Recap: Bimmerfest 2016
Performance Technic
This year, a large group of us traveled down to LA for the annual Bimmerfest show at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. For the first time, we hosted a Performance Technic booth, which was accented by four of our close customer builds. This year's event was extended to cover two days, as opposed to the single day it was last year. Saturday was certainly the busier of the two days, drawing hundreds of guests to the Speedway.
The variety at this year's show seemed to be larger than that of last year's. There was a noticeable increase in vintage appreciation, and the newest F8X builds were a bit more thoughtful and complete.
Dinan Engineering had a large display at the entrance of the vendor area, with four cars situated before it. Two of the builds, Marco's Clone and Jerome's Frozen F80, were built by Performance Technic and outfitted with plenty of Dinan goodies. On the display tables there were product examples, such as wheels, exhaust, filters/intakes, and other popular Dinan parts.
Throughout the show, both in the vendor area and the outer parking lots, there was a large number of classics. Everything from LS swapped E30s to E24s, 2002s, and E31s. The lots filled up quickly in the morning, leaving competition for parking. This year, a majority of the vintage show crowd seemed to favor air suspension.
On the modern side of things, there were two F80s that caught our attention, facing each other off in the public lot. The Yas Marina car sat on tastefully chosen Work wheels, while the Messing Metallic Bav Sound M3 was suited on a meshy set of HREs. Both unique color choices, both very nicely done! (Click on the carousel of images below to scroll through more pictures.)
All while the show took place, there were also cars out on track, exhausts roaring in the background all day. It was a mix of drivers who had signed up for the track day and BMW Driving School's own two F80 M3s. Our driver, Matt Powers, had the opportunity to take the Clone out for a few laps later in the day, which was exciting to watch. No one expected the car to leave its place at the Dinan booth, so it certainly drew attention.
One of the other main attractions of the show was the display that BMW provided. Among their lineup was the heavily anticipated M4 GTS, the M Performance M2, and M Performance M4. In addition, the Driving School M cars were on display when they weren't on track. Under the tent was a set of four cars, but our two favorites were the E46 M3 GTR and McLaren F1 GTR.
Sectioning off the show for the sake of a blog would compromise quite a few details, since there was so much to see. The remainder of the photos below cover other aspects that we haven't written about. Overall, this year's show was exciting and there were some amazing quality builds in attendance.
Kei Miura is the mastermind behind the famous Pandem / Rocket Bunny name. With a strong affection for body lines and a creative eye, he has designed these kits for the E36/E46, Lexus RC-F, Datsun 240Z, Acura NSX, and many more. It all starts with a complete 3D scan of the stock vehicle. Then, the magic happens in both the virtual design and physical production processes of the kits. Each kit is formed to accent the car's original lines and features, not hide them.
Note: 2JZ swapped E46 M3. Definitely not built for the Purist community.
Did you attend Bimmerfest this year? Let us know what you thought of the show! If there was a particular build you favored, we're curious to hear about it. We certainly had our favorites, what were yours? Tell us in the comments below, and thank you, as always, for reading.