We visited an extraordinary collection full of stories. In addition to rare BMWs, there is also a Ferrari or Felicia car with the BMW logo – Garáž.cz

Right in the flat of Hradec Králové, an urban paradise electric busesthe Stratos Auto company (celebrating its 30th anniversary this year) has a glass shop on the floor where the private collection of the company’s owner, Martin Strakoš, stands out prominently.

We also went there to listen to his motoring story told by several interesting models.

The first zoom, of course. A folding bicycle from the 1980s by the company Eska from Cheb, but modified because the owner at one time needed to ride it even with a broken leg. So he redesigned the frame and pedaled with only one leg during the treatment period.

The first Bavarian in Martin Strakoš’s collection is now one of BMW’s holy grails. It is a model X5 generation E53 after the upgrade, which has a horsepower of 360 forked eight cylinders under the hood, and its exhaust emits a very pleasant sound.

The model with current mileage of 191,000 kilometers was bought new in Germany in 2004, and after a few years of work, Martin Strakoš put it on the road. The vehicle subsequently changed several owners until it finally returned to its original owner.

He put it in order, for example he fixed the paint, bought new original upholstery, replaced the dashboard display and gutted the vehicle completely. At one point, this eight-cylinder SUV was a revelation, and BMW’s competitors later followed in its footsteps.

Historically, the company’s first company van was Stratos Auto, which carried parts and was an overload protection vehicle. The Škoda Felicia, equipped with a 68-horsepower 13-liter engine, has already driven 261,761 kilometers, so a few years ago it was time for an update.

And since Stratos Auto was an established BMW dealer at the time, Stratos Auto employees made a little joke about their boss and sent in the vehicle BMW album and the Bavarian tricolor. In memory of the beginning.

Wild the station wagon with a natural five-liter ten-cylinder under the hood, it works with 400 horses as standard, but when you press the M button, the maximum output increases to 507 horsepower. The collector’s item with a mileage of more than 141,000 kilometers was purchased as a car for normal driving ​​during the opening of the BMW showroom in Hradec Králové according to the new standards.

Inside the car, we find an alcantara roof and red leather from the respective program. At the time of purchase, ie in 2007, the car could be bought and used as a tax deduction, which saved a lot of money.

According to BMW sources, only 1,009 units of this sharp 300km/h station wagon were put on official sale between 2007 and 2010, so it is very rare today, especially if it is in perfect condition.

Actually, a special round from BMW from 2017, which is unique because it has both road and racing homologation, which you can tell by the rear frame. Only 700 BMW M4 GTS models of the F82 generation were produced, each of them received a three-liter cylinder with a twin-turbocharged 500-horsepower in addition to the flood of carbon parts.

In addition to a maximum speed of 305 km / h, the light cruiser boasts water injection into the cylinders to improve filling efficiency and a special interior focused on weight reduction. The car with a current mileage of just over six thousand kilometers landed in the collection both as a demo model for the days of circulation customers and also to commemorate the opening of the BMW Stratos Auto showroom in Prague.

According to Strakoš, no collection should be missing even a riding textbook, which he believes is, for example BMW M2 CS. The light model from 2020 with a mileage of 15,000 kilometers, equipped with a six-cylinder tuned to 450 horsepower, is said to be an excellent tool for racers or promising drifters.

One of the 2,200 pieces produced, decorated with metallic blue paint, reached the collection commemorating the opening of the BMW showroom in Pardubice.

Some legends do not die even when they leave us physically. Take a Brazilian competitor for example Airton Sennain his honor, among other things, 300 edition motorcycles of the MV Agusta F4 brand were created. The volume of the built-in four-stroke engine is 749.5 cc, the power is 137 horsepower, and Ferrari engineers are also developing them.

The machine can do from zero to a hundred in about three seconds and travels about 285 km / h. The collector’s item has the number 126/300 and 4,921 km on the odometer.

It is interesting that the president of the MV Agusta brand at the time, Claudio Castiglioni, was a personal friend of Ayrton Senna, so he presented this special program to support the charity group Instituto Ayrton Senna in support of children and young people in Brazil.

According to Martin Strakoš, yes Spider Ferrari F8 like a playstation on wheels, it states that its driving characteristics are excellent. On the other hand, he warns that driving in it is addictive and makes the driver want more and more, which can end in the disaster if the situation is not managed.

After all, just behind the front seats there is a 3.9-liter fork eight-cylinder with two turbochargers, which produces 720 horsepower and moves this horizontal supersport up to 340 km/h.

The model was bought in 2021 only for pleasure, which corresponds to a mileage of only 1,618 km. In addition, the owner of the car told us that it is much more comfortable than his M4 GTS and that it drives better.

The turbo hoses on this 1980 model are not silicone or rubber, but metal. The injection is already electronically controlled, the transmission is strengthened and overall the car pays for a Scandinavian technical gem.

The preserved piece with mileage figure 35,423 km in the collection as well as German nobility and Italian motor suffering. At the same time, however, it is behind the memory of the high school, where Strakoš learned to be a car mechanic. His teacher did Saabs kept breaking, which is why this Swedish car expanded the attractive motor collection a few years ago.

The last piece of the collection is the story of the 2020 BMW R1200 GS, which has 15,218 km and can reach speeds of up to 219 km / ha. It is a true touring piece for occasional trips and at the same time one of the most popular motorcycles made by the famous Bavarian company.

The private collection of Martin Strakoš tells a story first, shows milestones and also gives pleasure in the form of many horses. This is probably the only show where you will meet Felicia with a BMW badge, a Ferrari, a SAAB, sharp Bavarians and a modified bike in one place.