Genuine unicorn cars are rare beasts but if any comes close to unique status, it’s this Koenig Specials BMW 635 CSi.

Owned by 26-year old Tahmid Haque, we caught up with him and his rare machine at the relatively new car show, Radwood, which is organised by the folks at Hagerty, the specialist car insurer.

This is Radwood’s second year, and it was staged at Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent, which conveniently enough happens to be Haque’s hometown. He only heard about the show at the last minute, but we’re glad he did. The Koenig BMW 653 CSi is one of only two examples ever built, so seeing one in the wild is a car spotter’s trump card.

It also and fits in well with Radwood’s vibe. A celebration of the excess-all-areas attitude that pervaded car making and modifying during the 1980s and 1990s, it is a car park-size time capsule that turns women and men of a certain age misty eyed.

But here’s the thing – Haque is only 26. All of the cars at Radwood were built long before he was dreaming of passing his driving test and taking to the open road. What drew him to his Koenig Specials? To answer that, we have to go back to the beginning of his car collecting habit.

An economics graduate, Haque has amassed a collection of 30 German cars over the past five years, mostly from the ‘80s and ‘90s. “These are all dream cars of mine,” he explains, “and I only buy cars that I love.” He trades some of the cars but says that if one doesn’t sell, or the market takes a dip, “I don’t care because I get joy out of driving it.”

The first car he found was a Porsche 944 2.5 Lux, chosen because when he was a toddler his dad drove a 944. It cost £4500, and was bought for its emotional connection, but when he came to sell it six months later the value had climbed to £9000. “The second car I got was a Jaguar XJ-S, a 5.3-litre V12 with just 40,000 miles. I paid about £6500, used it for about six months and sold it for £13,000, after spending about a grand on it. I was like, ‘Hold on, I’m onto something here…’”

Finding these cars takes time and patience. From forums to auctions, eBay to Facebook Marketplace, Auto Trader and Cars & Classic, Haque trawls the lot. He also has approaches through social media, as his Instagram account (@m635bmw) has grown to 90,000 followers and those followers “know what I collect and the calibre of cars, and I’ve bought a lot of cars through Instagram, which is an avenue I never thought would happen.”

“I don’t think they make cars like this anymore,” he says, which may be stating the obvious but it is such a common motivation for car enthusiasts the world over who crave curves, chrome, cylinders and charisma over today’s boxy, touchscreen, electric cars.

His Koenig Specials BMW 635 CSi is only one of two made. The other car is left-hand drive, painted in black and lives in the Netherlands. That rarity, says Haque, makes them the rarest model made by Koenig Specials.

The German tuning company was founded by Willi Koenig, a successful publisher and enthusiastic racing driver, who is said to have bought a Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer (BB) and been disappointed by the performance of its flat-12 cylinder engine. The rest, as they say, is history – and a whole lot of turbo conversions, bodykits and suspension upgrages…

As for the 1986 Koenig 635, it was a cosmetic conversion, albeit one that’s very much in keeping with an era when shoulder pads and power perms ruled the catwalks. So other than an aftermarket exhaust, the 3.5-litre, straight-six cylinder engine remains untouched but the car’s inherent ability to turn heads and draw a crowd when parked is every bit as spectacular as you might imagine.

The wedge-like design still makes Haque chuckle when describing it. What’s most amusing is that this flamboyance serves no other purpose than to seek attention, as there’s no functional benefit to its cartoonish form, such as engine cooling. One challenge comes from the ultra-wide split-rim wheels and tyres. The front items are 285/50 section Pirelli P7s, which is the same width as the back tyres of a DeTomaso Pantera GTS. As for the back tyres, they’re 345 section, which is the same as a Lamborghini Countach. A special batch had to be made with the help of Longstone Tyres and Pirelli.

Surprisingly, Haque says it “drives so well” and reckons he added 2000 miles to its 63,000-mile tally this summer alone. The car came out of the now defunct London Motor Museum, having spent a decade there, and its owner, Elo King, didn’t know too much of its early history, which Haque is trying to piece together.

As for the original cost of buying the four-wheeled equivalent of a white linen suit and colour-matched slip-on loafers, you may want to sit down. “All I know,” says Haque, “is it cost about £50,000 to convert in 1986, which is on top of the donor car price which was about £40,000.”

“I’m kind of glad it’s just an auto, as you can just cruise along and relax,” says Haque, and we don’t doubt that this was always envisaged as a car for driving past shopfronts as slowly as possible, checking out the Ray-Bans and tinted perm in the reflection…

Also in the Haque collection, and still to return from a restoration, is a Koenig Special BMW 750i (E32) which has got him seriously excited. “It’s sort of like, I’m speccing my own Koenig Special how I want it, which is very nice, given I wasn’t even born back then!

“They’re cool now and people love the excess of cars like this and the era. The reaction is insane – thumbs up; people following me; people always asking what it is. Some people hate it but no problem – it’s an acquired taste.”

Because this 635 is so rare, the exterior won’t be changed but Haque wants to liven up the interior with a retrim, removing the black leather and replacing it with Tiffany Blue hide to complete its in-your-face personality.

The car’s a keeper, says Haque, and it’s easy to understand why. If you have 30 cars to play with, why wouldn’t you indulge yourself with a rarity like this? It hails from a time when car customisation was hitting v-max and excess was something to be celebrated in certain corners of the car scene.

It's also fascinating that younger car enthusiasts are getting their kicks with leftfield, out-there classic cars. But what makes it more special still is that this custodian says he’ll continue to drive it, use it and share it for years to come. For that, we salute Haque.

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If you would like to know more about Racing Green’s services, or arrange for your classic car to be placed in our care, please speak with a member of the team, on 03330 909722, or email us at enquiries@racinggreencarstorage.co.uk

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