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Anyone who has been to a round of the JDM Allstars championship this year could not help to notice the sister Falken V8 E30s of Remmo Niezen and Lars Verbraeken, providing a welcome break to the endless list of Japanese machinery the Dutch pair have provided the bass to the screaming external waste gates of the championship..
Lars' E30 is the more subtle of the pair looking not that far removed from an E30 evolution..
..the dash retains the shape BMW intended but recreated in carbon fiber, the rest of Lars' office space is every inch the well prepped race car with evidence of weight saving everywhere, the doors for instance weigh virtually nothing.
Under the bonnet is where things get really interesting, gone is the intended M10 unit replaced with BMWs 4.4 litre N62 V8, it looks a bit of a squeeze to get it in there but the sound alone makes it all worthwhile.
All together it makes a fairly devastating package, light and nimble with huge torque the car looked great around the tight and twisty Wembley track and with the V8 bellow echoing off the walls and buildings it certainly didn't go unnoticed.
Remmo Niezen has taken the E30 concept to the next level with his car, the looks may not be to everybody's taste but you cant deny the effectiveness of the E30 package..
..the first time i saw Remmo in action was at a very wet Silverstone as part of EDC round 4, as soon as i saw the car roll into the paddock i thought "what the hell is this?" a odd looking BMW with some strange Testarossa style door/arch combination going on (sorry Remmo) it didn't look pretty... However, on closer inspection it was very clear to see that this was not some "nailed together in a shed abomination" it was actually a incredibly well engineered competition car with extensive chassis modifications and a big surprise under the bonnet taking it a world away from the 316i it started life as.
A year down the line and with the strange homage to Ferrari removed and in Falken colors the car looks a hundred times better.
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.. not exactly what you could call subtle but very different, enormous rear arches to cover the modifications to the rear suspension matching in with the almost DTM style front arches...
.and enormous rear wing (now removed) certainly make the E30 standout from the norm.
The E30 is very business-like inside, with a carbon dash and the usual essential gauges and switches, but with added twist -a LCD screen displaying pictures from the cameras fitted to the car.
... and under the bonnet a 5 litre S62 V8 normally found in a M5 provides more than enough grunt for the light weight chassis and completes this amazing drift package.
Fast and planted the V8 E30 looks the part on track... In fact getting chased around Wembley by the E30 pair was the highlight of my year so far! I love drifting and i love BMWs so seeing and hearing Team Falken thundering around is my idea of heaven.
With Lars tied in first place with one round to go of the IDS championship and Remmo taking first place in JDM Allstars 2009, its a solid reminder there are other options available other than the Skyline/Silvia package, and hopefully seeing and hearing team Falken will have inspired more UK drifters to look into what Germany has to offer the world of drifting.
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