AF LTO Drift BMW Debuts At Ultrace
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; Ultrace is one of our favourite events and that means we always like to lay on something a bit special to show our support. In fact, nowadays this massive tuning show in the heart of Poland seems to serve as a bit of a target to unleash a cheeky world debut for a new build, and this year was no exception.
You may remember that we unveiled our Drift Datsun last season at Ultrace 2023, so this year there was clearly no better show to roll out the same car with a whole new Finesse Racing livery. While our 1954 Chevy Pickup was elsewhere picking up a coveted Ultrace Top 16 Trophy we also had our AF sponsored CDK Tuning BMW Drift Car - piloted by Archie ‘The Crazy Drift Kid’ Harmer – on hand with a whole new Finesse livery, too. There was certainly plenty of drift action to come from these two over the Ultrace weekender, that's for sure.
But with all that, there was one car we wanted to launch (and we do mean launch, preferably on the drift circuit) the most, another E36 BMW... one of our very own!
Our 1100bhp, Toyota 2JZ powered, LTO-kitted E36 drift car was in many ways our star car for Ultrace 2024. Unveiled right here at the huge Stadium Wroclaw it’s a product of the team getting together with the UKs top builders and parts suppliers to create a full on showcar-come-racecar that’s destined to be used and abused on the track. And what’s more, far from being the usual story of months and months of meticulous preparation – this one was put together in just a few weeks.
Of course, to get ready for the main event was a long road in terms of work to be done, but a very short road in terms of time to actually get it to the show. But, as tight as it was, we made it, and here it is...
Regular followers of our social media channels will know that our E36 was originally bought as a bit of a rough and ready drift banger. Fitted with a Toyota 1JZ engine and a few other drifty bits and pieces, it was more of a practice car than a full build. And practice we did, destroying more than a few tyres in the process.
But, after we put this one to work on more than a few drift days around the UK - and subsequently blew a rod or two out of the side of the engine - we just couldn’t leave it to die. After all, that’s exactly how all big builds seem to start, right?
So, instead of looking for a new drift weapon for the 2024 season, a plan was hatched to commence a proper AF build for the next big event in Europe. The only slight issue was that Ultrace was just a few weeks away!
The first job was to draft in the guys from CDK Tuning to ditch the broken engine, source a full-fat Toyota 2JZ and get it on the bench for a full rebuild with forged pistons and rods, a new plenum, single turbo conversion and the trimmings. While that was happening, we sent the shell up to Colourkraft for a full respray inside and out… and the fitting of that extremely special widebody.
The gazillion piece kit itself comes from Live To Offend and was designed by our friend Khyzyl Saleem – the Kyza himself. What with this BMW drifter, our Liberty Walk Super Silhouette S15 and our Pandem Yaris GR, we’re certainly curating quite the collection of project builds with the world’s maddest bodystyling!
Anyway, aside from a few ‘small’ details such as the custom, 3-peice wheels from Rimscarnated, Nankang tyres, new Recaro Seats, a whole new fuel system and a super-tight chassis setup from BC Racing and EBC Brakes, there was the small matter of CDK getting the new engine in and taking it off for dyno mapping at Yenspeed Tuning. As it turns out the final figure was in excess of 1100bhp… that’ll do nicely for ripping up the tarmac, eh?
Finally, and after our detailers were set to work with our Pro Series Polishing Compounds, the finishing touch was our all-new Finesse Racing Livery.
Designed by our friends at Blackfish Graphics and installed by Identity Wraps, the team came together just in time to get the E36 on a transporter for the voyage across Europe. It was a tight deadline for sure but, we think you’ll agree, well worth the effort… even if we’re merely giving you the highlights here. As you’ll already know there’s much more than meets the eye that goes into our AF project builds!
So, what with all that hard graft to get it ready in time for Ultrace, not to mention a fair few quid gone from the ever expanding budget, our LTO BMW E36 has to be one of the most stunning drift cars out there.
But the real question is, after all that, would we actually get it out on the track with the hammer down and drive it in anger?
What do you think!
So that’s how our E36 made it to Poland for the mighty Ultrace.
Thanks to everyone who went above and beyond to help make this car happen in time for the show. Not least the guys at...
You can see more of our drift BMW, and check out the full Ultrace 2024 Report, in the Behind The Scenes Section Of Our Blog.
