I’ve been watching Frasier‘s E36 go under the knife at Retroshine for the last few months, slowly being transformed from a slightly tatty and stock-bodied car into the HM-Sports kitted, WORK Meister S1R wearing drift car that sat before me at STL HQ last Friday afternoon.
It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to photograph a freshly prepared car wearing HM-Sports aero and the presence that these cars can exude always impresses me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a super clean and OEM+ styled E36 as much as anyone else but, when you throw a kit, overfenders and a set of super aggressive Japanese wheels in the mix, you can achieve an equally distinctive, yet totally different style.
In the grand scheme of things, Frasier’s car isn’t particularly low. However, thanks to the aggressiveness of the kit, the carefully considered fitment of the 18″ Meisters, suitable tyre sizes and widened bodywork with wider front track, he’s managed to build a car that looks great while remaining user friendly on the Cheshire country lanes that surround my office (let alone Frasier’s own road which he describes as “horrendous”). Making a car look great with no other considerations is one thing but making it look great while also remaining fun to drive and user friendly is a much more delicate process.
The most crucial thing to get right when kitting an E36 is the rake. Forward rake is a hallmark of 90s BMWs and can be their undoing when aftermarket bodywork is fitted. Much like any Japanese platform, a flat ride height or even reverse rake is crucial to get the German x Japan look just right.
At the front, the HM-Sports Front Lip is fitted to an M Sport front bumper, complete with factory fog lights.
At the rear you’ll find the HM-Sports Rear Lip and an exhaust setup that you’ll either love or hate; I’ll leave it to you to make your own opinion! Regardless of the look of it, the exhaust note is one that is actually more restrained than the usual straight-piped examples you’d normally find at your local grassroots drift event.
The flare of the Side Skirts ties in nicely with the widened fenders and track width.
The HM-Sports Roof Spoiler is a super simple yet effective way of breaking up the BMW lines and adding a new dimension to the rear end.
Since posting some of these photos on the STL Instagram and Facebook pages demand has been through the roof for the HM-Sports E36 parts. We have a batch of Coupe & Saloon kits and Roof Spoilers in production as we speak but, once this run has been completed, we will be taking a short break to focus on finishing the long awaited E46 kit. Once we’re happy with the design, E36 part production will begin once again.
Most of the kits and spoilers in this upcoming batch have been pre-ordered but a few are still available, so be sure to place your order ASAP if you don’t want to miss out. You can find the HM-Sports range on the STL shop.