Tag: Performance BMW

Effortlessly blending classic looks, Group 2-inspired styling, perfect stance and the small matter of a 2.5 S14 swap from an E30 M3, this full-on modified BMW 2002 is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Feature from Performance BMW. Words: Elizabeth de Latour. Photos: Mike Crawat.

If you’re talking about BMW legends, icons, then the ’02 family absolutely has to be on that list. It’s an incredibly important part of BMW’s history and whether you’re talking about the original 1600-02 or something like the 2002 tii, it’s a much-loved range that remains popular with both BMW aficionados and modding enthusiasts. And speaking of which, there have been some magnificent builds that we’ve come across over the years, but Georg Schuster’s (@the_bavarian_outlaw) magnificent creation is one of the best.

Regular readers might find Georg’s name familiar and that’s because we had the pleasure of featuring one of his other creations, an epic S38-powered Group 5 E9 replica, in our April 2020 issue. That alone made it clear that this proud Bavarian is a huge petrolhead but this ’02 is even more of a special machine and no component has been left untouched during the extensive journey of its build. As a brief recap, Georg is a car mechanic and he co-owns a petrol station with his dad so every part of his life revolves around cars and, being a born and bred Bavarian, you’d be very surprised if he wasn’t passionate about BMWs. But he’s also passionate about cars in general – his first was a Porsche 928 GTS, which is an amazing way to kick off your motoring career, and his passion for all things automotive is reflected in his current collection, which includes a Mk1 Ford Escort RS2000, a Chevrolet pickup and an Audi 8L S3 alongside his BMW duo. George says that spending time in his garage is his favourite hobby and we have no doubts about that.

The ’02, though, might just be the most important car for several reasons, the main one being that this was his first-ever BMW. George is 36 now and this car, which started out life as a 1502, was purchased when he was 18 back in 2002 (funnily enough). The entire project was undertaken over two years, which means this isn’t a recent creation, but, unsurprisingly, he’s kept the car for 18 years because a build on this scale is not something you’re ever likely to sell.

The ’02 itself was actually instrumental in igniting Georg’s passion for BMWs in the first place – when he was around 16 or 17 his dad told him that you could swap an E30 M3 engine into a 2002, which intrigued him and got him hooked and that’s exactly why this project came about. “We went to the BMW Group Classic (museum) and I saw the 2002 with the Group 2 body kit – it was just in red, but with these same wheels – and that is when I fell in love with that particular model,” he smiles and it served as the inspiration for this whole build.

Step one was to locate a suitable ’02 for the project and here lady luck, fate and the BMW gods all joined forces to give Georg and his dad, with whom he has built all of his projects, a helping hand. “We were lucky!” he grins, “We found this 2002 by chance, one where the motor I wanted (the S14 from an E30 M3) was already fitted. The car was situated in Bochum, Germany; it’s about a six-hour drive which my father and I did together. Since the car was a project it was in bits upon purchase so we took a Mercedes Sprinter and a trailer to pick it up. There’s a funny story to that, actually: the car was initially on eBay as an auction as the guy had started his project and couldn’t be bothered to continue with it. We called the seller regardless of the auction and negotiated the price over the phone; of course, we checked the condition etc. beforehand and, looking back, it might have been bold but it all worked out. We agreed on a price of €10,000 and he removed it from the auction on eBay,” he says and that sounds like an absolute bargain for a 2002 with an S14 already swapped in. Seeing as that was to be a major part of the project, finding a car for sale with the engine already taken care of was a major win. This was the perfect jumping-off point for the build and, over the next two years, the unfinished 2002 was totally transformed, with Georg and his dad bringing their perfect vision to life.

“Since the car was already stripped, with the (original) body removed and the motor was in place, it made sense for us to work on the motor first. We ordered the body kit thereafter and while waiting made our way through the chassis and engine modifications,” explains Georg and the work undertaken at every stage of this build has never been anything less than incredibly extensive. The S14 needs no introduction and fitting one into an ’02, to create what the community likes to call an M2, results in a seriously potent little machine, but just running a stock S14 would not have sufficed for Georg and his dad and so this one has been treated to a selection of substantial upgrades.

First of all, this is not just a regular S14, this is the 2.5-litre unit from an M3 Sport Evo and beneath the surface, you will find a lighter DTM crankshaft, H-beam Pauter con rods, one-off Wössner pistons, BMW Motorsport DTM cams, a machined head with ported and polished intake and exhaust ports, increased compression, E34 M5 valves, Audi R8 coil packs, a custom larger sump, electric water pump and an MBE ECU to oversee everything. The engine’s crowning glory and what immediately gets all the attention when the bonnet is raised is that absolutely awesome original DTM carbon airbox and intake manifold, and a quick glance at Georg’s Insta videos confirms that it sounds every bit as good as it looks. The result of those seriously extensive mods is an extremely impressive 306hp, a hell of a lot of power in a car as small and light as the 2002, and that makes it insanely exciting to drive. The car runs an E30 M3 gearbox, which required the transmission tunnel to be enlarged for it to be able to fit, and there’s a 45% locking LSD at the rear. The whole package is just superb and the S14 looks like it was made for the ’02’s engine bay, fitting perfectly, and Georg has also gone the extra mile to make sure that presentation is on point by tidying up the engine bay, thus allowing you to enjoy that legendary four-pot in all its glory and it does look magnificent.

With the engine work taken care of, Georg and his dad now moved onto the next major part of the project, the bodywork. As the inspiration for the project was the Group 2 2002 that they had seen at BMW Group Classic, the plan was to create a road-going car with that awesome wide-arch Group 2 styling and so the next step was to order the body kit, which consists of that ultra-aggressive front bumper and the bolt-on arches. “It wasn’t all that easy to get the parts fitted in place as there were no pre-drilled holes to fit the body in place. Let’s just say, it paid for me to be a fully trained mechanic,” grins Georg and his talent and skills paid off in a big way as the end result is spectacular and while the kit may only be made up of the front bumper and arches, the visual drama they impart on the 2002’s body is insane. The front bumper is wide and wild, angular and aggressive with that central ‘V’ section, those air intakes and the lower splitter section, and it aligns with the front arches, which sweep up and over and then tuck down into the sills and not only do they endow the 2002 with an almost cartoonish muscularity, the bolts and the black gaskets add an element of contrast and give them even more definition. At the rear, meanwhile, Georg has removed the bumper and cleaned up the area to leave the ’02’s rump looking super smooth, with that exceedingly cool oval exhaust tip from the custom manifold-back exhaust system adding the finishing touch. With the Group 2 elements in place, the body needed a fresh coat of paint and while you might not think silver is an especially exciting choice of colour, this isn’t just any silver, oh no, this is Mercedes Brilliant Silver metallic, which Georg says gives a hint of golden glow in full sun, adding yet another element to the visual aspect of this build.

Of course, just adding wide arches to a 2002 would be a half-hearted job and that’s not how Georg and his dad do things. First off, the ’02 needed lowering, and it’s been fitted with Bilstein coilovers all-round with the rear having received some significant upgrades in the form of an E21 323i rear axle with welded strut domes and the setup has been modified for MacPherson struts with springs welded in. The drop that the suspension setup delivers is perfect and gets the car sitting low, with the arches perfectly placed over the wheels, and of course, the wheels count for so much here, because a) wide arches require some equally wide wheels to fill them out properly and b) sticking to the Group 2 vision meant that there was only one set that would suffice for Georg. “These are the wheels on the 2002 Group 2 racing car in the BMW Group Classic museum and it was those I wanted, I never considered any others,” he grins and while finding a set of BBS E50 magnesium splits couldn’t have been easy it was absolutely worth the effort as they make this build. These stout 17s measure 9.5”-wide up front and a hefty 11” at the rear, ensuring those arches are suitably stuffed, and the combo of those gold centres and polished stepped lips is a stunning one. The tight cross-spoke pattern makes it hard to see, but the BBSs are mounted over Porsche 993 911 Turbo 330mm discs with four-pot calipers up front while at the rear there are E21 323i single-piston calipers and 258mm discs, and this ensures he’s got more than enough braking power on tap when trying to tame 306hp.

Finally, we come to the interior, and it’s no less spectacular than any other part of this build and an insane amount of work has gone into this ’02’s cabin. The first thing you will notice are those magnificent Porsche 993 911 GT2 seats, which look absolutely awesome and are equipped with silver Schroth harnesses. Then you’ve got that Stack digital racing display custom-mounted with a carbon surround and there’s also a custom centre console with a carbon panel. The headlining, rear bench and dashboard have all been completely retrimmed in either Porsche blue leather or blue Alcantara and it makes the interior look so upmarket and feel so special. The steering wheel is a dished Momo item with an Alcantara rim and a BMW centre badge and there’s also a BMW M gear knob with an Audi TT surround and it all combines to create an insanely nice cabin that just looks awesome.

When we say that Georg and his dad spent two years working on this car we really mean that – Georg says that they basically worked on the car almost continuously for that period, only taking breaks for holidays like Christmas and New year, and that’s an incredibly impressive commitment to the project, but hard work pays off and the result is something truly exceptional. The fact that this was Georg’s first BMW, that it was inspired by a Group 2 2002, that he and his dad stayed so close and true to their vision for the build and the fact that, 18 years on, the 2002 is still a part of his car collection, still a part of his family, is something truly special. “All the modifications that we did were carried out with the original use in mind, for this to be a racing car as you’d find it in the museum but fully legal and on the road. My preferred style is racing technology for the road and my aim is always to get to the limit of what the TÜV test in Germany will allow. I’ve done that with all the cars I still own, no exceptions,” grins Georg and this modified BMW 2002 is proof of that. It looks awesome, it sounds awesome and we can only imagine how much fun it is to drive. This 2002 is the result of what you can achieve when you follow your dreams, it’s inspirational, beautifully built and, above all else, an absolutely awesome road legal, race car-inspired machine and it’s a project that Georg and his dad can be truly proud of.

Tech Spec: Modified BMW 2002

Engine & Transmission:

2.5-litre four-cylinder S14B25 from E30 M3 Sport Evo, lighter DTM crankshaft, H-beam Pauter connecting rods, one-off Wössner pistons, BMW Motorsport DTM camshafts, mechanical bucket tappets, machined cylinder head, enlarged and polished intake and exhaust ports, increased compression ratio, E34 M5 valves, genuine DTM carbon air box and intake manifold, Audi R8 ignition coils, custom-made enlarged sump, electronic water pump, E30 M3 exhaust manifold, homemade manifold-back exhaust system, MBE ECU, engine bay tidied. Getrag 265 five-speed manual gearbox from E30 M3, enlarged transmission tunnel, 45% locking LSD

Chassis:

9.5×17” (front) and 11×17” (rear) BBS E50 magnesium wheels with gold centres and polished stepped lips, 225/35 (front) and 255/45 (rear) Yokohama Advan Fleva tyres, Bilstein coilovers, E21 323i rear axle and welded suspension turrets, modified to MacPherson suspension struts, springs welded in, Porsche 993 911 Turbo four-piston calipers and 330mm discs (front) and E21 323i single-piston calipers and 258mm drilled discs (rear)

Exterior:

Full respray in Mercedes Brilliant Silver metallic, Group 2-look GRP front bumper and wide arches, rear bumper delete

Interior:

Porsche 993 911 GT2 seats, silver Schroth harnesses, interior retrimmed in Porsche blue leather and blue Alcantara, custom-mounted Stack digital race display with carbon fibre surround, custom carbon fibre centre console, Momo Motorsport steering wheel with BMW centre badge, BMW M gear knob, Audi TT gear shift surround

Lukas Wagiel’s childhood yearning for ’90s BMWs left a very clear imprint in his mind of what he wanted to create one day. And when he imported this one-owner E34 Touring from Germany to the UK, he had the perfect base with which to realise his vision and build his perfect modified BMW 540i. 

From Performance BMW. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: Scott Paterson

Rarity is a hugely desirable currency in the automotive world. Look at the Ferrari F40 – the bedroom wall poster for countless kids of the ’80s and ’90s, it’s an obscure and seldom-seen beast. Certainly not something you spot on the road every day. And how many of those were built? 1311 examples, all-in. Or take the case of the Lamborghini Miura, the original supercar – indeed, the car for which the very term ‘supercar’ was coined. Just 764 Miuras were built. As a total percentage of all the cars ever made, that’s… well, it’s a figure so tiny our calculator started smoking when we tried to figure it out.

But Lukas Wagiel has something rarer. You see, those kids growing up in the late 20th century weren’t all dreaming of jewel-like Italian toys. For Lukas, it was menacing and well-specced BMWs that formed the narrative of his automotive dreams. Fast-forward to the present day and the car you see him with here is super-obscure collector fodder: a 540i Touring with a manual gearbox, resplendent in Cosmos black metallic with factory M Tech styling and panoramic roof… just 499 cars were built in this unusual spec, and you can be sure that there are rather fewer of them around today.

“I was born in Poland, and BMWs were always in my nature,” he explains. “I used to live close to the German border when I was a teenager in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and I would always see E34s, E36s and E38s tuned up in proper German style. Low and wide, wheels with crazy-wide lips, big Schnitzer or Cobra square exhausts… and always in black, with black Hellas. It was the everyday head-turner look.” When Lukas’s uncle bought a green E34 535i manual, it immediately became the fledgling enthusiast’s dream car, and when his dad got himself a 328i Touring (again, manual) then that was it, the deal was sealed. Lukas’s desires would henceforth be Bavarian, it was tightly interwoven through the family history.

“When I moved to the UK, I had various different cars but a BMW was always on my wish list,” he continues. “My first UK BMW was an E39 530d Sport which I owned for three years, before buying an E46 325i Touring that was completely mint – the seller was an enthusiast who’d had it all resprayed, and it was sitting super-low on Bilsteins and H&R springs over BBS LMs.” It was a very cool Touring, but it had already been ‘done’ by the former owner and Lukas wanted something he could put his own stamp on – as well as having a little more power – and this box was ticked by the acquisition of an E46 M3 Convertible. It’s fair to say that his BMW adventures were blossoming healthily by this point, and joining the M3 Cutters forum spurred him on to carry out more and more mods… but ultimately, as the father of two children, the M3 was just proving too small to be practical. And what’s the logical answer when you need a larger vehicle to ferry the family about?

No, don’t say SUV. The correct answer is ‘estate car’. Don’t worry, Lukas fell into the same trap and bought himself a Mercedes ML63, followed by an X5 M Sport, but the yearning for a more traditionally shaped car with a petrol engine and a manual gearbox was proving too strong… and so the hunt was on. “At first I was looking for a two-door E30, as I had the idea to swap in an M60 or an M52,” he says, “but it quickly became apparent that in the UK you need to spend £8-10k, so I started looking at the German and Polish markets. I found a few E30s that looked interesting, but when I was on the way to see one my brother sent me a link to this E34 Touring, and I just had to take a look. It was a very rare spec, full history, and had only one owner from new!” The body was in average condition with a few scabs of rust, but it was all original with all the correct parts, receipts for its entire history, and with a healthy engine that pulled like a train. The gearbox was strong, it had a panoramic roof… everything about it screamed ‘Buy me!’, so that’s exactly what Lukas did.

“I left the 540i with my brother in Poland, where it had both front wings replaced and a full respray in its original Cosmos black metallic,” he says. “The diff was removed, refurbished, painted, and the ratio changed to 3.45, while the front brakes were removed and replaced with better, bigger ones from an E32 750i V12.” Some additional work was carried to get the rare wagon back to as-new condition, and then it was shipped to the UK where Lukas got it officially registered before taking care of some more belt-and-braces stuff. He changed the chain tensioner on the engine and it was also running a little hot – although not overheating – so he did some research and acquired an 80° thermostat and changed all the fluids. Then turning his attention to the chassis, Lukas replaced every single bush he possibly could with Powerflex items. And with it all legit, he started to think about modifications. Now, he didn’t want to go too nuts, given that he had a rare and original survivor that he’d just ploughed a load of money into bringing up to scratch. But at the same time, those teenage memories of OEM+ retro bruisers (back when they weren’t retro) were still looming large in his subconscious, and there were some things he just had to do.

Job one was to swap in the anti-roll bars from an E34 M5 because it makes sense with this platform, and then Lukas set about improving the exhaust system. Ordering a custom manifold and rear box from MTG Motorsport, the centre resonators were eliminated along with the cats, replaced by a welded X-pipe which provides a gloriously bassy rumble at high revs but isn’t too intrusive when he’s just trundling around town with the family on board. Then it was time to tackle arguably the most important part of the build: the wheels and suspension. With those vivid memories of youth demanding wide and shiny wheels filling out low-slung arches, there was a clear plan in place here. “I chose the new ‘Extreme Low’ BR Series coilovers from BC Racing to begin with,” he says, “and fitted a set of OZ Mito II wheels. Given the self-levelling rear suspension, it wasn’t exactly a quick-and-easy install, but with the help of Alex Wright (owner of the lowest static yellow E36 Coupé), we removed the self-levelling and looped the system. The front wasn’t easy either, as we had to cut and weld the new BC collars onto the struts, but we got there!” he grins.

After running static for a year or so, Lukas was keen to go lower to achieve the look he desired, although he was mindful that he didn’t want to be risking smashing his sump off on every journey, so a solution had to be formulated. The engine was duly raised up on SS Autowerks mounts and a custom steel sump guard fitted, and while he was bolting and unbolting stuff Lukas couldn’t stop thinking about his dream wheels. “It was a long route, I didn’t know I’d have to be building them from scratch,” he laughs. “After searching in vain for a set of AC Schnitzer centres, I found Neil (owner of the cleanest E36 M3 ’Vert in the UK – @m3_nut on Insta) who had a full set of ACS Type IIs – but the offset, sizes and colour weren’t right so I had to strip them all down. The centres were resprayed by The Wheel Specialists, and I ordered two inner barrels and two 4.25” lips from Felgenfuchs in Germany. The end results are amazing – the fronts are 9.75”-wide with 3.75” lips, and the rears are 11.25” with 4.25” lips. With just the right tyre stretch, the car drives amazing and is safe even at high speed.”

With his ideal wheels finally sorted, Lukas couldn’t help noticing that the car still wasn’t as low as he’d imagined, so there was only one thing for it: air. And given the high-quality coilovers that he’d already put so much effort into custom-fitting to the modified BMW 540i E34, he had the perfect base to build a system to his own specs. A set of bags were purchased from OCD, along with 3H management by Air Lift, and with the help of Carl at Studio Incar it was all fitted to get the wagon airing out like a champ. Carl had previously contributed to the project by fitting an Alcantara headlining, and now he was drafted in to build a full audio and air install. “I like to keep an OEM look, so the manifold, amp and air tank are hiding in the spare wheel well,” says Lukas. “I chose a Becker Indianapolis radio/CD, which uses the same amber-colour lights as standard so it blends with the dash and looks smart.”

The interior was further freshened up with a Nardi steering wheel, borrowed from an E36 and chosen as one of the few airbag-equipped options in the Nardi oeuvre. “A friend of mine found the wheel on an E36 forum,” he explains. “It was in average condition; the wood was immaculate but the leather was tired, so I sent it for a retrim. I also plan to change the light wood colour to a dark wood finish to match the rest of the interior, as I haven’t seen that done before.”

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It’s the attention to detail that really sets this build apart and the more you look the more you find. Everything Lukas has done has been carried out with the utmost care, all remaining respectful of the fact that this is a rare car that came to him in very original condition. It’s a cruiser, a family wagon, a show-stopper, and a legacy for his children. And in certain quarters, it turns more heads than a Ferrari F40 or a Miura ever could.

Tech Spec: Modified BMW 540i

Engine & Transmission:

4.0-litre V8 M60B40, Wokke chip, limiter removed, SS Autowerks engine mounts, custom MTG Motorsport exhaust manifold, custom de-cat exhaust system with MTG rear box. Getrag six-speed manual gearbox, E60 545i short-shift, differential refurbished and powder coated, 3.45 final drive

Power & Torque:

326hp and 354lb ft

Chassis:

9.75×18” (front) and 11.25×18” (rear) AC Schnitzer Type II Racing wheels with 3.75” (front) and 4.25” (rear) lips, 225/30 (front) and 245/30 (rear) tyres, BC Racing BR Series ‘Extreme Low’ coilovers with custom OCD airbags and Air Lift Performance 3H management, E34 M5 front and rear anti-roll bars, Powerflex bushes throughout, SS Autowerks strut brace, custom Swagier sump guard, E32 750i front brakes

Exterior:

Cosmos black metallic, OEM M Tech styling, smoked Hella headlights, new fog lights and OEM rear lights

Interior:

Black leather interior with Sport seats, retrimmed E36 Nardi airbag steering wheel, Alcantara headlining, Becker Indianapolis radio/CD, Hertz/Becker speaker upgrades and audio/air install by Studio Incar

For as long as there have been cars, patriotic British racers have been painting them British Racing Green. But what on Earth is this colour doing on a widebody E36 M3 in Texas? Bizarrely, once we delve into the back-story, it actually makes perfect sense…

From Performance BMW. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: Danh Phan

If we peek back through the swirling mists of time to 1903, and specifically to the Gordon Bennett Cup races of that year, we find the origins of British Racing Green. Motorsport at the time was illegal in England, so this UK leg of the cup was held in Ireland (which was then still part of the United Kingdom), and the British entrants painted their cars in shamrock green in honour of their Irish hosts. The theme stuck, and as countries began to adopt national racing colours (French Racing Blue, for example), the Irish green paradoxically became an intrinsically British thing.

Unsurprisingly then, it’s never been a hue particularly associated with BMWs. However, there is one notable exception: the E36 M3 GT. This limited-run special, built to homologate the E36 for the FIA European GT Series, is often mistaken for the more common Boston Green, but no – look closer and you’ll see that it’s the distinctive and non-metallic BRG that’s been inexplicably chosen.

This is a decision which fascinated Houston-based BMW superfan Alexander Jackson (aka AJ) (@bimerdude ), and it’s something he’s paid homage to here with his own M3 build. You see, he spent his youth watching E36 Touring Cars racing on his TV screen; “I grew up watching the DTM, seeing the M3s wiping the floor with the Mercedes 190Es,” he explains – and what better way to pay tribute to those memories than to paint his car in British Racing Green, a colour which neatly draws together the threads of race cars and homologation specials, while also being nerdy enough to appeal to true enthusiasts? This colour, of course, was never officially offered in the US market, so it serves as a cunning Easter egg for true BMW aficionados.

All of this suggests, quite rightly, that AJ hasn’t fallen into any of these decisions by accident. Indeed, he’s a lifelong Beemer obsessive, as his automotive history (and current alter-ego as ‘Bimmer Dude’ on YouTube) attests: “I’ve been into BMWs since the third grade,” he says. “My dad bought my mom a 1992 E30 325i Sedan, and I felt like it was the fastest car ever! I used to love getting picked up from school in it. The brand is special to me because of my dad, he bought me my first BMW in high school – a time when I knew nothing about cars. Since it was an older car it needed a lot of cosmetic work but it was mechanically sound; however, one weekend my best friend, Lloyd Baldemor, and I decided to drive it to the beach and it overheated on us halfway there. We got stranded and my dad had to come help us get it towed home. It sat in my parents’ garage for years, broken… that’s when I decided I would learn to work on cars myself.”

So the passion was ingrained, and so was the enthusiasm to get stuck in. After years of drooling over BMW builds in Euro Power magazine, it was inevitable that a broad spectrum of Bavarian rides would pass through the Jackson stable. When he got his first IT job (he now works as a network engineer), AJ treated himself to a 2000 328Ci, which ended up with all manner of neat styling twists and fancy wheels. Today, the driveway sports an E46 M3 as the daily driver, an E39 530i Sport – his wife’s daily – and, of course, the British Racing Green street weapon we see here. It’s a 1999 E36 M3 Convertible, originally chosen because the E36 reminded him of the one his dad had bought him all those years ago. “It needed a lot of work, but the drivetrain was solid,” AJ recalls. “Plus it pulled like a freight train! I found it at a used car dealership that always had classic BMWs for sale; it was a trade-in car, the interior is was in horrible shape and the convertible top barely worked… not to mention the fact that the ragtop had a ton of small tears. It leaked water every time it rained!”

But our hero saw only potential here, and he got busy rectifying the woes and making everything brighter straight away. It’s one of those projects that starts out as a mild resto and transforms into a full-on street-and-show effort; not simply a case of fixing the faults, but cranking the dial up to the next level. Job one was to spruce up that rank interior, which was deftly dealt with in short order by the addition of a pair of tasty Recaro SR-6 seats (“I feel like every old BMW needs some type of Recaro seat,” grins AJ), and of course, it was necessary to stop that pesky water ingress. The solution here has been quite a radical one, essentially by stopping the convertible being a convertible at all. AJ was somehow lucky enough to track down a super-rare OEM-option aluminium hardtop, and in the process of fitting it, he stripped out and threw away all of the mechanisms and wiring for the drop-top, thereby saving a handy 115kg-ish of weight.

The next thing to ‘fix’ was the fact that the M3 was an automatic. Not a problem to many, sure, but… well, it’s a question of purity, isn’t it? AJ’s aspirations were fuelled by those childhood because-race-car vibes, so there was no question that he’d have to bolt a manual ’box in there sooner rather than later. A Clutch Masters Stage 3 clutch and 11lb flywheel found their way in at the same time, and the original auto-spec LSD axle was retained as AJ prefers the torquier ratio. And since the engine had to come out for the transmission swap, it would have been rude not to show it a little love before dropping the big-six back in, right? AJ rolled up his sleeves and set about massaging things to improve the S52’s vital stats: a ported and polished head with ARP studs was bolted on to ensure consistent compression, and the combination of an M50 manifold and Dinan big-bore throttle body work together to optimise efficiency. The engine was remote dyno-tuned by TRM Tuning in Atlanta, via Mayco Performance in Houston and, with its new mods along with a stainless Supersprint system (chosen for its free-flowing nature as well as its bassy, non-raspy sound) it now makes an impressive 257whp and 238lb ft wtq.

As he was busy stalking through the spec list like a ruthless sniper, the chassis mods were the next target in AJ’s sights. The ageing suspension was unceremoniously ripped out and replaced by a bespoke set of CX Racing coilovers. “These have custom-valved dampers from BC Racing, along with Swift springs to ensure the suspension remains planted,” he explains. “I also fitted custom monoball tie rod ends, Whiteline front control arm bushes, Powerflex rear subframe bushes and diff mounts, as well as solid monoball trailing arm bushes and differential bolt bracing from Garagistic.” The brakes are pretty fancy too, being a Brembo BBK from a 996-generation Porsche 911. With all of this belt-and-braces stuff taken care of, AJ then set his sights a little higher. Or, more specifically, wider.

“I’m not usually a fan of wide-body kits,” he admits, “as they often don’t follow the body lines of the car. But when this Pandem kit came out for the E36 M3, it reminded me so much of the racers I grew up watching – so I went for it! I ordered the kit and installed it all myself in my garage, filming it for the Bimmer Dude YouTube channel.” Everything was then lovingly slathered in that 312-code British Racing Green paint, and the results really are magnificent. The race car heritage, the aggression of the girth, the combination of a relatively sober shade and some seriously ostentatious lines, it all adds up to something impressive and, frankly, slightly scary.

Those fat arches needed to be filled with something equally chunky, and AJ was ahead of the curve here: “I wanted a wheel that was widely unknown,” he says, “something that reminded you of others but was also clearly unique. What I’ve chosen is a set of Dinan Enduro three-piece wheels, custom-specced to 10.5×17” at the front and 12.5×17” at the rear. Only 50 sets of these wheels were ever made by DP Motorsport, a specialist Porsche tuning outfit, built for E34s equipped with Dinan turbos. My inspiration was to gain a Time Attack-inspired look for the streets; a way to make a statement whether standing still or in motion.” It’s fair to say he’s achieved this goal, and with that puzzle piece clicked into place, the overall outlook is pretty bright. Sitting in the driver’s seat, it’s the perfect fusion of retro-cool and modern modding. “I generally buy used parts and recondition them, and build the interior around the seat design,” AJ explains, and those Recaros make for a great centrepiece alongside the brutalist Cliqtuning chassis-mounted gear shifter and racer-chic deep-dish steering wheel. It’s in this up-and-at-’em position that AJ can enjoy his favourite element of the whole car. No, it’s not the wide-body arches, or the iconic colour, or the screaming S52. It’s that rare-as-hens’-teeth aluminium hardtop. “It gives the widebody E36 M3 an open and airy feel when driving without actually having the roof open,” he reasons. “It’s the most fun you can have in a car without the top down! And it also stiffens the chassis quite a bit…”

As AJ outlined in his Bimmer Dude videos when he fitted the Pandem kit, the build is dedicated to his late father, who sadly passed away with cancer around that time. AJ has a whole wish list to work through to add further kudos to that legacy: a full roll-cage, a turbo, an interior retrim, six-pot Brembos, there’s a long way to go. But this is more about the journey than the destination. And with that iconic paint colour determining a consistent thread of motorsport thrills, this is one ride which is going to keep getting more and more thrilling.

Tech Spec: Widebody E36 M3

Engine & Transmission:

3.2-litre straight-six S52B32, ported and polished decked cylinder head, ARP head studs, Dinan intake with heat shield, M50 intake manifold, Dinan big-bore throttle body, Supersprint exhaust manifold, mid-pipe and axle-back stainless exhaust system, TRM custom dyno tune. ZF Type C five-speed manual gearbox, Clutch Masters Stage 3 clutch, 11lb flywheel, auto-spec LSD

Power:

257whp and 238lb ft wtq

Chassis:

10.5×17” ET-26 (front) and 12.5×17” ET-56 (rear) Dinan Enduro three-piece wheels with 275/40 (front) and 315/35 (rear) Toyo Extensa HP tyres, CX Racing coilovers with custom-valved BC Racing dampers and 12k/14k Swift springs, custom monoball tie rods, monoball trailing arm bushes, Whiteline front control arm bushes, Powerflex rear subframe bushes and diff mounts, Porsche 996 911 big brake kit

Exterior:

British Racing Green (312) paint, OEM aluminium hardtop, Rocket Bunny Pandem wide-body kit, ZWING bash bar, Depo/ZKW headlights

Interior:

Recaro SR-6 seats, Sparco L320 steering wheel, Cliqtuning chassis-mounted gear lever, custom Android in-dash OBC