The BMW M3 is a car that’s gone through many iterations since it was unleashed on the world some 30 years ago. It began with a competition-derived four cylinder engine and in the proceeding years moved through a series of hotted-up six cylinders, to a high-revving V8, and most recently a twin turbocharged I6.
And while today’s M3 and M4 bear little physical resemblance to the original, BMW has managed to keep the spirit intact. Through all of its changes and increases in weight and power, the M3 is still considered one of the best all-round performance cars that money can buy.
It truly is a jack of all trades – a car that will get you to work in style and comfort, while still being able to deliver performance and fun that few cars can match at any price point.
And unlike some modern performance cars which have become almost too precise and computerized in their dynamics, BMW has also managed to keep the M3 as a driver’s car. It’s no wonder the brand has won over so many enthusiasts all over the world.
Felix L from Southern California is one of those people. For him, the love of cars started when he was 10 years old, and like a lot of us it was through R/C machines that he caught the gearhead bug.
Like many young people in SoCal, Felix’s first car was a Japanese compact – a 1998 Acura Integra RS to be precise. It was with this car that he first discovered the joy of modifying.
As is often the case, he slowly transitioned into the world of European cars once he had the means – but the tuning bug never went away. It was the BMW M3 in particular that Felix fell in love with and he’s owned a few different examples over the years.
After experiencing the V8-powered E90 M3, Felix decided to make the jump to the new turbocharged F80 model. While some BMW purists lament the move away from the naturally aspirated engines of the past, Felix calls his F80 the greatest BMW that he’s owned.
Goin’ Green
The first thing you’ll notice about Felix’s BMW is likely to be the color. It’s called Signal Green and it was ordered through BMW’s Individual program – a system that lets customers spec out their cars with a seemingly endless array of custom colors and finishes.
Whether it’s been a factory color option or a full custom repaint, Felix says he’s always had ‘loud’ colors on his cars and the bold green here certainly stays true to that tradition.
Modifying a brand new M3 is quite a bit different than an old Integra, and like all owners of modern performance cars, Felix took great care to choose the right stuff. After all, he didn’t want to take away from the things that make the F80 such an impressive machine out of the box.
Rated conservatively at 425 horsepower off the showroom floor, the F80 makes about as much power as anyone could want in a daily driver, so for now Felix has limited the power modifications to an Akrapovič titanium exhaust system.
Not only does the new exhaust give the car the bark that the stock system lacks, the quad tail pipes also look quite handsome exiting through the rear bumper.
There’s always room for improvement in the suspension department, and here Felix added a set of KW Clubsport coilovers to get the car sitting right while adding a degree of height and damper adjustability not available with the factory setup.
These days, a car like the M3 will come standard with wheels of a much higher quality and look than most aftermarket offerings, so if you do decide to upgrade in this area it’s got to be with something good.
In Felix’s case he went with a set of 19-inch HRE R101s in a brushed dark finish with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. The result is an aggressive, attractive look without being too over the top.
All The Details
The F80 is a rather aggressive looking machine in stock form, but Felix got in touch with the BMW specialists at iND in Chicago to add a bit of extra personality to the M3’s exterior.
The front bumper has been swapped out for a Euro market version with no reflectors and it’s also been fitted with a 3DDesign carbon fiber lip spoiler.
Out back you’ll find a 3D carbon deck spoiler sitting above the trunk, while Varis in Japan supplied both the upper and lower diffusers.
Inside the car there wasn’t much reason to overhaul the well appointed cabin, so Felix has limited the upgrades to a set of 3DDesign pedals and shifter. Also note the steering wheel – a BMW Performance item which features a Signal Green accent to match the body.
For a daily driver it’s hard to ask for much more than what Felix’s M3 offers. Its unique body color makes sure it will never be lost in traffic; it has performance that will outdo the vast majority of cars on the road; and there’s enough room to carry a whole family in the utmost comfort.
Combine all that with a choice selection of modifications and you’ve got a car that fully embraces everything that’s made this model such an icon over its 30 years of existence. Long live the legend of M3!
Mike Garrett
Instagram: japanifornia_media
mike@speedhunters.com
Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Ride hide.... WASTED !
height*
@Answer Yes this ride height would be a problem if you took it off road or rally racing.
(*Please read this statement in sarcastic monotone voice)
Terencey Hold on there, buddy. Clearly we have an internet professional among us.
(*Also read this statement in a sarcastic monotone voice)
Big budget bolt-on's.
Guy with lots of money buys a new car and makes some choice modifications. Nice to look at, but not really sure it's Speed Hunters worthy.
Hey speedhunters, theres nothing worse than a stock engine bay IMO. Feature one of the e90s making 830whp on the stock block please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IMu2weVIAA
This is the engine going into the next supra after all!
Folks..stop complaining about this being a BMW with bolt on parts..it's very annoying.
Those front brakes are monstrous.
"There’s always room for improvement in the suspension department". Wrong!! World class engineers and drivers have spent hundreds of hours developing that cars suspension. There is no way anyone can buy off-the-shelf kits and hope to match that.
You can say a lot of things about the suspension but "improved" is not one of them.
Like that but hate HRE..prestige pricing..no reason
Price some thing 10x price, some person will buy it..to show there richness
@Guest well them haters gonna hate, still very very sad
This is gorgeous, it's awesome when someone has the wisdom to know when conservative modification is all that's necessary. A purposeful looking car that does exactly what the owner wants it to do and is absolutely stunning on top... what's everyone complaining about?
what happend to the folks here, thats a very cool and beautiful executed BMW, and very tastefully modified. Some cry big buck bolt ons and wine about the parts....
have you ever seen the cost of an turbo upgrade or a ECU swap and map? still no one yells with modified over the top skylines. But show a BMW with some parts thrown in for good measure and style, and some are loosing their shit!
Speedhunters is a site about all aspects of Car Tuning and Modifying, stop beeing such narrow minded People PolyMEDrummer Nicholas J OGara
Not true, those drivers and engineers spend all that time to appeal to the general public that will purchase this car. That means it has to be soft enough for the soccer mom's that will enevitably purchase this car. Now with the new suspension the set up suits his tastes and not the general publics. You're crazy to think that a car produced by a large manufacturerer can't be improved we're not talking about the M3 GT3 racecar here.
Although it's just lightly modified, it's still a badass car. I wish my car came from the factory with green paint and interior stitching...
Onecton I've never been called narrow-minded for saying something nice about someone's car before.
I actually really like the choice mods. Buy a bitchin car, and only add, not subtract. I like that you mentioned that in the hre wheels section.
The M3 more or less died at the E46 for me. The E92 was OK, but that should have had the TT6, not a V8 as that defeated the purpose of M3's....they pushed the boundaries of the smaller motor, not taking the easy route with a V8 like other marques. Now, it's even worse.....it would have made much more sense to keep the 3 series as the sporty 2 door, hence keeping the M3 as it has always been and making the FOUR series the FOUR door. I'm still a BMW fan, but can't get into the current M3/M4's.
I like the green though.
Onecton PolyMEDrummer Nicholas J OGara Compared to what SH normally posts, this car is about as interesting as a civic slammed on rims. And not much else.
I expect higher standards at Speedhunters than very basic suspension....factory color....stock motor with only an
exhaust...DD deep in the city, no mention anywhere about actually taking
the car and driving it hard. To me, it screams "I got money lets have a flashy car and get internet cool points".
Looks neat. Surely drives neat. Don't think its worthy of a Speedhunters car. Seriously! Can you guys honestly say this was the best car you could find to feature in SoCal? Or is he justt a friend that you wanted to show off his car? I'll tell you that me and a lot of other readers of yours would rather have seen an update on Ol'Orange Bang or Mike's wagon, Taryn's Z, anything other than a car that to be honest, could have been thrown together in a matter of a few hours.
Its neat but just....should be left for the local meet.
What's with the calipers sitting so low down on the rotor?
Thommo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEIk0hJ7eGk
And then the next article shows the new Alfa Giulia, this M3's direct competition.
PolyMEDrummer Onecton I re read what you wrote, sorry, i misinterpreted. I stand corrected you are indeed not narrow minded. so please accept my appology for that.
Wow. That stance is perfect. What an awesome daily this would be.
Thommo Lower centre of gravity?
Wow, I see a few people complaining about this Bimmer. Why though? Why do they hate the idea of a 'bolt-on' car?
It's sounds like there's too many jealous types who need to 'keyboard warrior' their thoughts out on why they think this car is shit. I do know one thing though, I would be proud to park this car in my driveway.
Honestly, complaining about how a car is just not modified enough is laughable, besides its a daily driver so c'mon who needs more than 425hp that looks this good huh?
If this car pulled up ANYWHERE in Sydney, there would be eleventy million camera phones pointed at it in about the time to list the mods.
I stand by the saying:
Less is more.
I'm gonna say... this car is making over 400hp stock... which imo is clearly more than most swapped/modded/builtnotbought cars are... so if this guy is ok with that amount of power... why would he want to decrease realiabilty in favor of some power he doesn't even need? he did what he felt the car needed... that means suspension, brakes and yeah, bolt-on staff but let's be serious have any of you guys actually fabricated some brake calipers? I have not... so if bolt ons is what the car needs because of the use/ kind of project it is... I don't see the problem...
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner Maybe some readers are kind of desensibilitized and just want off the chart builds. like the builds only a tuner shop can do because its just to expensive...
i like the Bimmer very much too. Very cool car!
Stirring up a bit of controversy with articles on this site as always on Speedhunters!
Love the car especially the colour, would definitley consider that when I come to upgrading from my E93 M3.
I can see why people are commenting with a negative tone on this though as it is 'just' a stock car with an exhaust, some carbon fibre parts, wheels and coils, not the usual level we've come to expect and thoroughly enjoy from Speedhunters.
I'd imagine it cost the guy quite a bit of money for all that too. I want that exhaust system on my car but in the UK, a full Akrapovic system alone in £2-3k which when you've already paid £60-70k for the car, is a bit hard to justify!
Props to the owner though, the resultant car is very good looking and I'd be more than happy to have it sat on my driveway.
I would agree with one of the comments that this is not an M car though. I got given an M4 for 2 weeks last year and although it is an epic car to drive, after owning the V8 E93, it doesn't have the magic of that car. I'm surpised the owner of this one says it's the best one he's had, the E46 and E9X were both brilliant becasue they have such a soul to them, mine definitely does! But the M4 and I would guess this new M3 too although being brilliant brilliant cars in their own right, in my opinion, the magic and theatre associated with M cars since the first E30 has gone.
This ride height is a problem on the street. I've seen this thing cruising around the SFV and it was rubbing and bumping constantly. Just another m3 owned by a young kid with flashy mods.
How many soccer moms are going to tool about in one of these then? Not with my sprogs in the back, she's not anyway...
How Ridiculously Expensive rims...
Onecton Chris 'Haffy' Hafner No, take the S2000 that was just featured for example. Or the Hilux build. Those are not big-budget builds by high-end shops. I just don't think this car deserves a feature. I can go to almost any BMW tuner in SoCal and find equal quality among their customers. So why this one? I still call "favor". I think the owner has to be a friend of one of the SH guys or a sponsor's personal car. There are so many better looking, harder, better built and faster BMW's just in a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between La Jolla and Carlsbad, or in Laguna Beach, or in Malibu, or Brentwood, or....
I mean, if we can get on SH with just suspension, paint and lips then there are a BILLION Honda kids with cars worthy of features here.
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner Really? That many camera's? Sydney needs to wisen up to whats photo worthy then. not hating on this car at all, but who'd whip out their phone to take a photo of an M3?
People who know a nice car when they see it.
Agree wholly, a massive list of mods don't make the car, only the right ones.
It's just so funny to me how we can get away with shooting stock cars, but we can't shoot a lightly modified one? I've even shot a stock E92 M3 and no one said anything. Haha.
There are many people commenting about a bolt-on build. It's an opinion but, more of a fact.
There is probably more people dismissing those "bolt-on" related comments, trying to justify their own opinion.
Topped by the typical Larry comment, comparing the article in discussion to his previous articles. Again.
With anything that is composed well, the art is in simplisty. It can be overlooked, it usually is and it is overlooked here. No one said there was anything wrong with this car, no one said take it down as far as i read but, it's silly to defend your opinion by attacking someone else's opinion.
It is a bolt-on build and it is a super well excuction of a plan. When a automotive composition is so close to the OEM design I don't praise the owner. The designer(s) and engineers get my praise. When someone poors hundreds of hours into a project to build their idea, they earn the real respect.
Larry Chen We knew it was basically an advertisement. This is paint, lip, coils, done.
the F80 chassis, for me is probably one of the best looking M3's ever! other than the E30...!
truly fall for the colour
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