Photos by John Zhang / 1013mm.com
In past years thousands of BMW enthusiasts flooded the grass lot H of the Rose Bowl. Bringing with them some of the highest quality Bavarian builds this country has to offer. However, a new venue this year had the 2015 Bimmerfest attendees hitting the pavement of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.
Now in its 16th year, the one-make event sponsored by ESS Tuning offered more than show competition and vendors. With a racetrack now outlining the event, attendees were treated to the ring of M powered exhaust tones at their limit throughout the day.
Courtney Wingfield’s Yas Marina Blue E46 on display at the Bride booth combines track-spec aero with Japanese elements for a unique look.
Notice the Voltex Type 1S, right at home on the trunk.
Our contributor John Zhang’s wrapped F30 is the ultimate grand touring car. Having recently traveled on some long road trips, it can still hold down the Mackin Industries booth spot.
The Volk Racing TE37 wheels covering his huge Rotora BBK.
Castro Motorsport brought out Jef Groff’s E36 FormulaDrift Pro/Am drift car.
Housing an 800hp turbo LS3 inside the engine bay.
This blue E30 from CAtuned was parked hoodless showing off six inline trumpets.
Shining brightly were the individual throttle bodies on the M20 motor.
No car is ever too new to slice into the fenders, illustrated by this widebody Liberty Walk F82 M4.
The bolt-on over fenders housing the Volk Racing TE37 Ultra wheels perfectly.
This Z4 from Vancouver was wearing the Duke Dynamics widebody kit and an interesting livery.
The PUR LG02 wheels were a nice splash of color in the otherwise grayscale exterior.
It’s always refreshing to see older chassis at shows, and Bimmerfest had a plethora with a classic showcase amidst the new models. Including this cream colored RHD E30 wagon on refinished chrome BBS RS wheels with gold hardware.
Though even cooler were the vintage cars out front of the European Auto Source booth. The BMW M1 is legendary in BMW motorsports, and the chassis styling is one of a kind.
This 2002 Turbo looks to be in great condition with its clean exterior and refinished BBS RS wheels.
The IND booth was more of a car show, within a car show. On the electric front, they had both of the Bavarian’s new examples on display.
The BMW i3 was sitting low on a custom set of HRE 303M wheels in a color named “iLectric blue”.
The i8 in the same matching tones had a set of HRE S101 wheels, which fit the more aggressive styling of the electric supercar.
This Yas Marina Blue F82 from IND is joining the ranks of so many others fitting Japanese wheels to their German car.
A great looking trend, these custom chromed Volk Racing ZE40 wheels tie into the rest of the car very well.
More F82 M4 action at the BBS wheels booth, however this example had the new lightweight forged BBS FI-R wheels.
Vorsteiner also had an F82 M4 with their GTRS4 widebody kit.
The wider body was needed to fit the large RS100 wheels courtesy of HRE. The barrel of the wheels was sprayed in a mint green to match the calipers.
Formula Drift driver Michael Essa’s E46 M3 competition car was in attendance, really exhibiting all the different styles of modification at the event.
HGMotorsports had their E90 time attack car at the booth. Sitting on some BBS Motorsport E88 wheels.
The Prestige Marketing E92 M3 stood out with its red-chrome vinyl wrap and Meisterschaft GTC exhaust.
Stan Chen parked his F31 wagon with the rest of the Boden Autohaus cars, but his was the only one hauling a motorcycle and trailer.
The vintage boxer-engined R75/5 bike (#LilDoom) was towed behind the wagon by way of this custom trailer (#TheRaft) with matching HRE 501 wheels, air suspension, and accents.
This E28 stuffed wide HRE wheels under the rear fenders…
And a Toyota 1JZ engine under the hood!
The BMW 2002 at the Toyo Tires booth was so extensively restored; every area of the car had been refinished in some way.
The luggage case for packing a picnic was a nice touch to the refreshed trunk.
The seats in the interior looked like they had never been sat in, and the chrome BBS RM wheels were a perfect addition to the already gleaming exterior.
The #25 BMW E9 CSL racecar has certainly made its rounds recently, and no better place to be displayed than in this lineup of BMW Motorsport cars.
The 3rd Porsche 911 to come out of RWB LA was in attendance, but not for the show.
This Rauh Welt was brought for its maiden track voyage.
The normal elements of a show build, the BBS Motorsport wheels, Brembo brakes, JRZ suspension, and Pirelli tires instead helped the car navigate Auto Club’s course layout.
Gallery