1985 BMW 5-Series Has Turbo Engine, 24K Gold-Plated Trim

Too many people use unique to mean merely special when the word really should describe something that's one-of-a-kind. This E28 BMW M535i is truly a unique machine after the owner's 16 years of work to personalize it.

Colin Baker bought this old 5 Series with the intention of doing a sympathetic restoration of it. Clearly, that didn't happen. Instead, Baker painted the sedan purple and loaded the vehicle with 24-karat gold-plated trim.

The Amethyst metallic color is a BMW Motorrad shade from the 1980s. Baker is a professional car painter and uses a custom mix of the shade to add some extra ultraviolet hues to it. Another interesting touch is that pocket watches are on the caps for the oil, charger cooler reservoir, and gas tank.

Baker started by just gold-plating the turbo, but then he got addicted to adding more. Now, most of the interior and exterior trim have the previous-metal covering. Baker estimates there is £5,500 to £6,000 ($7,386 to $8,058 at current exchange rates) of gold on the car. The next plan is to coat the roll cage in the shiny material.

The current turbocharged powertrain makes around 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts). Baker plans to install a second turbo next, and it would have gold plating, too. There are nitrous tanks in the trunk, but they aren't currently operational. 

The 5 Series rides on an air suspension. It was apparently quite a job to install because the company didn't make a kit specifically for the E28.

Inside, there are more purple and gold touches. Much of the cabin has Alcantara upholstery. Baker stitched all of these pieces by hand.

Baker has no plans to sell his M535i. After so much work into the extensive modifications, the only path he sees forward is to continue personalizing the sedan for years to come and then pass it down to family.