Bimmers & Burgers 2
Words & Photos by Henry Phull
After the success of last year’s event, the guys at Bimmer Boys and Auto Enhance decided to bring back their ‘Bimmers & Burgers’ event for 2015, held again at Auto Enhance’s very own premises in Essex. Widely known for their wide range of bodystyling, interior and performance accessories, they prepped the surrounding industrial estate once again for a BMW takeover. Hailing from the south coast, this was another rather long journey for me, but as usual it was fully worth the effort, the sun was shining and the BMW’s were out in force making for an awesome day out. Plus, a perfect chance to catch up with friends and meet new ones – something I usually have less time for at a regular car show, which is why I love these smaller chilled out events. Anyway, here are my highlights from the day…
This was the first time I had the chance to check out Joey Hazell’s E36 ‘vert since fitting his recently stepped up BBS RS’s which look incredible. The car is also running hydraulic suspension and a whole list of other mods longer than my arm.
Outside and repping’ for Auto Enhance, Dee Barwick’s E82 123d finished in Austin yellow and sitting well on a set of 3SDM 0.04’s.
Alongside was James Barrett’s gorgeous E46 M3 repsprayed in Lamborghini Grigio Telesto grey and rocking some Quantum 44 S1 monoblock alloys.
In my opinion, Ben Young’s E92 335d is one of the best cars to pull off 3SDM’s 0.06 wheel. As well as looking awesome on air, this thing has been remapped and goes like stink!
Marsel Theodhori’s M535i is one of the most highly modified E28’s I’ve ever seen, but the most impressive thing of all is that it’s packing a M106 with 500hp of turbo madness.
Moving on and back to that stance we all love, check out the PBMW Magazine E39 540i on a full Air Lift set up, featuring a lovely hard line install by Studio Incar. This sits so well on those OZ splits.
I’m excited for Richard Ansari to fit his newly widened OZ Mito’s soon, meanwhile his E46 M3 still looked pretty awesome on the temporary set of AC Schnitzers.
It’s always a joy to photograph Becky Evans’ E21. Bagged on Air Lift and AutoPilot V2, rocking a super rare rear louvre, and currently sitting on a classic set of BBS RS’s, it’s no surprise that this was the car that only last year kicked off the E21 trend in the UK. She has a few changes up her sleeve for the rest of the year which will be revealed soon enough and should surprise a few people.
I’d not seen this out since Westside last year, but Tej Panesar made it down in his bagged E36 ‘vert.
This Sapphire black E60 M5 may be familiar to some, now owned by Phil Robinson, it’s packed with upgrades such as Eventuri intakes, an Evolve E-tronic exhaust and Alcon Super front and rear big brake kit, to name a few.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Kamal Sokhi’s Alpine white E30 Touring, featuring an M52 conversion and a complementing set of OZ Futura’s.
Around the corner I ran into a gang of bagged E92’s, starting with Az Riz’s 330d on 19″ Quantum 44’s.
Joshua Hay’s example has to be the meanest looking of them all, sitting on SSR Professor MS1 wheels and bagged by Studio Incar on Air Lift bags / AccuAir eLevel management with a stunning boot install showing off those dual tanks, hard lines and audio set up.
Wheel wise, I think Shaun Grazette had it down with his 335i on Blitz Technospeed’s, tucking huge 11.5’s at the rear.
My car of the day had to be this E30 M3. Everything about it was just perfect, firstly you’ll notice it has been right hand drive converted – a major mod that you don’t see often, especially on an M3. Furthermore, it was hiding an S54 lump out of an E46 M3 along with a supercharger! A gorgeous interior finished it off along with genuine BBS LM’s giving it that motorsport look.
Of course later in the day a few non-BMW’s managed to sneak in under the radar. Check out Jag Singh’s (Jag’s Bodyshop) Rocket Bunny kitted V8 Mercedes CLK…
I wasn’t sure whether to include this, but thinking about it, I’m hoping it will raise some awareness. Unfortunately an E24 635CSI was rear ended by a Mk5 Golf on the road outside the event, I’m not sure on the full details but the driver of the BMW was taken away in an ambulance – hopefully he’s okay! Anyway, it goes to show that accidents do happen, so be careful out there or your pride and joy could end up like this. A sad sight, especially considering I’m a 635CSI owner myself.
I’m always confident that the turnout will be in the high numbers whenever Bimmer Boys organise an event, and Bimmers & Burgers was no different. A nice variation of BMWs, an ideal venue at Auto Enhance, good people and tasty burgers. I’m sure it’ll be back next year, so keep an eye out in 2016 and if you’re driving a BMW, make sure you head on down.