Bimmerfest East: The Show

Spend the whole day on the road, more issues than a congressional budget committee meeting, packed like sardines in an E36.  You'd hope the show itself would be worth it.  Thankfully, it was more than worth it.  Bimmerfest East was absolutely incredible, with everything from classic old-school BMW's - before it was an "anything" series, xDrive whatever, no-dipstick complicated lease machines up to the latest and greatest M cars, stuffed with superchargers and sets of wheels worth more than my car.  There was something for everyone, and despite the heat radiating off the asphalt everyone had a great time.  I walked around for hours, snapping pictures, shooting some videos, and soaking it all in.

A blue E36 M3 coupe, looking clean and original - well, except under the hood that is.

An Active Autowerke supercharger setup, a very popular choice on a lot of straight-six BMW's.  The reasoning is straightforward - it's a (relatively) simple installation, low maintenance, and makes good power.  This kit increases the S52's power from 240bhp/240lb-ft stock, to 360bhp and 300lb-ft for a Stage 1 kit - 7.0psi of boost.  Stage 2 adds a front-mount intercooler, more boost, and a different tune for even more power.  Quite a little sleeper, here!

One of 5,700 or so BMW Z8's produced between 1999-2003, around half of which were imported to the US.  The Z8 was a largely handbuilt (and massively expensive) halo sports car that seems to have been largely forgotten by now.  Power comes from the E39 M5's S62 4.9L V8, with 400 horsepower.  A 6-speed manual, rear wheel drive, and an aluminum chassis complete the package.  I haven't seen one of these in ages.

An E36 on BMW Style 19's is always a good choice.  This is another case of "the wheels make the car."  It doesn't take a whole lot to make an E36 look great, anyway.

This E34 Touring (wagon) looks rough from the outside, but it's got a secret under the hood.  While US-spec E34 wagons only ever came with straight-six power, this wagon has the drivetrain from an E34 540i-6 swapped in.  Which means BMW's 4.0L 286bhp V8, 6-speed manual transmission shared with the E34 M5, and short final drive ratio.  A set of rather large front brakes with cross-drilled rotors is a nice offset to the extra power.  I would bet this is fun to drive!

Not a common sight - under the hood of an Alpina B7.  BMW's M division has never seen fit to make a performance version of BMW's largest sedan, but that's never stopped Alpina from stuffing the big Bimmer full of blown horsepower.  The E65 Alpina B7 was based on the 750i, but actually used a modified 745i motor.  A new crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons and fuel injectors support the added atmosphere of the compact side-mounted supercharger, all of which adds up to 500bhp and 516 lb-ft of torque.  The newest B7 just uses a tweaked version of the standard 750i's twin-turbo V8, and it's a little faster and better on gas than these old supercharged ones, but it's just not as cool.

Alpina doesn't just stuff engine bays full of horsepower, they also do their own thing to interiors - something that's never really been an M-car strong suit, actually.  The matte-finish wood trim and Alpina-specific gauges let you know you're in something a little different.  Very cool.

What a menacing car.  Another cool Alpina detail: those unmistakable wheels.  The 21-spoke Alpina design is a classic; these have been powdercoated gunmetal grey by the owner.  What's different?  Well, notice there's no valve stem?  It's facing into the center of the wheel, under the hub cap, and provides air to the tire through a single hollow spoke.  Too damn cool.

Ever seen a Laguna Seca Blue Z3 M Coupe?  Me neither.  That's probably because there are 9 of them.  This is a last year of production, S54 (315bhp, individual throttle body) powered example, too.  I still think these are some of the absolute coolest, best looking cars ever made.  Your mileage may vary.

This menacing E92 M3 backed up it's beefy stance with the presence of an ESS Supercharger kit under the hood.

If you're gonna have a seat, it might as well be on a BBS wheel!

The standard answer to any engine-related question is always "LS1 swap!"  This guy is one step ahead.  License plate: "M3 LOL."  Can't say I've seen a Corvette-powered 3-series before.

When this is the front view of an E30 325is, I'm kinda curious what exactly is under the hood.

Oh, holy big turbo!  Not only that, but this car has an M30B35 (535i motor, 3.5L single-cam straight six) swap, an E34 5-speed, and yes that turbo is a Holset HX40 from a Dodge Cummins.  You can tell there's the distinct look of home-brew here, and I love it.  The owner estimates power currently at somewhere in the mid-300's - it isn't tuned all the way, so it's only pushing about 8 pounds of boost.  At 18 it should be somewhere in the 500's.

From the back, it's hard to tell what's up.  I'd bet this car is two and a half handfuls of power-on oversteer!

A real, actual BMW (E36) M3 Lightweight.  It's not known how many of these were actually made (somewhere between 85-120 total), but the M3 LTW was basically the bone BMW threw to those actually racing their M3's.  It was between 200-300lbs lighter than a normal M3 - no A/C, sunroof, leather seats, radio, no insulation or spare tire or tool kit, aluminum door panels, etc.  They also came with a trunk full of warranty-voiding goodies, like an oil pan with dual pickups, strut and X-braces, and that high-rise wing.  And they all had the M checkered flag vinyl, too.

An E21 3-series Bauer Convertible.  It's in rough shape, but it's a runner and a very rare car.

There is considerably more to this well-preserved E21 3-series than meets the eye.  Although what meets the eye is pleasing: no bumpers, Alpina vinyl, fresh white paint, a healthy drop, and a visible color-matched roll cage.  But once you peak under the hood you begin to understand the depth of the insanity this car possesses.

What are we looking at?  Well, for one thing: this is an M30 big six.  E21's only ever came with four-cylinder engines; you can tell it's a tight fit - see how tight the distributor on the front of the valve cover fits against the back of the radiator?  And while an M30 swap into a light, stripped E21 is crazy enough - this isn't a normal M30.  It's the M106B34 variant, which powered the E23 745i.  Basically, it's the regular 3.5L single-cam I6 with a single turbocharger on the passenger side.  This one is fitted with variable boost control, adjusted via a knob in the interior in front of the shifter, from between 8 and 17 pounds of boost.  All in a car that weighs in at 1900lbs!  It sounds nuts, too.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dg5wWgXGYk

A BMW 2002 with fender flares?  Normally I'd shake my head and utter something obnoxious about purism, ruining a classic, etc.  But it's actually very well executed - I quite like it.  This '02 is owned by the same gentleman with the crazy E21 above.

A trio of new-school performance BMW's somehow looks almost mundane at a show like this.  Almost like, "Oh look.  Another V8 M3."

It's always the good-condition old school BMW's that catch my eye, and these are three of my favorites - E24 6-series, E28 5-series, and E30 3-series.

E28 Alpina B9 3.5, an old-school modified 5-series.  I really like the individual headlight wipers, too.

E36 M3 Vader seats, re-dyed eye-punching bright red, in a white E30 M3.  Very cool.

Under the hood of a Dinan 850i.  Oh, yes - with twin turbochargers on that V12.  The install is so clean and stealthy I almost didn't notice, but then you see all that extra plumbing.  It just looks like a normal 850i from the outside; except for the Dinan badge you'd never guess this car makes 525bhp and 589 lb-ft of torque.  It also has a built automatic transmission with a high-stall converter, dual intercoolers, a shift kit, a 3.64:1 limited slip rear end, full suspension, etc.  Retail price new in 1991?  Well, $92,100 for the 850i, and a total of $123,780 with all the Dinan bits.  This car was built for PGA Pro Mark Calcavecchia.

The first 1-Series M Coupe I've seen in person.  It's not quite so aggressive looking in black; you might walk past it thinking it's a regular 135i.

However, it's just as dramatic in real life in that sort of metallic burnt orange all the press cars are shown in.  Rawr.  This is a car with some serious presence and visual appeal.  I love it.  Makes that E46 M3 CS next to it look like a wallflower.

An original (E9) 3.0 CSi - these cars are just so beautiful.  The Alpina wheels are fantastic, too.  Weird to see a flagship BMW in British Racing Green, but it absolutely works here.

Not sure who let a Porsche into the BMW meet, but I suppose this one is alright!

These two wide-bodied E30's were both put together by "Slightly Over-Built."  Which is a pretty funny name for a shop, especially when you look under the hood.

Under the hood of the black one...  S52, giant 80mm single turbo, custom intake manifold.  Slightly is a strong understatement.

And under the hood of the white one.  Again, S52, custom intake manifold, a giant (but older) 80mm single turbo - a pretty good formula for a drag car.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaB_Z-bzSOk

I managed to luck out and be directly behind them when they both started up.  And then bounced off the launching rev limiter.  The sound these cars make is just absurd.

Turner Motorsports was one of the sponsors, and they brought a collection of impressive cars with them.  This was far and away the craziest, though.  A flawless E30 M3 with quite a few tricks up it's sleeves.

In the trunk, a fuel cell with an external Aeromotive fuel pump, cross bracing, and Moton remote resevoirs for the coilovers.  Interesting...

Inside, lots of trick custom pieces, like the suede-wrapped wheel, Motec digidash, etc.  But it's what's under the hood that's most shocking.

A V10 M5 engine.  The 5.0L S85 V10's 507bhp was enough to push the 4,100lb E60 M5 to 60mph in 4.7 seconds - I'd imagine it's a considerably shorter wait in the 2,800lb E30 M3.  This one also had a traction control dial in the interior, probably has launch control built into the stand-alone management as well.  Everything about this car was utterly over the top.  Plus that hole in the hood, that's a neat touch.

This is how the ZR-1 hood should've turned out.  So menacing!

A Frozen Gray E92 M3, one of 30 sold in the US.  This is the actual factory paint color, a sort of matte-silver/gray.  This one has some aftermarket additions, and it looks fantastic.  Interesting fact: the entire run of 30 Frozen Gray M3's in the US sold out in 12 minutes.

Under the hood of an E90 M3 Sedan with the Active Autowerke supercharger setup.  This is one of the cleanest supercharger installs I've ever seen; the entire blower is packaged in that black cover on the right side.  This setup makes an incredible 625bhp@8,100rpm and 450lb-ft@6,000rpm, on only 7.5 pounds of boost - an increase of more than 200bhp over stock.

Active Autowerke was another sponsor at the show, so they brought out some truly fantastic cars to display.  This E46 M3 has an AAW supercharger setup, boasting 535bhp and 380lb/ft at 7.5psi on their Stage II system.

How often do you see an E23 7-series, much less the turbocharged top-of-the-line 745i?  Only at a big BMW show.  A lot of people think the 335i was BMW's first gas-turbo production car; but the 2002 Turbo and the 745i came before it by a few decades.  Very cool car.

Absolutely perfect stance on this blue Z3M Coupe; someone should give the owner a gold star.  So aggressive, but no crazy cambered-out fitment and super-stretched tires.  This is just the way I like it.

There is so much right with this car I don't even know where to begin.  For starters, E36 slammed and cambered on gorgeous Forgeline alloys, roofrack, big front splitter.  Girl driven, too.  Then you get to the fact that it's a 325i Automatic(!) with a built transmission, 220k miles, built and boosted motor with 320whp, and her daily driver is apparently a VR6-swapped Mk2 Golf.  For a daily driver.  I want to meet this person!

Another gorgeous E9 3.0CSi Coupe.

VF Engineering's absolutely wild widebody, supercharged M3.  This is the same car that was featured on The Smoking Tire a while back, all 620 horsepower of it.  The absolutely over-the-top widebody stance and matte green paint makes it hard to miss, too.

And finally, the last car I'll feature here, to hopefully prevent your modem from catching fire for loading all these photos.  A great looking E34 sedan on the outside, but it's whats under the hood that is the most alarming part here.

Not just a big-turbo build, the level of detail under the hood is absolutely insane.  Black powdercoat and purple anodized bits, custom intake manifold, and check out the heat insulation around the turbo - it's all the small things!

Finally, all the class trophy winners.  I think this picture says just about everything you need to know about real BMW enthusiasts.  They run the entire spectrum, from the totally flawless original BMW 1600 on the far right, to the insanely modified, supercharged E92 M3 Coupe on the left.  Not a lot of brand enthusiasts have this wide of a spread of fanatics - there are crazy enthusiasts for every kind of BMW.  Sure, Chevy enthusiasts have lots of treasured models, but you don't see Beretta car shows and Citation awards.  How cool is this?

This isn't even close to all the pictures I shot at Bimmerfest East; just picking which to showcase in this article was quite difficult.  If you want to see more photos from Bimmerfest, there's an album of all of them available on Facebook below, so check it out.  It's hosted on the C.R.A.V.E. page, which is a new pet project of mine, so if you're in the Carolina region and are interested in a car club that welcomes all enthusiasts with open arms, check us out!  And if you missed Bimmerfest East this year, you'll want to catch it next year.  Their website can be found here.  Till next time!

Facebook album - Bimmerfest East 2011 Pictures by James