1989 BMW M3 Johnny Cecotto Edition

• Restored by BMW, 2022-2023

• Build Number 302 of just 480 limited edition's ever made

• Factory correct colour combination

• Well documented with detailed record of restoration works

• Original, low kilometre, European specification car

• Delivered new to Alfred Rumrich's history-steeped garage in Hamburg

The BMW E30 M3

The phrase “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” may have been popularised in the endurance racing world, but nowhere has it rung truer than in Touring Cars.

A marque woven into the very fabric of touring car racing is BMW. From the 911 2.7RS-crushing 3.0L CSL Batmobile, to the legendary box-arched E30 M3, the Bavarian marque’s most successful model of them all, few manufacturers could claim the competition dominance enjoyed by BMW throughout the 70’s, 80’s and into the 90’s. 

Born from homologation requirements of Group A Touring Car racing, the E30 M3 was never simply a road car, it was a racing car first. Engineered to dominate punishing circuits of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and European Touring Car Championship.

To celebrate the model’s widespread successes, BMW Motorsport created a handful of limited edition “signature” E30 M3’s, of which the individually numbered Johnny Cecotto Edition remains one of the most coveted. 

With an epithet like the ‘Caracas Kid’, Cecotto was a motorsport phenom. First motorcycles, then Formula 1 alongside teammate Ayrton Senna for Toleman Racing, Cecotto went on to experience a renaissance with BMW in the 1980’s and Touring Cars. And, after a barnstorming 1988 ETCC season, recognising his accomplishments, BMW produced a small run of just 480 Johnny Cecotto limited edition E30 M3’s. Offered in three colourways; Misano Red, Macao Blue and Nogaro Silver, each served as the sharpest version money could buy of the world’s best saloon in period.

Mechanically, the Cecotto Edition is particularly significant. With more power over the standard M3, it introduced the 215hp catalyst-equipped S14 engine, effectively carrying over key developments from the Evolution programme.

This special edition also adopted several Evo aero components: a deeper front splitter, revised rear spoiler, lightweight glass plus metallic Black 16-inch BBS alloys. All homologation-driven details, the kind that blur the line between road and race car.

Inside, each example carries a numbered plaque bearing Cecotto’s signature, and under the bonnet, the now-iconic detail of body-colour cam covers and intake plenum, unique to the Johnny Cecotto edition that remains one of the more esoteric identifiers known primarily to marque specialists.

Build Number 302

This numbers matching 1989 BMW E30 M3 Johnny Cecotto Edition offered here is car number 302/480. Delivered new to Germany July, 1989 by historic BMW specialists Alfred Rumrich, Hamburg, ordered in Nogaro Silver over the rarely seen Anthracite M-cloth and Black Bison leather, this car is among the finest extant, travelled just 113,000 Kilometres.

Records then place this car in Japan, first registered there in the mid 1990’s. An important factor for its provenance, as specialist cars out of Japan are best known for their meticulous servicing, indoor storage, lower mileage usage and strict inspection systems. 

The car was then exported from Tokyo to Australia in 2022 and what makes this Cecotto Edition all the more compelling is the manner of its recent restoration. 

Undertaken at the direction of its well-regarded owner, a long-standing BMW marque custodian and authorised BMW franchisee, the works were completed by BMW over a period of two years between 2022 and 2023. Approached not as a refurbishment, but as a painstaking, factory-correct restoration with an emphasis on authenticity, correctness, and preservation of integrity.

A note atop one of the BMW works receipts states “carry out vehicle restoration to factory”. The exhaustive list shows, mechanically, the engine was reconditioned with a re-finished cylinder head, new gaskets and valve stem seals along with new timing chain, tensioner guides and resealed fuel injectors, new fuel pump, engine mounts, ignition coils and leads and distributor cap. The gearbox also received new bushes and linkages and air-conditioning was also fitted for Australian conditions.

The body was completely stripped and prepared for paint, refinished in the electronically matched, factory correct Nogaro Silver with matte finish stone guard applied to the wheel arches and underside, along with the correct satin Black vinyl strip to front and rear bars. The original BBS alloy wheels were also stripped and refinished in correct two-tone black metallic and alloy, and ancillaries like sunroof gaskets, engine bay clamps, decals to name a few, were all replaced with genuine new BMW stock as well.

The suspension and brakes were completely overhauled with most components replaced with new/old BMW stock parts or refurbished including new shock absorbers, front wishbones, front and rear springs, and new discs and pads. The steering rack, tie rod ends, steering universal joints, stabiliser link bars and bushes and many more were also replaced.

Such restorations are rare. They require not only resources and an open cheque-book, but an intimate understanding of what constitutes correctness in an E30 M3, from finishes and fasteners through to the nuanced Johnny Cecotto specific details.

The car is accompanied by an extensive folio documenting the restoration with photos of the underside highlighting completed works, original books and owner’s manuals kept in the correct vinyl BMW embossed wallet, both sets of keys plus warning triangle, first aid kit and tool kit. The car is currently fitted with an original Alcantara E30 M3 Sport Evolution steering wheel and matching gear shifter with the original Johnny Cecotto parts in accompaniment as well, should the new owner wish to replace.

Ready to drive off the showroom floor, with nothing to spend, the last service of this phenomenal car was a major service, completed at 112,239 kilometres, May of 2025. 

Today, the E30 M3 occupies a unique position in the collector car landscape. A homologation special, a motorsport icon, and an increasingly scarce analogue driving experience that is still so usable today. 

The Johnny Cecotto Edition and its namesake offer something rich to the car’s already-thick history. For those who understand the significance of the Evolution-derived components, the early adoption of the 215hp engine, and the subtle identifiers unique to the edition, like enthusiasts a lot of collectors look to in Jamiroquai and Harry Metcalfe, the appeal is clear.

Usually traded behind closed doors in private collections, this opportunity to own such a unique piece of motoring history, restored by BMW and in such superb condition is one not to be missed.