This car is, in no uncertain terms, a car culture legend.
However, I’m not going to bore you with the details of Mike Burrough’s 1985 BMW 535i, because I don’t see a reason to. Don’t worry about the fact that it took the internet by storm in 2010 on the Stanceworks forums, when Mike debuted its first look: a chop-top, gold-plated Ronal Turbo split rims and a patinated, war plane-inspired look.
I also needn’t bother mentioning the garage fire which consumed the E28 way back in April 2011. Two years of work up until that point, various tools and Mike’s other possessions went up in flames.
It goes without saying that the fire wasn’t the end of Mike’s journey with his trusty BMW, because you can see it before your very eyes in these pictures. While the chassis may have irreversibly warped during the inferno, the body panels were straight and true (enough), albeit with a fresh coat of carbon fibre on top.
If you, like me, spent much of your time on the automotive internet when you were fresher-faced and wide-eyed, then you’ll know what happened next. Hours of cutting, grinding, and fabricating – including a spaceframe chassis – would culminate in a two-door, coupé 5 Series.
Obviously, that wasn’t the end of the process. I won’t pester you with the inspiration behind the Group-5-style body kit, because it’s clear to see elements of the Zakspeed Capri, Kremer K3 and BMW E21 in the car’s outrageous box arches and front air dam, plus a set of genuine, barely-contained Porsche 962 BBS E57 wheels.
Undo the numerous Dzus fasteners for a quick look at the naked shell, and you’ll soon enough notice the extreme drivetrain rework. The star of the show is the VAC Motorsports-built, high-compression M5 S38 engine, sitting behind the front axle.
Should I bother mentioning that Mike has paired the 500hp inline-six with some of the best accessories going, such as the CSF Race triple-pass R1 radiator behind under the sharknose, or the ATL fuel cell in the back? How about the JE pistons and forged crankshaft?
I don’t think I need to, in the same way that I needn’t mention the Kirkey race seats, air-jack system, H&R coilover suspension, or the outrageous six-to-one exhaust system, which takes the place of the passenger seat.
No, I don’t really need to mention any of that, because chances are that you’re already aware of the car’s history. This is a car that was built when I was still in school, spending my lunch breaks reading about it and vicariously living through Mike’s experience.
So why bother regurgitating a spec sheet for you when this is a car that transcends such basic information? It’s a car that shaped a generation, has entertained multiple generations, and whose story ought to be told for generations to come.
This isn’t so much a feature as me paying my respects to a car that shaped my childhood – a car so revered it’s known by a name, not a model code. A he, not an it.
No, I won’t say his name. There’s no need, because you know it anyway.
Russttttyyyyyyy wooooo !!!