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BMW's 100th at Laguna: The Rolex Reunion

September 01, 2016Performance Technic

The hustle and bustle of Festorics weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway is generally in full swing when it comes time for the Rolex Reunion. The paddocks were as busy as ever this year, and with BMW's 100th Anniversary celebration, the chaos was amplified. With Procars and historical racing icons galore, it was enough to overwhelm even the most jaded BMW nerd. Because we've created such a large bulk of Reunion coverage, we've prepared a photo gallery for this blog installment. So, instead of reading page after page on your device, we've made the Rolex Reunion easy on the eyes with our photographic timeline.

Alone Time With an IMSA E21 320 Turbo

Exploring the Paddocks

Heading Out

BMW's Stable

“To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there’s no such thing as perfect.”

— Alexander Calder

Star Attraction: 2002 Hommage

Rolling Off Track

Final Details

tags Rolex Reunion, BMW, Events, Laguna Seca

Legends of the Autobahn: BMW's 100th Birthday

August 26, 2016Performance Technic

Each year, Monterey Car Week is what many would call the highlight of their summer automotive experiences. Whether it’s parade laps down Cannery Row, or the Pebble Beach Concourse, there’s something for almost everyone, if you know where to look. This year, we took a trip down to the prestigious Nicklaus Club in Monterey, which is the host site for Legends of the Autobahn.

Upon arriving, we were immediately bombarded with an expansive lawn, where row after row of vintage BMWs were displayed. Against the foggy, obscured landscape around the course, waves of color burst through from the generally loud 2002 crowd. Most of the first lawn was comprised of 02s, with sprinkles of other classics loitering about.

We were pleasantly surprised to see a lot of familiar cars in the first display lawn. Many of the 2002s that were present were the same cars that turned up for Bay Area 02 just a few months ago.

Ranging from immaculate Turbos to completely original and untouched TIIs, the selection covered all bases. Whether you’re an old fashioned purist or have a penchant for widebodied, rally-inspired builds, it was guaranteed that there would be something for all tastes. Both the rare and the common all congregated for the universal enthusiast celebration.

Moving through the first group of cars brought us to the center lawn, which is where BMW displayed some of their rarest and most coveted machines. The first display we were met with was Michelin’s unique platform booth, where they had set out various modern M cars. Each car, naturally, was sporting its own set of Michelins, suited for the vehicle depending on type and use.

Overlooking the extensive Mercedes and Audi population, at the center, BMW Group Classic had their own booth. Beneath the tent was an impeccable 2002, alongside a vertical display of original parts. Here, vintage owners and enthusiasts could sign up with BMWGC for newsletters and information regarding their classics.

Surrounding the Classic tent was what we would call a sensory overload of fantastic vehicles. From the 30s to the 90s, icons of all types were on display.

The white 507 was outlined by Bavarias, the McLaren F1, LeMans Prototype, a few DTM race cars, M1, E30 Touring, and many others. Going way back with two 1930s models—a 309 and a 329—was a treat as well.

To the side of this area was a line of more show cars, which led toward the Michelin booth. These were all nearly flawless, leading class examples of their models. Among the lineup was an LTW E36 M3, boasting only 86,000 miles. In the ten years of ownership, the car’s owner, William Broeder, has driven it 79 miles. No, we aren't missing any numbers there. A beautiful E24 M6, two E46 M3s—one of which was converted to a fully Individual Cinnamon interior—and Byron’s incredibly low mileage Estoril Z3M Coupe made up the rest of the row.

The third and final area that we explored is what we’ve dubbed The Shark Tank. This was located in a lower lawn bed, and was where all of the Alpinas, M2s, an abundance of E31s, E24/8s, and even the M4 GTS could be found. A lone M1 rested at the center of an audience of E24s.

The Alpina section of Legends was spectacular. At its center was a gleaming B7 S Turbo, owned directly by Alpina, and transported to Monterey from Germany.

The sun broke through the Monterey fog toward midday, which was perfectly timed for the awards ceremony. Our remaining coverage in this blog covers mostly bonus images and a few other notable cars in attendance. Because this year’s Legends event was so large, covering it all in detail makes for a rather long story. The announcer stated that this year’s turnout was three times more than what it has been in the past.

To finish off our Legends recap, we’ve included some bonus images below. Did you attend the show this year? If so, what was your favorite car?

tags BMW, Monterey, Legends of the Autobahn, Events

Grocery Getter: Our 328i X-Drive Touring

August 18, 2016Performance Technic

Building exceptional street and race cars has been at the core of Performance Technic’s passion since we opened our doors in 2009. Throughout the years, the performance geared M cars have comprised the bulk of our customer base. The relationships that we’ve built through bringing drivers’ visions to life are extremely important to us.

The newest generation of M cars, specifically the M3/M4, has brought about numerous opportunities for us to explore versatile styles for the F8X. Our late shop project car, as many of you may remember, was a Mineral Gray M3. Full of Dinan upgrades and accented by HRE 300 Classic wheels, the M3 was truly an amazing machine. However, there typically comes a time when projects must be switched out for something new. We said goodbye to our M3 earlier this year, and welcomed a project that strayed from our usual style.

The idea for our Touring is simple: it’s a functional, mildly aggressive looking daily driver, but it’s also family friendly. The Touring styling perfectly suits family use. Spacious and practical, it can be taken on everything from weekend getaways to road trips out of state. X-Drive allows for ease of travel if weather conditions are less than ideal. This build ultimately demonstrates that your family car can still be fun, attractive, and anything but boring.

The upgrades we chose for the Touring are meant to accent what the car already is. It isn’t supposed to be a show winning build, but it can still put a smile on your face (as well as your kids in the back seat).

We selected an array of Dinan parts that we felt would work well with our theme: Dinan’s own 20” cast aluminum wheels, Free Flow Exhaust, Intercooler and DINANTRONICS Sport Tuner. The exhaust draws a nice, low tone from the N20, while the Tuner is an efficient tool for remapping boost to provide a more thrilling driving experience. Behind the Dinan wheels hides the BMW M Performance big brake kit thanks to MMI Vehicle Systems.

Aesthetically, we wanted to keep the Touring subtle, but still give it light accents of sporty aero. Outfitted with M Performance front splitter, and rear spoiler, the little three series takes on a slightly less humble form. H&R Springs provide a mild ride height drop, which complements the larger wheels nicely. The BMW roof rack allows for more storage space, whether it’s a bike or travel pod you’re taking with you.

This build ultimately demonstrates that your family car can still be fun, attractive, and anything but boring. Because this car is purposed to experience family wear and tear, it needs to be prepared to recover from whatever is thrown at it. That said, we teamed up with CarzWerk, an automotive detailing and protection business operating locally in Fremont. Jason, the owner, specializes in vehicle paint care, and truly takes his passion to heart. Having worked all over the United States and Japan, he has been in charge of everything from maintaining specialty shop Ferraris on the East coast, to detailing fleets of Liberty Walk builds at SEMA. He has not only the knowledge to protect your vehicle, but the genuine care as well.

One of Jason’s specialties is ceramic coating. This is a process that has seen increasing popularity throughout the automotive community in recent years. Ceramic Pro, the product itself, is described as a nano-ceramic coating, which is entirely different from wax and other sealants. It is not a clear bra, nor is it vinyl. The purpose of Ceramic Pro coating is to create an incredibly durable, clear, and protective surface coat over your vehicle’s paint. The product forms an adhesive bond with paint, meaning that it cannot simply be scrubbed off in a car wash. There are many benefits to ceramic coating your vehicle: protection from UV damage and corrosion, a shell-like coating to help save from scratching, prevention of dirt/road grime deposits, ease of vehicle cleaning… the list goes on. We are looking forward to seeing how the ceramic coating holds up to daily use.

At the end of the day, the Touring is a fun, affordable, and justifiable family vehicle, which also happens to look fantastic. We are happy to see that it has been received well, even from those who prefer M cars. It also serves as a reminder that while the M bloodline is a large part of our heritage, we are more than happy to see drivers enjoying these great options.

tags ptech, performance technic, dinan

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