Project 223
Classic story of boy meets BMW, boy falls in love with BMW, boy opens motorsport shop so he and his friends can build fast BMW. Always been a car guy but didn’t first get on the track until about three years ago – and it sort of spiraled out of control from there to say the least
Long story short we are now actively racing an E92 M3, building another one (more faster please), turning an OG M2 into a dedicated track monster, and also have a couple of other fun projects in the works. What was missing though was a street/track hybrid – a car I can drive to the track, put down some fast laps, and then comfortably drive home. Since we already have the S65 covered and an N55 on the way an S55 build made the most sense. And since I missed driving my OG M2 on the street an M2C build was the obvious choice.
Why call it Project 223? Overlooking the obvious of me just being a huge nerd there is a reason for 223. My home track is the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX (awesome track for anyone that hasn’t been there). COTA can provide a good point of reference for comparison to others due to the wide range of cars & drivers that track there. In my experience sub 2:30 laps times in a street car out there is very quick. Low 2:2x’s in a street car is just downright fast. Project 223 is me wanting to see what it takes to get this platform to that level – running consistent 2:23.xx’s or lower at COTA. But I absolutely do not want to sacrifice street manners just for the sake of lowering lap times – the car mush remain comfortable and reliable. That is the main priority above all else.
As a part of this build we will be documenting everything we do with this car. We established baseline lap times and impressions in stock trim at COTA a couple of weeks ago and will be doing the same at another local track here shortly. Each area of upgrades will see the corresponding retesting – lap times, power, etc. This way we have a blueprint for what works (or does not work) and what it takes to get to certain lap times.
The plan is to focus on a few main phases:
Brakes, Wheels, & Tires
Aesthetics & Safety
Suspension
Power
Aero
Some of the parts still need to be decided on and some are still in design… but for the most part we have the plan together for where we are going with this build. Want to try to make this car as bulletproof as possible so nothing but the best will go on it. Also want to keep it as simple as possible – make the prep for a track day as easy and quick as we can. Working with some great people and manufacturers on this build – really excited to get it going!