. The old, but charming original powertrain has been replaced by a much more powerful E30 M3 engine, boosting 195 PS from a 2.3 liter displacement. If equipping the E30 generation, it accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 235 km/h (146 mph), you can imagine what it can do placed in this tiny coupe…