BMW M3 PRODRIVE 1988

Our BMW M3 Rallye Prodrive, chassis P88-015, was delivered to BMW France for François CHATRIOT and Michel PERRIN for the 1988 season. Their first outing was in the French Championship on the Rallye Alpin de Behra, where they finished second. They then took part in the Tour of Corsica, where they finished 4th overall... They went on to take first place twice in the 1988 Rallye des Garrigues - Languedoc-Roussillon and the 1988 Rallye Alsace-Vosges. Marc DUEZ and Pierre THIMONIER then took the start of the 1988 Ypres 24 Hours Rally where they finished on the 3rd step of the podium... CHATRIOT / PERRIN again took part in the 1988 Critérium des Cévennes, where they retired with a transmission problem and finished second on the 1988 Rallye du Var. François CHATRIOT finished 4th in the French championship that season, the winners being Didier AURIOL in a Ford and Bernard BEGUIN in an M3... It should be noted that François CHATRIOT and Michel PERRIN were French champions in 1989 and 1990 at the wheel of another Group A M3... which just goes to show how well-born the car was.
In 1989, the car changed its livery to "FINA" and took part in the Tour of Corsica with Marc Duez & Alain Lopes, who finished 6th overall.
In 1991, P88-015 was bought by Sabir GANY from La Réunion. After a few rallies on the island, he decided to take the plunge and move to mainland France, enlisting the services of "CARLOS" (a famous BMW specialist). Sabir and CARLOS arrived in the Nord Pas de Calais region in 1992/1993, and quickly became the stars of the northern public... After an accident in 1994, everything possible was done to bring the car back to French rallying. Sabir and Carlos, with the help of Eric Douart, the local BMW dealer at the time, did everything they could to restore the car to its former glory. A new body from MATTER (official BMW body supplier to Prodrive at the time) was fitted to the car's revised mechanicals, and a complete overhaul was carried out. The bodywork was prepared and painted in the North of France (Ets Espace Grand Nord, Eric Douart's Subaru dealership), then taken to a workshop: START (a structure for preparing competition vehicles, owned by 3 men, Sabir GANY, CARLOS and Jean-Michel. ...), and it was with a new decoration that she took the start of the special stages of the Béthune rally in 1994. Sabir regularly took the car to regional, national and international rallies until 1995. He then sold the car to Paul Molon, who sold it to Stéphane Pallissier at the end of 1998. The two drivers continued to compete regularly in regional and national rallies. Almost 20 years ago, the current owner bought the car and entered it in his own right, mainly in rallies in the north of France. Stored and restored to its 1988 configuration, the car has been used sporadically at the Tour de Corse, in 2012 as a precursor with François CHATRIOT again at the wheel at the Las Vegas Hoppeland national rally, or as a demonstration car at the 2016 Eifel rally.
With over 100 rally starts since 1988, including the famous Championnat de France and Tour de Corse, and sometimes driven by some of the biggest names in the sport, this is a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of rallying history, ready to drive with its valid and up-to-date PTH, and produced in just 11 examples.