From our personal blog. It's quite an interesting read and BONUS lots of special BMWs.
http://www.endrasbmw.com/07/supercar...a-left-behind/
Somewhere in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, sits a secret underground car collection that’s rumoured to contain over 60 extraordinary cars. The collection is said to be owned by Humero Roca who’s recently fled from Bolivia and depending on the source, sought refuge in either Miami or Spain.
Humero Roca, the former president of AeroSur, Bolivia’s principal privately owned airline, has personally been accused by the Bolivian government of ‘illegal enrichment’ following allegations by current AeroSur president and half-brother Sergio Sanzetenea of embezzling $37.2 million from the company. The company is currently in serious financial trouble and trying to stave off bankruptcy.
But what we’re interested in is Roca’s vast car collection. Luckily for us, Roca’s son who shares his dad’s passion for all things fast and exotic took the time to individually document about half of the cars in the collection. From a 2007 Ferrari F1 car to a supercharged lime green 1969 Dodge Charger, his YouTube channel “
csgt500” provides hours of entertainment. Unfortunately, on March 26th, Roca’s son posted his last video and told his viewers that “I won’t be able to make any more videos of the cars in Bolivia.” More on that later.
To our pleasant surprise, Roca seemed to be quite the BMW aficionado. From a 1 in 27 Frozen Black E92 M3 Coupe, a beautiful 1973 3.0 CSi, and 1989 E30 M3, to a 1992 V12 850i, Z3 Roadster, and yellow E36 M3, Roca had quite the collection.
Keep in mind that even the BMW Z3, which isn’t exactly the world’s rarest car, is extraordinarily difficult to obtain in a country such as Bolivia. This means that if the Z3 is tough to find, the actual exotics within the collection are near unobtainable.
Other videos show off an original 1996 Toyota Supra (
link), a 505 HP V10 2006 Dodge Viper (
link), a 650 HP Nissan GT-R (
link), a 1970 Ford Mustang 351 Boss (
link), 500 HP 1969 Dodge Charger RT (
link), Aston Martin Vanquish (link), Ferrari 308 QV (
link) , Ferrari F1 2007 (
link), and many more rarities.
Here’s a summary of the Bimmers with personal accounts paraphrased from the video’s captions.
Apparently unrestored, the 1989 M3 “drives awesome” and needs a bit of engine work. The wheels are taken from his E36 M3 which he plans to replace with original BBS E30 M3 wheels. Roca’s son describes it as a “revolutionary car in car history” and says it’s “just like an old school racing car.”
“The 240 HP 1995 E36 M3 was the first ’supercar’ I sat on back in ‘95. I was only 7 and I loved the way it looked and said someday I’m gonna drive this car. Well, 12 years later I drove THE EXACT SAME ONE!!”
Roca’s son also tells us the 5-speed E36 M3 was bought in the US and was marketed in the Bolivian catalogue as “The Fastest Car in the Entire Country.” Epic marketing!
Roca’s 2011 E92 M3 is apparently one of only 27 units made in the world and only 1 of 3 in South America. The exhaust has been changed to a full Akrapovic system but Roca’s son admits that it’s not his favourite M3 out of the three at his disposal. Only an E46 M3 Coupe is missing to complete the M3 lineup but he’s never had a chance to buy one. Only 3 exist in his city of Santa Cruz and all three are unfortunately owned by his friends.
Roca’s in-line 6 1973 BMW 3.0 CSi apparently “runs great but needs some details to be fixed.” Even though it doesn’t have the original wheels, we’re smitten in love. What a beauty!
The 193 HP 2.8 Z3 may look slightly out of place in the collection, but then again it’s a collection based on love and not value. This Z3 lies especially close to the heart of Roca’s son as he describes it as having only “193 hp but it feels like 600 hp and drives like a go cart!”
The 1992 BMW 850i’s 5 litre V12 puts out a measly 300 HP which Roca’s son accurately describes as “not a muscle vehicle or neck breaker, but a slow accelerating gentleman’s car.” Forget about the performance though and marvel at that 90’s styling!
—
Unfortunately the question of what will happen to the abandoned collection remains unanswered. Will the Bolivian government claim it? Will Roca find a way to transport his cars out of his home country?
Even more worrying is the caption underneath the last posted video on Roca’s son’s YouTube channel. Here is a direct excerpt from the post: “PS: As some may know and other not, My Father after Attempting to Fight the COMUNIST Government, Had to leave Bolivia and it’s Government is still fighting against him and my whole family. So I wont be able to make more videos of the other cars in Bolivia.”
We’re not quite sure what to make of the situation but all we know is that the future of this rare-for-Bolivia car collection is uncertain. Let’s just hope it doesn’t end up in the wrong, unappreciative, hands.