Chris Harris, whose words have graced our pages before but who is best known as a “Top Gear” presenter and for “Chris Harris on Cars,” discovered his classic E28 BMW M5 missing. The internet then proved that it can still be a positive place of miracles and wonder instead of a wretched hive of scum and villainy when, hours later, someone had found his car.
Upon discovering the car was gone, Harris put the word out to his sizable social media following asking them to “please keep an eye out for it.” Several hours after the post, Harris received a private message from a man he identifies only as Lee. “I’m stood by your M5.” Despite Harris being some distance away, Lee remained with the car until Harris arrived to recover it. He made a follow-up post to share the good news and publicly thank Lee, with a picture of the two of them by his M5. More people should be like Lee. My faith in the internet is restored.
This time, it’s personal
Harris’ love for the E28 M5 is clear in this video, as he waxed poetically while flicking it through his signature series of drifts and slides. The way he wrote his Instagram posts about the theft and recovery indicates that 19 years of ownership have not diminished his love for this car at all since this video was made, which was relatively early in his time with it.
Unfortunately, the perpetrator of this theft left some damage behind. Harris posted pictures that show what looks to be a busted ignition switch and its associated wiring hanging under the dashboard. I recognize these from my own (admittedly far lesser) E21 320i, which had also been a theft victim at one point. One picture shows that a wheel suffered some serious curb rash, which also damaged the tire sidewall. Tires are easy to replace, but that wheel is going to be trickier to repair or replace.
Fortunately, the damage is no worse. No parts appear to be missing, leaving this rare right-hand-drive example quite repairable. I hope to see Harris fix it up and drift it once again.
