It’s funny how things have a natural tendency to come together. I didn’t exactly know who ADRO Inc. was until 2022, when I first shot a G81 BMW M3 Touring that Studie had curated for a customer. The purple wagon was decked out with the best upgrade parts you could ever add to your M-car wish list, but there was one thing that stood out above everything else: its front bumper.
It took me a few seconds to realize that what I was looking at was the same bumper I’d seen on Instagram, fitted to an M4 over in the US. That car had instantly stopped my mindless scrolling and made me utter the words, “Damn, now these M3s and M4s can actually be fixed!” Of course, this was in reference to the controversial grille BMW gave the G-series, in theory a nod to the 303s of the 1930s but a curious stylistic choice that took a while for enthusiasts to digest, if they ever did.
Fast forward almost four years, and I’m still in disbelief that not only are we here chronicling our automotive adventures on Turnpike, but that we also have ADRO as one of our official partners. Add to that the fact that I’ve been able to create my own take on a G83 M4 CS Convertible with ADRO products, and it all just fills me with immense joy.
It was during the hectic build of Project Drop Top for this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon that Alec and I had the opportunity to fly over to Seoul, South Korea, to spend a few days with the guys at ADRO. The idea was to understand what the company is striving to achieve because, while aesthetics seem to be the primary goal for many aero manufacturers, ADRO approaches things very differently.
It quickly became obvious that every single piece ADRO designs, no matter what car it’s intended for, is dictated first and foremost by functionality. Take the G8X V2 front bumper as an example. Look it up on ADRO’s website, and it’s presented alongside CFD-backed downforce and drag figures. While every product carries ADRO’s signature design language, created by a team of ex-F1 designers, each one is then refined through Computational Fluid Dynamics to deliver a measurable performance benefit. And that applies to every vehicle ADRO supports.
Then comes the production itself. After two decades of covering the Japanese modified car scene, I’d always assumed the aftermarket was stuck using fiberglass-reinforced plastic. I mean, even the Nismo Z-tune bumper on my R34 Skyline GT-R is manufactured in FRP. I literally have nightmares of looking at it after a highway run and finding yet more tiny white chips where the paint has been blasted away. Then there’s the lack of flexibility; harder scrapes or impacts instantly produce hairline cracks visible through the paint.
To combat this, ADRO uses injection-molded polypropylene – PP for short – effectively creating the same quality as an OEM bumper, complete with the extra physical flexibility you’d expect. On top of that, and this was something I really appreciated after seeing the back side of my new M4 bumper, the precision of the molds allows ADRO to integrate every factory mounting point, right down to the parking sensor mounts and even the compressed polystyrene impact absorber. Forget getting a call from your body shop telling you the bumper fitment is so far off that they need to reshape the mounting points, shave material from one side, and build it up on the other. It’s seamless, OEM-level fitment every time.
Other than PP, every other aero component ADRO produces is made from the highest-quality pre-preg carbon fiber, the same material used for the rest of the package fitted to Project Drop Top – including the front lip spoiler, side skirts, and rear diffuser finisher. The hood, meanwhile, combines a pre-preg carbon fiber outer skin with an underlying Kevlar structure for added rigidity.
One of the coolest parts of our visit was walking through the design studio, where ADRO’s team of Korea-based designers (there’s also another team at ADRO USA in Los Angeles) are constantly sketching ideas for future projects.
We even got to see ADRO’s prototype Porsche 718 Cayman aero kit, which, along with a redesigned front bumper, featured rapid-prototyped vented front fenders wrapped in a shade of red similar to the car’s bodywork to help evaluate the overall look. The kit hasn’t been released yet, but both Alec and I thought it looked phenomenal.
Tucked away in a dark corner of the studio was ADRO’s latest project: a 992.2 Porsche GT3 serving as the development car for their V2 aero package. As with every ADRO kit, you can expect tangible downforce gains over the OEM setup. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the company has begun working on motorcycles.
And if you want to give your Toyota GR86 or Subaru BRZ a bit of a facelift, ADRO has recently completed a new front bumper and lip kit that gives the front grille an almost Ferrari-like look. Like ADRO’s M3/M4 lineup, the 86/BRZ is also available with a widebody option for anyone wanting to go even wilder.
Speaking of wild, we also got a look at ADRO’s A90 Toyota Supra wearing the ‘ARD’ widebody kit before it was officially unveiled at TAS. ARD stands for ADRO Racing Division, a higher tier of motorsport-focused products designed to deliver even greater aerodynamic performance for drivers who spend most of their time on track. The A90 is the first car to receive the ARD treatment, featuring a far more aggressive front splitter, bumper-mounted canards, six underbody vanes, and a rear diffuser, all meticulously crafted from pre-preg carbon fiber.
Upstairs, we were introduced to an ex-rocket engineer leading R&D for ADRO’s future products, who walked us through the development of a potential active rear spoiler. This was where things became seriously advanced. A compact circular touchscreen controller can not only preload different wing angles but also respond to a car’s g-forces under braking, acceleration, and cornering, allowing the spoiler to adjust automatically.
It’s always inspiring to see companies let their products speak for themselves, and in the case of ADRO Inc., it was great to meet the team that continues to push the boundaries of design and functionality day in and day out.
