OK, some of you guys guessed right, the car my friend Eric and I will be driving is, well let's be honest, probably the nuttiest street legal BMW M Coupe in existence in North America.
What used to be a sedate S52 engined M Coupe is not a Carbon fiber clad animal powered by a 600HP racing V8. What could possibly go wrong?
This M Coupe is the dream of Dr. Eric Brum who has owned it from new and steadily built it up to what you will see here. Eric is a long time Axis reader and of course I was ecstatic when he asked me to co-drive the car in this year's One Lap of America. How could you say no to driving such a mad car?
OK let's go over some of the details starting with the body:
- Carbon Fiber hood saving about 55 lbs
- Carbon Fiber roof saving about 40 lbs (from the original with sunroof)
- Carbon Fiber front bumper cover with splitter and additional cooling ducts
- Grand-Am spec Carbon Fiber rear wing by Crawford Composites
- Carbon Fiber front and rear quarter panels
Now some of the underneath bits:
- CCW 18x9.5 and 18x 11 wheels
- Michelin PS2 265/35/18 and 315/30/18 tires (1 lap requires street tires)
- Rotora 6 piston 355x32 and 4 piston 330x34 brakes
- TC Kline Double adjustable shocks and camber plates
- H&R swaybars
- Ireland Engineering Subframe Bushings and rear Toe Adjusters
- RRT front and rear subframe reinforcements
Now the juiciest bit, the engine:
- Dinan Built race spec BMW S62
- Custom 3 ring lightweight composite Mahle pisons
- race spec camshafts, billet steel crankshaft, solid lifters, velocity stacks, Carillo rods, valve springs and valve retainers
- Dry sump side mounted on oil pan
- Engine management and traction control via Pectel SQ6 ECU
Transmission and final drive:
- TR2CD racing clutch by OS Giken
- Super Lock LSD by OS Giken
- Two Setrab SET125 oil coolers
- Dual PAss racing spec radiator
Shawn Bayliff of Trinity Motorsports in Ohio. A racer with experience in Daytona Prototype and Porsche Cup car preparation, Shawn is the man who installed the engine in the car. He is also responsible for the carbon Fiber fabrication.
Dusty Renteria, Dinan Engineering, lead the engine building and tuning. His goal was power combined with the reliability needed to complete the almost 3600 miles of the One Lap.
Neel Vasavada, Apex Speed Technology, is responsible for managing electronic integration, including ECU, ABS and traction control.
These guys were asked to produce a lightweight BMW Z3 M Coupe with 600 hp from a bulletproof engine while still maintaining street drivability, a comfortable interior, and the original exterior design elements...an M Coupe perfectly suited for One Lap of America, the descendant of the legendary Cannonball Rally and the most grueling week of racing in America. This year One Lap will bring drivers in street-legal racecars from Tire Rack Headquarters in Indiana, through West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama before returning north to Illinois and Indiana for a variety of time trials, drag racing, autocrossing, and skid pad challenges...all in the span of one week!
Like I said, what could possible go wrong? The engine is supposed to be fired up this week, as soon as it does we'll try to bring you at least a sound clip so, stay tuned. In the meantime revel in the huge build gallery after the jump.
Dusty Renteria, Dinan Engineering, lead the engine building and tuning. His goal was power combined with the reliability needed to complete the almost 3600 miles of the One Lap.
Neel Vasavada, Apex Speed Technology, is responsible for managing electronic integration, including ECU, ABS and traction control.
These guys were asked to produce a lightweight BMW Z3 M Coupe with 600 hp from a bulletproof engine while still maintaining street drivability, a comfortable interior, and the original exterior design elements...an M Coupe perfectly suited for One Lap of America, the descendant of the legendary Cannonball Rally and the most grueling week of racing in America. This year One Lap will bring drivers in street-legal racecars from Tire Rack Headquarters in Indiana, through West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama before returning north to Illinois and Indiana for a variety of time trials, drag racing, autocrossing, and skid pad challenges...all in the span of one week!
Like I said, what could possible go wrong? The engine is supposed to be fired up this week, as soon as it does we'll try to bring you at least a sound clip so, stay tuned. In the meantime revel in the huge build gallery after the jump.
