We love the first-generation BMW 7 Series here at Totally That Stupid whether it be a gorgeously original car or a modified example with a bit more push.

Lately, our ongoing E23 conversation has included updating the original European-market 745i engine components – things like the turbocharger, wastegate, intercooler, etc. – while retaining the factory positions of those components. Meaning, instead of taking a standard M30 engine and adapting an aftermarket turbo setup, keep the M106 and update everything turbo-related attached to it.

I recently came across what seems at first to be a clean but fairly ordinary – and quite spendy at $17,985 – 1984 733i with a touch over 139k miles on Facebook Marketplace. It caught my eye because, really, who doesn’t love a nice first-generation 7er in good colors and with three pedals?

Check it out: The paint shines well and appears to be all one color. Inside, the two-tone Pearl Beige and Nutria leather presents well. Minor imperfections include some scuffs here and there plus a slightly saggy driver’s seat and tired shift knob. Those are all easy fixes. Interestingly, the ads on both Facebook and the seller’s website list the paint color as “gold.” However, upon closer inspection that seems not quite correct. But that’s not the really interesting part.

No, the really interesting part – the thing that has consumed both of us here at TTS for the last couple days – is the steering wheel. It contains an airbag, and it shouldn’t.

This car’s VIN decodes to a very, very late production (9.3.1984) U.S. 733i. Indeed, if you zoom in you can just make out the driver’s door jamb sticker that says “733iA USA.” The color comes up as Opal-Grün and the model (“Type”) is “732i.” That makes sense since the engine is actually a 3.2-liter and in Europe this car would have been badged and sold as a 732i. But one line item in the VIN decode stands out: S940 Special Equipment BMW Individual.

U.S. E23 Sevens didn’t get an optional driver’s side airbag until April 1985, many months into U.S. 735i production. I have a dim recollection of seeing regular 735i models with the airbag; it was standard on the all-leather-cow-clad L7 in 1986 and 1987. But in Europe, E23s were available with this safety cannon much earlier.

So how did this U.S. 733i get a bag months and months before the U.S. 735i/L7 even came along?

Deep-diving into the pictures, every part of the airbag system appears to be factory original, or at least installed using factory components. The steering wheel of course – some bags were embossed with “SRS” and some with “AIRBAG” – but also the knee bolster. There’s even an SRS/Airbag indicator lamp (top-center position, illuminated in the image above) on the check control panel to the left of the steering wheel.

That knee bolster looks like that of a U.S.-spec car. In an L7, the bolster is upholstered in the light gray leather that matches that car’s lower dashboard and center console. This piece in our 733i has the same color and finish as the textured black dash; it doesn’t even match the Nutria color of the lower dashboard and center console.

Euro airbag cars of this era – E23, E24, E28 – had no knee bolster. They were definitely a U.S. requirement, but again this 733i was built months before U.S. airbags – and presumably the parts thereof – became available.

Under the hood appear the factory airbag sensors along with the safety switch just aft of the driver’s side unit. Those components are mounted on raised support brackets installed (welded) at the factory to the inner fender aprons; those supports do not appear on non-airbag cars. The wiring integration for said crash sensors looks factory as well.

Could this have been a special-order vehicle through BMW Individual in 1984? Could it have been a military serviceperson who ordered a U.S. car but for some reason required an airbag? Could BMW – Individual or in general – in those days have just said, “An airbag? Sure, we’ll build that.” If the U.S. testing and approval had already been completed for the upcoming 735i, then maybe.

Or could it have been done at a dealer after delivery, but using 100% factory parts and to BMW specifications? Poking around, it seems these early airbags were standalone systems. Much like other subsystems in older BMWs – engine harness, air conditioning, etc. – not everything was integrated into the main body harness. Here’s what appears to be a mostly complete system minus the crash sensors and safety switch.

Based on this, you could put an early BMW airbag in any old model, like a Bavaria.

Suffice it to say, I’m baffled but also intrigued. While we don’t have any concrete answers, at least we can preserve this car as a reference point. If anyone has any further information, please let us know!