Doug thank you for posting this! Great video. I actually do own a CRT. From what I know, mine is one of three in the United States, including the one that is at the BMW museum in Spartanburg. I bought the number 24 out of 67. A couple of additions to what you already said about the car: The engine is a real Motorsport 4.4L factory stroker. This engine only appeared on this car, as well as the E92 GTS. Also, the suspension is KW coilovers from the factory. The car even comes with the KW tool kit. The interior is unique to the CRT too. Anyway, if want to review the car, I would be happy to assist. I am in Jacksonville, FLORIDA.

This is really a list of cars doug is hoping people have and reach out. Love it

You should make this a series and go through other car brands' obscure models. It'd be really interesting in my opinion

It took production SUVs nearly 20 years to catch up with the e53 X5 LM, in 2022 the DBX 707 matched its top speed at 193mph, in 2019 the Audi RSQ8 matched its Nurburgring track time to the second, and that time was beaten in 2021 by the Cayenne Turbo GT, an insane vehicle that showed what manufacturers could do when they aren’t constrained to the limits of a production vehicle.

Doug is the type of guy, to know 5 BMW’s that we never heard of

The e90 m3 CRT has the 4.4l engine from the e92 m3 GTS. That’s the most significant part of that car.

Doug the type of guy to do an accurate BMW enthusiast impression

The cherry on top of the M3 CRT was they put the 4.4L from the GTS under the hood. I remember it being ridiculously expensive though.

My favourite obscure BMW is the E30 333i. They were sold in South Africa in very limited numbers. It had some Alpina parts and was for homologation purposes if I’m not mistaken. SA got some wild exclusives from different manufacturers.

Very surprised the V16 "Goldfish" 7 Series wasn't on this list :)

This should be a series. Top 5 unknown cars from certain brands.

Starting with the e46 compact meant I did suspect this was going to be “5 BMWs that everyone outside of the US has heard of” but I wasn’t pleasantly surprised to discover the e34 cabriolet and the CRT which I’d never heard of. I was expecting the electric 02s from the ‘72 Munich olympics and some Chinese lab models to be mentioned.

The ultimate unknown BMW… the ZBF-7er. It was a design concept replacement for the E38 BMW 7-Series. It featured a ridiculously large grill and had really odd concept accessories, like a DUAL I-drive (front and rear). It can be found in Germany’s BMW museum. Very odd, very cool.

The title shouldve been “Here are 5 BMW that Americans never heard about”

Here are 5 BMW facts Doug did not hear of: 1. The BMW compact's engine bay is large enough to fit a V12. Some guy in the Netherlands did so and it recently sold for €5.000 2. Sreten from M539 restorations purchased a hydrogen V12 as a donor engine for his 8-series build. 3. The X5 LM is stored in Munich in the BMW basement where many other gems are stored. If you pull some strings ate the museum, you might be allowed downstairs to see it. 4. The M3 CRT is for the E90 sedan, what the GTS is for the E92 coupe. It has the same 4.4 stroker engine and factory KW suspension 5. The E34 M5 cabrio.... damn. I really did not know this one. You got me there Doug. Kudos 😂

The conceptual predecessor of the 3 Series Compact was actually a hatchback version of the W201 Mercedes-Benz. The CLC and C Class Sportcoupe were also european D -Segment derived hatchbacks. This with an AMG diesel version included (C30 CDi AMG). I miss the early 2000s 💔

Also the 7 series 'Goldfish"

M3 CRT is actually quite common here in Switzerland. There are between 30-35 M3 E9x listed on local marketplaces at any one time with 3-5 of these being the CRT model.

I wonder if Doug knows he is wearing a Philadelphia 76ers shirt or if he just bought it at the thrift store?

Knew about the Hydrogen 7 series, but not about the E38 prototype, and I had seen the hatchback E46 3 series, but never realized that it was that. Your video was surprisingly informative! I don't know how unknown or not this story is at this point, but probably my favourite unusual BMW is the pickup version of the E92 that I believe M Sport created to haul around stuff at the Nurburgring.

5:14 thanks to M539restorations we do know that BMW made that

The Z3 V12 concept was pretty cool too- wonder what an E38 V12 must have felt like in that little car!

The original 8 series M8 , only shown to the public a few years ago comes to mind as well.

And one to add, I'm driving a BMW Active Hybrid 3 (F30 Chassis, N55 engine), with total production of around 5,000 cars globally. It was BMW's first hybrid test, and the hybrid engine is there solely to pump out even more HP than a regular 335i.

"5 BMW Drivers that use indicators"

1. Supra MK 5

I'm surprised to see the E46 Compact on this list. It was fairly well known and polarizing due to the headlight design. Personally, I always liked it. German tuner Hartge even made a special version called the H33. It had the E46 M3 engine and was faster around tracks than the M3. One of those would be an actual gem.

Wow the spec on the STO during the C&B promo might be the best I've ever seen, can't wait to watch that

The first compact was partially based on the E30 (the rear drivetrain was identical like the Z3) and here in Europe was available with a 6 cyl engine with 170 horses… and ASC-T

I got to see the BMW Hydrogen V (and a bunch of of other hydrogen powered vehicles) during the 2008 Hydrogen Power Tour. Of all of them, the Honda Clarity was the only one that looked production ready; it literally could have come from the showroom it was that fully put together and had all the packaging done perfectly. I have a couple pictures someplace...

One other fact about the M5 Cabrio: Cutting the roof off make it so torsionally weak that extensive work would have been necessary to deem it suitable for production. (See 10:15, I'm fairly certain those are the tacked on chassis braces as a temporary solution).

Ti model is common still in uk..didn’t know they were one of the rare ones in the bmw range..Txs for the video xx

Please do it with other brands too!

I think the e90 320si could of earned a place here.

Doug the E90 M3 CRT also had the 4.4L V8 out of the limited production e92 M3 GTS instead of the 4.0L V8 of the regular E9X M3s

Awesome, Doug. When I went to work for BMW in Munich, BMW picked me up from the airport in a Hydrogen 7. They proceeded to pull up to a hydrogen filling station, where they showed off how easy it was to fill up. Then, we were off to the factory. So, cool. It gets cooler: I worked right next the McLaren F1 engine testing team. That engine, sans exhaust, sounded like the legions of Hell.

Doug is the type of guy to forget he's talking to car people

Obviously Doug doesn’t watch M5E39 restoration 😂

I think Doug missed 2 really interesting BWM models, most people don't know off. 1: the E39 M5 Touring. (Only 1 prototype was built) 2 The legendary "Goldfisch" E32 7 Series (Also 1 prototype was built) It had a V16 engine! (Gotta love that air intake's in the back fenders!)

The BMW E1 is really unknown too

The E36 hatchback was also available with a 6-cylinder engine, just not in the US. There was a CNG version of the 4-cylinder known as the 316g as well (a little over 500 of those built total).

What about the 16 cylinder 7 series prototype?

Top 7 Nissan’s you will NEVER KNOW ABOUT if you don’t know existed: 1:59 Nissan GTR R35 RX1194 2:01 Nissan Septicemia Hzp1 2:34 Nissan GTR R35 CU1140 2:56 Nissan Gallardo LP560-4 3:00 Nissan Timeline LP550-4 3:00 Nissan Light ZN 2.6-11 (Concept) 1:34:26 The Nissan Mounter-Hunter

There was also a Prototype called "Goldfish". A 7 series (E32) with a V-16 Motor!

Love you Doug! Keep that energy

Laughs in M539

Don't forget about the M5 E60 CSL. Crazy car, crazy modifications, 550hp instead of 507hp. Does Doug know about this one?

well, growing up in Germany with a BMW-loving mom makes you come across these cars by natural. except for the crt (not my bmw-age of interest) i actually heard of these. some facts i would like to share: -the e46 compact is or was an daily car in germany. i remember seeing those wierd frontlights almost every day. the 'tiny' 4cylinder made a very good figure on our tiny curvy roads. a good, fun car with a lightweight back. nice cornering characteristics. -the X5 LM got an original le mans engine under its hood, thats true. it was one of the 'crazy'-ideas the bmw-team had and got an OK from the ceos as an experiment, what would be actually possible in terms of motorsport-capabilities to get out of an SUV. the X5 LM marks the beginning of the X...M cars we got today. -besides the e46 M3 wagon theres another M-car people would love today: the M8 based out of the e31 8series, interesting car aswell. finally, if you are a person who is interested in bmws no one ever heard of: type in 'heilige hallen bmw' into the search bar. these videos are in german, but you could spot some interesting ones by eye 😉 -Daniel.

Those two first 3 series hatchbacks were then the beginning of the new 1 series, initially they release them as only hatchbacks, being the E87 and E81 (2007). You could get them up to 265hp 6 cylinder, the 130i. Then in 2007 they release the 1 series coupe and convertible (E82 and E88) that would later become the new 2 series.

i’m surprised the Nazca M12 wasn’t on this list. they made a couple production versions of this car

3:18 You forgot to mention the most relevant feature of the BMW Hydrogen 7. The tank of hydrogen was specifically designed to store liquid hydrogen at temperatures below 20.1 K (−423.4 °F) and keep it liquid for many hours.

I had an E46 325i Compact. Love that thing, and unfortunately I had to let her go when I relocated to another country. Still miss her everyday... BTW how about 2 Series Active Tourer? I think that should've made the list!

Recently m539 restorations put engine from hydrogen E38 to e31! 😅✌️

those bmw ti's are really common in europe

There was a e36 316g and also e34 518g, about 500 each powered by CNG. I owned one of those 518g models. Very low fuel cost and also very reliable engine.

I love Doug’s 76ers “Trust the Process” shirt. Brother gets cooler every video. 🏀🙌🏾

The E36 Compact actually came with three engine option outside the US. There was the 316ti, 318ti and the 6 cylinder 323ti

The lame mainstream "car journalist" version of this would absolutely have the Isetta as #1.

As a German who watches Matthias Malmedie/GRIP and Gercollector, i can confirm that those are pretty much well-known (in Germany) (by now).

I expected to see BMW Nazca C2 and M12 on the list

I wanted to check if I'm a real BMW enthusiast by seeing if i knew all of these. Luckily I do

As someone that basically studies weird cars, the only one I didn't know about was the X5 LM and I absolutely love it.

The M:EH plates on the blue E46 compact perfectly encapsulate the vibe of the car.

I will admit that I was quite certain I would know all 5… but once again Doug delivered. I only knew about the 2 of them.

If it's a reliable BMW, then it's rare.

Break My Wallet

4:57 - M539 Restorations enters the chat.

Hi Doug, I am from Munich, huge BMW enthusiast and loved this video!! I just miss one entry: BMW made a E32 7series with a V16 engine. All the cooling had to be moved to the trunk, because the engine was so large. Therefore the car had fins on the side behind the rear doors to enable cooling. It was painted gold. That’s how the car got the nickname gold fish. Google it, it is easy to find. In the end BMW didn’t build it because they thought the BMW 750i with a V12 (that Mercedes didn’t have) would piss of Mercedes enough. BMW revisited the concept for the RR Phantom Coupe. There is a Prototype of that car with a V16 as well.

2023 is really turning the tables now that Amazons AMA88X hit the road. After all these years of barely reading anything good I was usually just shutting down any type of media as much as I can but this brings back good lights and it should give hope to some of you that no matter what is going on in the world at the end something good comes to surface

Just wanna say.. My heart goes to the entire community for Amazons AMA88X building up something which is worth it for everyone. This is so smart by them to launch it to shatter the doubts and fears of the common folk which shouldn't even exist to begin with. Everyone knows the state of inflation and recession now and the way out is already in progress. Now it's just about catching the big fish

We had a bunch of special edition cars in South Africa, BMW E30 333i, BMW E28 530 MLE(Lightweight Motorsport Edition), BMW E23 733I, BMW M633CSi, Opel Kadett GSi Superboss, Opel Kadett 200ts, BMW E23 745i(M88/3 engine the same as the original M5), Ford Sierra XR8(V8 from the Mustang), Ford Cortina Perana, Ford Cortina XR6, Ford Cortina XR6 Interceptor, Ford Capri Perana(V8 from the Mustang had a top speed of 170mph in the 1970's), Golf 4 GTi R, Golf MK1 1.8 R, BMW 325Is evo's, Toyota Corolla AE111 RXi 20v, Land Rover Defender 2.8i with the BMW E46 328i motor, Alfa Romeo GTV6 3.0, Honda Ballade/Civic AMG, Toyota Auris TRD supercharged, FIAT 131 Racing, Ford Cortina XR6 Bakkie/Pick-up truck, there might be a few more that I've missed. Might want to have a look into those Doug, they're all awesome cars.

Small but significant correction on the hydrogen 7. unlike you stated it was never sold. Just leased to politicians and other famous personalities of the time as a field test and to promote the concept. Otherwise this would be 100% what I’d drive now as someone who doesn’t care about outright performance but rather smooth, cultured engines and classy driving. Call it the ultimate middle finger to anyone anti-ICE.

Isetta 600 is the big brother to the more commonly known 300. It has rear doors and another row of seating in back and a different design. Looks pretty cool and never hear about them!

There was also a E36 M3 compact but it was deemed too good and therefore it would interfere with the M3 too much.

Haven't seen anyone mention the E34 M5 touring with the S70/2 McLaren F1 engine in it. It was painted Santorini Blue and was used as the test platform for the engine before use in the F1.

Some honorable mentions since the list included prototypes and one offs - BMW E31 convertible, BMW E31 M8, and Nazca BMWs (M12, C2)

I live in Poland, and the e46 compact is actually really common here, a lot of people nowadays see it as a "poor man's e46", bought in near junkyard condition by kids to have fun and to pose as someone they're not.

So happy for you Doug! I don’t know why but every milestone you hit, every dream car you get, every success that you achieve, it feels like we as your long time viewers and supported have an ownership in and share the happiness with you! I’m absolutely speechless about this latest one, but I do wonder how mrs. DeMuro feels about all this! We all know none of this is possible if you didn’t have her love and support so congrats to her as well for being such a great “car guy wife”!!

I worked at a BMW dealer in the 2000s. We were certified to maintain all kinds of special BMW vehicles, among them the Hydrogen 7 fleet. Loved these cars. There were these promotional videos at the time where they put a glass under the exhaust tips and boast about how all that comes out is pure water. You could however not just have a Hydrogen 7. They weren't for sale. The cars were leased out politicians, actors, musicians, all kinds of influential people. They were also used as fleet vehicles at big events like movie premieres. The cars always belonged to BMW and had to come in for maintenance and data collection at those certified shops. In the end it was just a big field study.

It really strikes me how people don't notice the CRT's coupè-style front end. THAT made the car special

I was feeling pretty sad and questioning myself as a car guy throughout this list, but my redemption came with the e46 wagon, the only one I'd ever heard of, and I might've learned about it in one of your very videos lol! Congratulations on your remarkable job, Doug! Keep it up! Cheers from Brazil.

I gotta give it to you, I’m a hardcore bmw enthusiast and I can’t say I had heard about the E90 carbon edition or the E34 convertible before this video. Good job!

5:11 Doug is the type of guy that doesn't think we watch M539 Restorations (He's using the V12 from the Hydrogen E38 right now)

Shoutout to M539 restorations for having one of the hydrogen v12 from a e38 750hi on his channel. Even modifing it to put in a manual 850i.

The first one was a pretty common sight here in Europe, the others, never knew they existed!

If I'm not mistaken, the E36 compact only came to America as a 318ti. In Europe these did come with a somewhat more interesting engine (the 323ti version).

I knew of 4 out of 6 and I wouldn’t class myself as a BMW nerd. The CRT and the convertible 5 series I’d never heard tell of

So I am a big BMW fan and I didn't know about some of these. The one I DID know about (and consistently dream about as a sports sedan superfan) is the M3 CRT. Such an amazing car

A small, but relevant fact about the M3 CRT is that it had a bigger displacement S65 engine. The S65 was a 4.0 liter V8, but the CRT and GTS M3's had a 4.4 liter S65, so it's not just another E90 M3 with some weight reduction thrown at it.

Owned a 325tI manual, it was fun as hell.

9:22 Two things occur to me about this photo... 1. They backed it into this spot (tire tracks) for...some reason, and 2. the driver must be hiding in the car LOL

3:28 Doug!!! DoUg!!!! DOUG!!! That was a violation! Lol so Out of Pocket fr that, and I love it as fans of you and Hoovie

I thought, for sure, the Z1 would be on this list. The hideaway doors were a crazy design!

1:19 i knew about all THIS , and im not a BMW enthusiast , but i liked this video 😁

I've had the pleasure of seeing the compact at a car wash here in 2019, me and my freind were very suprised and apparently its one of few in my country. Nice car.

5:04 Sreten is doing a build with that engine

When he said we were about to go to a Hoovie video thats exactly where I'm about to go after this

Me: I'm sure the volume on my computer is set to a reasonable volume. Doug: TTTTHHHHIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kinda surprised you included the hydrogen 7 series but didn’t mention the V16 E32

Finally a Compact here! It’s the best e46, it’s 100kg lighter and you can fit a washing machine in the back. I had one up until 5 months ago, i miss it. Luckily sold that to a friend because it needs to stay in the family.