No2. BMW 2002 Turbo

HITCHED

At their wedding, Rich and his wife took the short drive from church to reception venue in a 2002 Turbo

DESPITE being launched long before I was born, the BMW 2002 was the car I lusted after as a kid. From an early age, I adored its long bonnet, two-door body and simple three-box proportions. And as I grew older, the idea of an analogue and simple-to-repair rear-wheeldrive coupé was too hard to ignore.

So five years ago, I bought the cheapest 2002 in the country. Rust had consumed the rear wheelarches and the bootlid was bubbling, while the seats were frayed and the headlining had started to sag. But it was a runner, with a valid MoT and enough tread on the tyres to see me home. It didn’t quite make it that far – a story for another time, perhaps – but even so, I felt proud that I’d realised my boyhood dream.

So when I proposed to my now-wife a couple of months later, there was only one car I wanted at the wedding. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be – another story for another time, perhaps – so I had to pull in a lastminute favour. Little did I know it, but BMW UK’s mint 2002 Turbo would turn out to be something of a centrepiece for our big day.

Truth is, I didn’t even get to drive it that far. Aside from a short spin to stretch its legs the night before, my experience at the wheel of the Turbo was largely limited to the five-minute hop from the church to the reception venue. But with the sun shining and my new wife in the passenger seat, it surely has to register as one of the greatest drives of my life.

Adorned with ribbons and confetti, the car went on to spend the rest of the day being admired from afar. And although my 2002 (alas, not a Turbo) is currently in bits, having been stripped down for a bare-metal respray, I can’t wait to get it back on the road and reignite memories of that truly special day.