The Vlog of this shoot is up on YouTube now, the short review and highlight reel will be out later this week. Catch up for next weeks feature of Jarod's supercharged E46 M3!
I met Paul a couple months ago at the local Kyusha Club meet run by my friend Keith. I brought out the S62 E34 for the first time during break in milage, and was excited to be featured in the show. At one point I struck up conversation with a few enthusiasts who had noticed the misplaced engine, and learned that Paul was the owner of this very interesting 2002 a few cars down.
Since building the E34 and getting into driving, light cars have captured my attention. There's simply no replicating the capabilities and characteristics of a lightweight car. Watching these cars on track has enlightened me to the strengths and driver development provided by a momentum car. Among the Miatas, Lotusii, S2000's, the 2002 is one of the best fits to the niche from the BMW portfolio.
The 2002's I've typically seen over the years are either OEM classic restorations, or a bit ratty works-in-progress. I had a very cool experience as a kid when a fully built, stripped, caged 2002 in Jägermeister orange arrived to the park one day. I had never seen anything like it and the experience stuck with me.
So, when I saw Paul's car with its tasteful aesthetic modifications like the VW Dove Blue paint job, deleted trim pieces, front lip, and the aggressive stance; I was immediately interested to know what was going on. Paul was happy to oblige and told me all about his build. Upon closer inspection we find a Haltech standalone and digital dash, and a built M10 making about 160whp, perfect for the cars estimated weight of 2300lbs. A fresh interior including rear buckets from an E24, and fresh but classic Recaros up front, paired perfectly with the refined, driving focused touch points of the Coolerworx shifter, and Momo steering wheel.
A recipe for driver engagement success, certainly in the spirit of Achtung! Clubsport. We set up a shoot for early May to feature the car in June (now). We had a great morning photo / video shoot with the help of my assistant Nick for a second camera angle and some help with car to car shots. I learned from this shoot that I really have to drive the car and experience it before giving my review and summary. Duh. I filmed my quick synopsis of the car, about 5 minutes for this week's upcoming video, and lots of supporting footage, then we took the car out for a drive.
Not the best location to feel out a sports car, but we experienced a few curves during the ride along. I always like to experience the car as a passenger first to see how the owner drives, and understand any idiosyncrasies of the build. The owner can always push the car harder with their familiarity of course and I was glad the car felt planted and balanced, just like I would expect from a similarly built E30 for example.
I never take being trusted to drive someone else's car for granted, these experiences are always special. We dealt with some slow traffic when it was my turn to drive, but I still got to experience the car and put it through one of my favorite sweepers to get an idea for the balance.
The power was plenty for a car of this weight and style. Response was immediate from the buzzy M10, barely crack the throttle and the motor would rev up very freely. The clutch was a bit tricky with a high pick-up point, but this was fine. Once moving your release didn't have to be too cautious. Shifter feel from the Coolerworx was good, and I do like tall knob, chassis mounts for their hand position. I will say I prefer the AKG in my experience. Steering feel was great, the car has a refreshed steering box, which still feels like a steering box, but no power steering. This was also a somewhat unique experience to me, and the steering felt very light and direct while underway, and not cumbersome at slow speed. The Ground Control suspension felt planted, sporty, and rode well without crashing over bumps.
Great greenhouse visibility, thin A pillars, immediate throttle response, direct steering feel, a good suspension setup, some modern diagnostics; This 2002 was set up properly for the enthusiast. I'd love to see it getting out for rallies and canyon carving across the state, maybe even a track day! It would do well to explore those potentials, a car like this really comes alive under harder driving.
Thank you to Paul (@bin.werking on IG), for trusting me to drive and for your time to shoot!
The Vlog of this shoot is up on YouTube now, the short review and highlight reel will be out later this week. Catch us for next weeks feature of Jarod's supercharged E46 M3! Sign up for the email list below to stay up to date on new features and news.
Thanks for reading,
Cole
