There’s just something about an old BMW done right. Not the over-polished, barely-driven kind, but ones that have clearly been lived with. Built on driveways, taken apart in car parks, put back together with your mates, a bit of stress, and a lot of stubbornness. Jake’s 1976 BMW 2002 Turbo-inspired restomod is exactly that kind of car.
At the Risenation Hall of Fame 2K26 in Belgium, it stopped me dead in my tracks. The Friday leading up to the event is when all the cars get prepped for the show, and Jake‘s BMW – which he had brought all the way from Redditch in the UK – stood out in the sea of VAG builds. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but they all start to blur into one after a while. I knew I had to take a closer look.
Jake didn’t fall into the scene by chance. “I’ve loved cars as long as I can remember,” he says. “Most of it comes from my dad. I grew up surrounded by cool cars and bikes. I’ve just never known anything else.”
That kind of upbringing doesn’t leave you. Passing tools as a kid quickly turns into getting stuck in yourself. “I’ve been messing with cars for 15 years easy. Probably longer if you count annoying my dad in the garage. I was working on stuff before I could even drive.”
Even now, the obsession hasn’t slowed. Alongside this build, Jake has been working on a BMW E30 project with his wife, which is close to completion. After that, he admits the next car will probably be something spontaneous. “It’ll be a random Facebook Marketplace impulse buy because I think it could look cool,” he says. But the ultimate goal is clear: one day, building an E9 in full Group 2 race car style.
The 2002’s story began in April 2018, when Jake bought what was originally a BMW 1502. It was an Italian import from Rome, later brought into Scotland, and Jake drove it around 350 miles home to start the project. At that point, it was a fairly standard classic. Four years later, it had been completely transformed into a 2002 Turbo-inspired restomod.
Like many builds that mean something, it wasn’t done alone. In fact, the process reads more like a group effort than a solo project. “So many people helped,” Jake explains. “Jordan, Daz, Luke, Adam, Eliot… just to name a few.” It started in the most relatable way possible. Pulling the engine in a car park. “We got a right telling off from my landlord,” Jake laughs. “That’s a funny highlight looking back.”
Underneath, the BMW has been restored and reinforced to cope with its newfound power. The suspension setup’s a bit of a mix. There’s E30 Air Lift Performance air bags up front, Mk5 Golf bags out back, and custom shortened shocks to make it all work. Braking has been upgraded at the front with 4-pot calipers and larger E21 discs.
Then there are the wheels, which, for Jake, are the most meaningful part of the entire build: a set of BBS E30s, sized 15×8.5-inch at the front and 15×9-inch at the rear, wrapped in Yokohama tyres. “I’ve always wanted these wheels,” he says. “I actually took a picture of them on someone else’s car at a show years ago, hoping I’d find a set one day. Now I own those exact wheels on my dream build.”
Visually, it leans hard into the iconic 2002 Turbo look. Alpine White 3 paint, box flares, front air dam, rear wing, proper decals – it’s all there. The shell was taken right back to bare metal before being repainted, and from what Jake says, it definitely needed it. Aside from the fibreglass flares and front air dam, the car largely retains its original steel identity.
Inside, it’s a blend of vintage motorsport feel and modern touches. The Recaro LX front seats are from a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution I, now retrimmed in an M Sport-inspired tartan pattern, while the rear bench has been removed altogether. There are also TRS 4-point harnesses and a Safety Devices half roll cage.
The original dash has been flocked, and the gauges within are retro-styled. They look period, but they’ve got modern features like GPS speed tracking and even a built-in 0-60mph timer. It’s the kind of detail you only really notice once you’re looking properly.
The biggest transformation lies under the bonnet.
Here sits an M42B18 from an E30 318is, fully rebuilt with uprated bearings and a multi-layer steel head gasket to reduce compression. Internally, it remains largely stock, but forced induction changes everything. A Garrett GT3271 turbo, paired with a Turbosmart wastegate and blow-off valve, delivers the boost, while a full carbon plenum from RHD Developments handles intake duties. An E30 alloy radiator manages cooling, and power is sent through the matching 318is gearbox and propshaft. The result is around 320hp and roughly 290ft-lb of torque – plenty of performance for a lightweight chassis.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though. “Two turbo failures,” Jake admits. “One was my fault. I took the oil feed from the wrong place. The other was a genuine fault. And we had a bad ECU that had us completely stumped for ages.” Add in the usual snapped bolts and unexpected setbacks, and it’s clear this was never an easy build.
Despite all that, the car’s gone on to win multiple trophies. But talking to Jake, that doesn’t really seem like the main thing. The real story is in where the car came from.
When Jake originally bought the car as a stock 1502, a few rumours were floating around – that it had been sitting in a lavender field in Italy at one point, and that it had been used in a denim advert after coming to the UK. To Jake, they sounded like stories you couldn’t fully believe – until he started pulling the car apart. “There were bits of dried lavender behind the door cards,” he says. “And I found a denim tag under the rear seat.” Then came the best one. A hidden gem behind the dash – a parking ticket from Rome, dated 1977, and showing the car’s original registration number.
That’s the kind of thing you can’t fake. Just imagine being a fly on the wall during that advert. I’d love to see it.
