We all know that winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. And with winning comes prize money, and so it doesn’t take long before we spot our fresh champion in a BMW showroom. The champ makes it clear to the sales manager that he’s a winner, and is looking for a car that fits his profile.
Empty those pockets. The sales guy quickly sees dollar signs floating in front of his eyes, an idea he stole from Cartoon Network, and drags him to the corner where the more expensive models are lined up. However, it doesn’t take very long before the prize-winning hero gets confronted with the fact that driving pleasure comes with a price-tag. To make an already short story a bit shorter, the title-holder is now the lucky owner of a one-series BMW. At least he is consistent with numbers…
Time for a drink. They say winning is in our blood, and so it didn’t take very long before our hero got frustrated after another ass kicking at the stoplight signs. It was time for a visit to the suburbs of the Bavarian Capital, the home of Oktoberfest and BMW. Because that’s also where Laptime-Performance drinks their coffee. And between coffees, find some time to build cars that run faster than Usain Bolt on 100 octane fuel.
Fake news. If you want to make your car faster, there a few things you can do. For example, you can drive it downhill, what always does the trick. The obvious choice of course is modifying your engine, but that’s not really necessary. Finding it hard to believe? Well, guess we can’t blame you for being doubtful in this fake news era. But please stick around, because we have a kind of an uncompromising track tool in the offer…
The first commandment. Even the BMW twin scrolling turbo six-cylinder in-line B58B30 engine that is used for the new A90 Toyota Supra is still stock. And we know what you’re thinking, then why are those 340 hp that fast? Simple, because Simon Eibl from Laptime-Performance builds his cars based one the first commandment form the Godfather of race car engineering Colin Chapman: To get faster, add more lightness.
About your grandmother. And this should be a rule among couples. For every new outfit she buys, he can remove an unnecessary car part. And if we may make a suggestion here, we advice you to start with your mother-in-law. So it’s no wonder that Laptime-Performance has thrown out all the unnecessary belongings from this M140i’s interior. Instead, Simon and his crew installed light comfort equipment like Recaro bucket seats who embrace you as your grandmother did when you visited her on Christmas Day. Though without the drool on your face.
A glimpse of black gold. Since the car dropped a few pounds, there’s room to add a few, and so Laptime-Performance installed a modified M4 GTS roll cage. Door panels got removed and replaced with carbon fiber ones. Simon also planted a lot of carbon fiber parts like the original BMW Motorsports aprons from the BMW M235i Racing Cup. Even the roof and hood are made out of the lightweight composite material. However from the outside you can’t see a glimpse of the black gold, since the car was painted in ultraviolet, a color of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Screw the modern age. To get really fast on every road and in every corner, there is always an improvement needed and so Laptime-Performance put the modification of the suspension to the maximum. Simon reworked also the rear axle geometry, cause he doesn’t like the sheer driving pleasure of modern BMWs anymore. And we kinda support him in that statement.
A shocking tribute. “We reworked the axle geometry to a five-link rear axle with unibal bearings for all wishbones, pendle bearings, tie rods, track arms and installed a real motorsports suspension with fully adjustable KW racing shocks. Things that make you really fast on the racetrack improves also your speed on the road.”, states Simon. Guess the only boundary left are now the speed limits and driving skills of the pilot behind the wheel.
Showing that behind. One thing you really need to love on this ultraviolet M140i is the fact that the car has a manual 6-speed gearbox upgraded with a CAE shifter kit and Drexler limited-slip differential. With this set-up, the torque of 500 Nm is very present, and is highly recommended in case you want to show your rear taillights to the rest of traffic.
Nutella and peas. Though no worries, the semi-slicks and racing shocks tame the torque in every situation. The car sticks with its 265/35 ZR18 and 295/30 ZR 18 tires on narrow country roads like Nutella on a slice of bread, while the KW shocks damp every bump as if they were a pea under a mattress. Simply outstanding!
Not all good news. Nevertheless, in the end there are a two genuine good reasons why this Laptime-Performance hatchback isn’t the best M140i money can buy. For starters, it seduces you to drive fast at every moment, which makes you feel like you are on the Autobahn, even on those narrow country roads with speed limits. And second, this ultimate driving machine doesn’t belong to our car collection…
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Suspension Tech Info: KW Competition 3-way adjustable SingleTube dampers in upside-down version with special linear bearing, which is characterized by a lower friction and a low breakaway torque. As wheel-guiding McPherson struts are exposed to highest loads during cornering and braking, the advantage of KW linear bearings at increasing transverse forces (lateral forces) is up to 87% less friction compared to plain bearings. The basic compression stage has an individually pre-configurable midspeed valve, in addition to the high speed and low speed compression adjustment, the transition point from a progressive to a digressive characteristic curve can be varied. The adjustable rebound stage can be optimally configured for the intended purpose by an extensive number of needle valves and coil springs with a linear, progressive or digressive characteristic.
// KW Competition 3A in detail:
- Single Tube
- Separate compression and rebound valves
- 3-way adjustable
- Damping adjustment:
- – 18 clicks rebound
- – 18 clicks compression damping in low speed
- – 18 clicks compression damping in high speed
- Pre-configurable compression-midspeed-valve
- Individual characteristic design for a linear, progressive or digressive characteristic
- MacPherson Struts in upside-down-version (inverted monotube)
For more information: https://www.kwsuspensions.net/racing/