Like most of us, I know people by their cars and IG handles more than I know the people themselves. We've followed each other for years, seen builds progress, but rarely do we get to know the person. If you're here you probably know the E34 community if especially tight. That's how I got connected to John Clemente (@doublejc)!
While in the Chicago area for a project recently, I reached out to John at the last minute to see if any of the local guys had time to hangout and shoot some quick photos. We worked out logistics, made a group chat, and we were off. I piloted the rental car south an hour through the suburbs to meet up with the gang at John's.
I pulled up to the suburban street corner to see an E92 M3, 2 E36 M3s, and an E38 740i. Along with a few other family BMWs, cars and bikes alike. Gearheads. I also knew Danny (@sixspeedseven) through IG. We had connected over both being working photographers, and Danny's very cool M62B46 six speed E38 project. I was introduced to new friends Rob & Paul, the owners of the E92 and green E36 respectively.
So there we had it, the first official (unofficial) Achtung! meetup, here I was in a different city, meeting internet friends, connecting over sick old BMWs and the work it takes to support the hobby.
We pulled off into an industrial area just in time for blue hour. I wanted to keep the shoot casual and impromptu, without interrupting the hang. Luckily almost every car guy is at least an amateur photographer so I had 4 collaborators to help figure out the setup. We hard-parked the cars, avoided some trash out of frame, and managed the public that happened to be passing through politely (got some looks but no issues). From there we were all free to shoot, I started with some wide shots, then threw on the 50mm to focus in on each car and their details. I wrapped up with a quick video recap I'll be uploading to the YouTube channel shortly.
John's E36 M3 turbo stands out as the most modified of the bunch and we have similar clubsport taste. John has fantastic driving experience on track in cars and on bikes and his build really aligns with his experience. The perfect driver-focused Achtung! style build. (He also has an incredible bike, an insane E34 M5, and a super cool daily driver E61 535i wagon on Rolls-Royce wheels.) For the really nerdy details you'll have to reach out to John but here's the E36 highlights: bottom mount turbo setup, m50 head, sunroof delete, AP Racing Brakes, BBS LMs, Recaro Pole Positions, half cage, rear seat delete, racing door cards, CAE shifter (w/ rare E36 SMG1 surround), Momo wheel.
This car fucking rips. Butt-dyno tells me about 450-500whp in my opinion. It's planted, stiff, and brakes like a freight train, and that's cold. We'll have to do a full feature on this car and the E34 in the future. (Shoutout to Angry Ass Solutions for the support on that build).
Next up was Paul's E36 M3, a more OEM+ example. Coilovers, APEX wheels, a Recaro Pole Position for the driver and SPG for passenger, and intake / exhaust. A tastefully modified, great driver's car. Paul doesn't yet have track experience but definitely wants to get into it and the E36 will be ready for the occasion.
Danny's E38 (@sixspeedseven) is mostly a stock short wheel base 740i (shorty sporty), but this car is all about the drivetrain. The M62B46 came from the E53 X5 4.6is, if this is too much BMW code for you this is a 4.6l 345hp V8 from the sportiest trim of the X5 SUV, along with a 6 speed manual transmission of course. It makes fantastic V8 noise, which is all the more fun coming from the otherwise unassuming 7 series. Danny would like to swap the drivetrain into a nicer shell at some point, and he'd really like to build a GTR track inspired version. This is of course a little ridiculous starting with an E38 7 series, but it would be super rad to see nonetheless.
Last up; Rob's (@bmwspotting_chicago) E92 belongs more to the OEM connoisseur crowd but it's nevertheless a beautiful DCT example.
Once we ran out of light we all decided to hit the local Culver's for a quick bite to eat and some AC to hang out in. I rode with John in the turbo car to Culver's and holy shit, I can never get enough of turbo drama.
At Culver's we were met by a 6th enthusiast, another IG handle I had followed for a while, @theoxford_s54 AKA Dakota. His awesome S54 swapped E34 was unfortunately in 'paint-jail' at the time, but we'll have to see it next time. Dakota also has an E46 drift car and is active in the drift community. Something I'd really like to get into with a second build of my own in the next couple years, so it was awesome to hear his advice and experiences there.
The 6 of us loitered in the parking lot until after midnight, bullshitting about cars and life, discussing ultimate nerd nuance of BMW engineering and performance we hoped to harness in the future.
On the ride home John and I talked about how cool the night had been, how we were able to bring together a group with short notice, and how everyone had hit it off, got to know eachother, and made genuine connections over a shared passion. We thought a lot about how these shared cars inevitably found like minded people; BMW's initial market strategy had achieved it's target audience even decades later. I've found BMW enthusiasts to often be independent, driven, active, creative people. We're usually competitive, curious, care a lot about engineering & design, and want to go fast.
This night and experience overall reassured me of the validity of this Achtung! Clubsport project. I knew Achtung! would fill a niche in the community, bring together like minded people, and sum up one of our greatest passions. It was pretty fucking awesome and there's so much more to do.
Thanks Chicago fam!! See you next time. - Cole
