Words & Photos by Henry Phull
Seeing as our diary is usually rather quiet come January, we were stoked to hear that our friends at Ergen Motorsport were holding an open house event at their newly finished headquarters in Fareham, Hampshire. If you’re interested in BMW’s and M-Power engines, you’ve most likely heard of Ergen. They’re masters of the trade, specializing in M-cars, rebuilding them, converting them, and extracting more power from them. We first became aware of them thanks to their S54 engine conversion in Nick Sahota’s iconic orange E30 M3, which we featured previously. If that build is anything to go by, these guys certainly know what they’re doing. Adem, the head honcho at Ergen, has been wanting to upgrade their unit for the past two years, and finally, towards the end of 2017, the deal was sealed on their awesome new premises. Working flat-out over the Christmas period on refurbishments, they managed to get the majority of it ready in time for a soft opening on the 6th of January.
So how does one go about setting up a business like Ergen? “In 2013 I was working as a sales manager and got messed about by my boss. I gave him an ultimatum, he tried to call my bluff, so I ended up quitting. I had always played with cars, especially E30’s from the age of 18 – when I had a dolphin grey 318. Pile of shit, but I loved it. Started tinkering, and it quickly became my new obsession.”Adem tells us… However, the progression into engine swaps and power gains truly began when he sourced himself a 50k mile bronze USA LHD E30 car to tinker with.
“It was originally a 325e, with the 2.7 engine. Completely rust free and concourse! I quickly got fed up with the lack of power and started looking into engine swaps. From there, I did a few engine swaps, including the M50, M52, and then the S54. Eventually, I started developing a plug n play loom for the swap to work directly with the E30. A few people I knew then saw this and asked me to come and do theirs for them, so I did. From there it has just grown into what it is today. I quit my job, decided that a single garage and gravel driveway were adequate to start a business, and cracked on!”
You only have to take a look at what they already have in the workshop, to realise that these guys mean business. Straight away we were drawn to a gorgeous white E30 M3 on ACS Type 1’s, owned by their customer AK Iconic Classics. Not only is it a fully restored, concourse exampe, it’s currently being converted with an S62 V8 engine from an E39 M5.
Ergen have fitted an all-new bottom end, oil pump, BBB drivetrain lightweight flywheel and Helix clutch, Bosch 044 high-pressure fuel pump, MK60 ABS (with Ergen’s in-car miniature servo kit for LHD cars), Awron vent gauge, Nitron R1 suspension, Superpro bushes throughout, and H&R antiroll bars. Oh, and a custom Ergen exhaust system with stainless V8 E30 headers. It’s the perfect car to demonstrate their skillset.
As well as the E30 M3, there are plenty more interesting cars also in for treatment, including an E46 M3 (getting an S85 V10 E60 M5 engine), and a Porsche 996 (receiving an LSX 454 cubic inch forged motor, which should be making over 750hp) – so it’s not alwaysBMW orientated!
Ergen are committed to offering all sorts of bespoke services to cater for each vehicle that comes into the workshop. Adem designs and develops a wide variety of products, too, which are mostly plug n play. Be it a wiring loom for a V8, a remote servo kit, or a set of manifolds, he can do it. Along with their engine rebuilds, swaps, wiring services, ECU coding and mapping, the new unit also means an expansion into MOT’s, servicing, alignment and race car set up. It really is a one-stop shop for all things motorsport.
Along with the new workshop area, Ergen’s premises includes a retail shop dedicated to all aspects of motoring, which acts as the hub of the business… “It will be somewhere for us to help customers with their cars, demonstrate our own products and our chosen partners products” Adem explains…. “Brands like Superpro, Nitron, Millers oils, Bosch, Arai, Sparco and any other decent motorsport brand you care to mention. We can get a hold of it, fit it and set it up for you.” Oh, and they’re even stocking the latest Slam Sanctuary clothing – if that isn’t one valid reason to go and visit, I don’t know what is…
In addition to daily duties, Ergen host their very own track days across the UK. “They’re usually very small and low key, but have steadily grown over the years. Our BHP Breakfast Club has gone from strength to strength, and our Track Day events are evolving too” Adem tells us… If you want to get involved in one of their track days, a normal day will set you back about £175 with just 30 cars on track, in addition to their VIP days which can have just 8 cars on track! “Track days are quite a specialist market, but that’s what we like; a personal service to making sure our customers have a great experience with us!” Ergen’s next event is being held alongside Raw Motorsport on the 9th March at Castle Combe – check out ergen.co.uk for more info.
However, if you fancy something that involves slightly less effort, Ergen have also dipped their toes into the world of race car simulators, which you can try out in their shop. It’s a lot of fun! Although there’s still some work to do, the new headquarters gives Ergen a much-needed environment to grow the business. We’ll be keeping a close eye on their happenings and definitely be paying them a visit with our new project car, to be announced soon, so keep your eyes peeled on our social media pages.
BONUS GALLERY
