•Winner of the 1986 'Belga Stuurwiel'
•Restored to original specification circa 2012
•Offered for sale by the Verellen family
•Well documented


This BMW 325i was driven by Belgian car journalist and famous racing driver Philip Verellen (1962-2002) during the 1986 season. Verellen had been discovered by the 'Belga Stuurwiel', a promotional programme run by the Belga cigarette company to find talented young drivers. From the selected drivers participating in the 1986 'Stuurwiel' at Zolder, the jury had real difficulties in deciding the winner from the four best candidates, but eventually they chose Philip Verellen, who was not only the fastest but also the most consistent. He had finished 2nd in the 'Stuurwiel' in 1985.

At that time Philip Verellen was 23 years old and working as a journalist for the magazine, 'Autokrant'. His reward was the opportunity to race in the Belgian production car championship with the Belga team. For the 1986 season, Belga was campaigning the BMW 535i and 325i, the latter choice being criticised by many commentators as it was put in the 'over 2,000cc class' but was considerably less powerful than the 535i, which had proved to be very competitive in that category.

But the experts at Juma, the Antwerp-based BMW dealership that prepared the car from new, understood what was required to make the 325i faster than its greatest rival, the Cosworth-engined Mercedes 190 2.3, which in standard trim had more horsepower than the BMW. Other rivals such as the Alfa 75 Turbo were left behind, and the Juma-prepared BMW 325i proved even faster on some occasions than the 535i. Maximum output in standard trim was 171bhp, which Juma managed to increase to some 185 horsepower.

The body remained unchanged, while the interior was modified in accordance with Group N regulations. The seats were removed and the driver's seat replaced with an ASS racing seat; the dashboard was retained and some gauges added; and a roll cage was installed. But it was the engine that made the Juma BMW so fast; the power curve was very good, enabling the 325i Juma to gain places at the start of the race because it had a lot of power at low revs when compared with the rest of the field.

Following his 'Belga Stuurwiel' win, Verellen made his debut in the Belga BMW at the New Race Festival at Zolder, and later in the year returned to that circuit for the European Historic Grand Prix, finishing 11th overall in the saloon car race.

After the 1986 season, the Belga BMW 325i went back to Juma and found a new owner. It was only in 2009 – long after Philip's death - that Philip Verellen's brother, Paul, found the BMW after researching its whereabouts. He wanted to own his late brother's first car: the one that had made him famous and had been prepared by the local BMW dealer. He was able to buy the 325i, and had the car fully restored to its original specification with help from the old Juma mechanics who had prepared it back in 1986. The extensive restoration included sand-blasting the body, fully overhauling the engine, and repainting the car in its original livery.

The restoration was finished in 2012 and the odometer reset to zero. It was never intended to race the BMW, which had been restored mainly as a tribute to the late Philip Verellen, and it was treated more as a 'showroom' example, although fully operational. The car has been taken out on track once or twice a year for a warm-up, the last occasion being only a month ago for an article on both Belga cars. Apart from that, the BMW has been started occasionally and driven a short distance to keep it in good health. Today, only some 500 kilometres are recorded on the odometer.

This historic racing car is offered with copies of various articles and race results; a selection of period photographs (digital); a file of restoration photographs; and a 2102 valuation report confirming its condition. A unique opportunity to own a well-known and competitive Belgian racing Group N hero.