Like many things in life, a mixture of good things can result in a better item.
A remix of a song using classical and modern; a dessert with a variety of fruits from different regions; furniture that uses a mixture of woods from around the world – they all are examples of taking a little of one thing and adding it to another to create a masterpiece. But can the same be done to a car? The answer is yes, and the IND BMW M4 is an excellent example.
It takes some from Germany, some from Japan, a little bit of Italian, bits from England, and combines it all in the US to create a melting pot of BMW excellence.
However, for any good mixture to work, you need to start with an amazing base. For IND, nothing less than the BMW M4 would do. It’s a great car to begin with as it exudes everything that a driver’s car should: handling, power, and a boosted engine from the factory.
IND then went and stripped the car down to nothing and began their interpretation of a ‘GTS-Plus.’ They’ve gone beyond buying better OEM parts from BMW, but not so far as to lose what makes the M4 great in the first place.
That also meant that they would do more than just use German parts on this car. The start, though, was to paint it in Porsche’s ‘Ultraviolet,’ a deep yet eye-catching purple found on the 991 GT3 RS.
The bumper covers come from Japan by the way of 3D Design with a full carbon fiber creation; a glance wouldn’t make you think that they weren’t OEM, but a closer inspection tells you they are different and better. The splitter is custom made by IND to match the front bumper and extends just past the front axle center line.
From Germany, BBS’s FI-R is a forged wheel that features cutouts in the spokes to remove further weight without sacrificing strength, and here they’re fitted with French Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires in 265/30R19 (front) and 295/30R20 (rear) sizing. Italy gives up a Brembo GT brake kit with 6-piston GT monoblock calipers and 380mm Type III slotted rotors for the ultimate braking setup this side of a GT3 car.
When it comes to suspension, KW’s 3-way adjustable Clubsport coilover kit was the only way to go for IND.
Though, even with the best suspension, taking an FIA curb in full aggression can bring some bottoming out situations, and an oil cooler guard from US company Fall-Line Motorsports protects the S55’s fragile oil cooler while still maintaining flow over the heat exchanger. Fall Line also improve the front geometry with a set of front control arm bearings, rear toe links and a camber shim kit, and sway bar end links.
If an engine can’t breathe in and out, then it’s not going to perform all that well. Sending spent gasses out of to the rear is an Eisenmann exhaust system; the signature carbon tips make it look good while the ceramic coating creates a well-protected look under the car. Getting air in is taken care of by England and Eventuri’s carbon fiber air intake system color matched to the Ultraviolet of the car, with extra cooling via a Fall-Line Motorsports charge-cooler.
Protection inside the car was easy thanks to BMW’s GTS roll car kit that was also painted in Ultraviolet. The rear seats and back panel were replaced with aluminum and carbon fiber parts that nearly look factory. Those front seats? Well, they are not only vintage but the very last set of factory E46 M3 CSL fixed-back buckets in the BMW Germany warehouse set on custom seat brackets to fit them into the M4. The door panels, dashboard, BMW Motorsports M4 steering wheel, and center console are covered in matching Alcantara with Ultraviolet stitching and carbon fiber inserts. Topping it all off is a set of M tri-color seatbelts and door pulls finish off the GTS feel.
When you’re able to mix the best of the world and melt it down, you can come up with a masterpiece worthy of the term priceless. When it comes to cars, the IND M4 shows how a mixture of some of the finest parts in the world on the best car in the world can create the Ultimate ‘GTS-Plus’ driver’s car that would be hard to top.
So what do you think? Should more tuners reach out beyond their marks domestic markets and look more towards a world build? After looking at this special M4, we think so.
Justin Banner
Instagram: jb27tt
Facebook: racerbanner
Twitter: RacerBanner
Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Loving the Terung / Eggplant sticker
That door strap gave me an idea! My girl always complain about how fast it feels that she has to hang on to something when I enter and exit the freeway. She's already in a bride bucket seat too... I think this will solve it...
-[0_o]-
...isn't EVERY build a melting pot (based on this article anyway)? Usually love the write up Larry, and the photos here are as epic as ever, but, today you are just describing the norm. My BMW has a Japanese heart, with American boost, UK suspension, UK cage, and the list goes on... most cars (regardless of marque) have been converted with RB/JZ/LS etc. Today's tuner car (show/slip/grip) MUST be a word build
God have mercy with your car ...
First, I wrote it.
Second, how often do we see a GTR with German built parts save for maybe the wheels if someone when with a set of BBS' and maybe a set of KWs? I know plenty of Porsche builders that would scoff at the idea of putting anything Japanese on their cars as it was Germany/Euro or nothing. Don't get me started on hot rodders.
Your car, much like this IND built M4, has the right idea, a "world car" as I described but not every tuner or builder thinks like you or I and is why I wrote it the way I did. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting defensive about the change that we're starting to see (though, you could have given me credit for the writing :p), but it never hurts to give a push with an example that shows how good a car can be if you expand your horizon beyond JDM for your Japanese car, EDM for your Euro car, or even USDM for you American car.
I'm sorry Justin, I didn't mean to miss you from the credits
It's all good, I know it wasn't done on purpose.
Is this better than the original? I believe it must be. On the looks department they succeeded. Weight saving? Colin Chapman could approve after the removal of the rear seats. Who needs those anyway in an M4? That's why the M3 exists. Add a bit more firepower and this meting pot is one I would like in my garage. Plus the attention to the little things is great. CSL seats and the purple matching interior make the cabin such a nice place to sit. And that purple carbon air intake is a super nice detail. Purple carbon looks amazing. Pagani and Bugatti, I'm looking at you. I know secretly everyone wants to.
Beautiful car. I always love yellow brake calipers... it's one of those inexplicable constants of my being.
This thing would look so dope with some eva unit one style decals on it.
This is a very cool car, and I don't want to diminish that at all, but THAT NSX
That said, we've seen loads of features on NSXs that look more or less like that one. This is the only eggplant M4 I've ever seen. I'm definitely not a fan of that colour, on the GT3 or on this, but they chose a theme that works and stuck with it (and it's built for them and not me). The actual eggplant sticker was a good touch
And I am absolutely behind the mentality of "Choose the part that best fits your demands" over "National loyalty above all else"
Lots of the parts I've bought for my Toyota (most of them actually) are from American brands, because there's thankfully an enormous aftermarket support for old Hiluxes over here, so I don't really ever have to overnight anything from Japan. I'd be a fool to turn a blind eye to an entire side of the market just because the parts don't come from Aichi