Muscle-Flexing

Words and snaps by Ben

When Sylver was out looking for a new ride to sit next to her apex-carving Impreza, she was aiming for an entirely different breed of car. Something quick, of course, but also much simpler to use than her fully-built STI for her daily commute.

Her mind was set on a 335i convertible, which ticked all the right boxes, with the additional benefit of letting her enjoy the wind in her hair during cool night drives.

But then a 135i caught her eye. While it didn't have a drop-top, it had the advantage of having a smaller wheelbase and a lighter frame, while sporting the same N54 biturbo inline 6 engine as its bigger sibling. And this sealed the deal for Sylver.

While she was enjoying her newly dubbed "Baby BM", Calvin, the head man at 2277, started planting seeds in her mind. Ideas of mods and power started to take root. Before she knew it, Calvin's vision grew to be her own, and she began to look for ways to get more muscle out of her car.

At first glance, Sylver's car stands out from any other. Muscle comes in the form of a 1M bodykit which, alone, sets whole new standards in terms of looks and performance expectations.

At the front, she complements the aggressiveness of the 1M kit with a carbon fibre hood, while at the rear, a carbon fibre diffuser provides a beautiful frame to the Arqray stainless steel quad-tip exhaust.

Above the boot, a RevoZport Raze carbon fibre wing enhances the stability and the looks simultaneously.

The most striking personal touch Sylver brings to her Baby BM must be the custom paint job. A lot of thought has gone into the design, and the result is the custom pearlescent purple hue sporting the 2277 liveries that you see here.

The devil is in the details, and Sylver makes sure a closer look at her car would gratify the onlooker with even more to look at. For this, she gave the hood the same pearlescent treatment as the body, but in clear, only adding purple to further enhance the muscular carvings of the hood.

Inside, Sylver keeps things much tamer, with only the original seats making way for a pair of hugging Recaro Sportster CL100H.

The steering wheel is also swapped in favour of an alcantara-wrapped M Performance electronic steering wheel.

The wheel comes with integrated shift lights and heads-up info such as lap times, temperatures and more, a useful feature in her otherwise gauge-less interior.

Sitting on gorgeous Advan Racing RS-DF shod in Michelin PSS sizing 225/35ZR19 at the front and 265/30ZR19 at the rear, Sylver just has to make sure of one thing: make sure her car goes as fast as it looks.

Her aim is to beat the 11.8 seconds mark on the quarter mile, which is among the fastest European times for the 135i. And for this, Calvin knew exactly what to hook her up with.

The aim of the game is to build a quick machine without building a monster that will only be manageable on the track. Remember, Sylver originally bought this ride as a daily drive.

The handling and braking are upgraded to meet the rules of this build. Keeping the Baby BM on rails is a set of KW Club Sport coilovers, while BMW Performance rotors take care of making sure the German brawler can stop better than it can pick up speed.

With this done, it's under the hood that things get fun.

To make the Baby BM fly without hindering its daily drive-ability, Calvin followed a simple yet terribly efficient recipe articulated around Owen Development's big turbos.

The original intake is replaced by a carbon fibre counterpart providing a better air flow for the two turbines to suck up all the air they can handle.

A Forge Motorsport intercooler sits at the place of the original hardware, enhancing the cooling and reducing the pressure loss compared to the factory setup, ready to handle the needs of the new turbos.

The engine management is left to the watchful calculations of a Unichip Q. The results? A very decent 445whp and a whopping 850Nm of torque! That's 143 more horses and a monstrous 450Nm more than the factory figures.

With this, Sylver now chases the 11.8 seconds on the quarter mile, when she's not busy commuting in her muscle-flexing Baby BM.

Specs
Make	BMW
Model	E82 135i
Engine	2,979cc N54 Biturbo Inline 6
Transmission	6-Speed Steptronic
Drive Layout	FR
Max Output	445whp, 850Nm Torque
Modifications
Power Mods
Intake	Carbon Fibre Intake
Cooling	Forge Motorsport Intercooler
Turbocharger	Owen Development Big Turbos
Exhaust	Arqray Stainless Steel Exhaust
ECU	Unichip Q
Handling
Wheels	Advan Racing RS-DF 19x8.5j Front Offset 35 & 19x9j Rear Offset 50
Tyres	Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/35ZR19 Front & 265/30ZR19 Rear
Brakes	BMW Performance Rotors
Suspensions	KW Club Sport
Exterior
Bodykit	1M Body Kit, Carbon Fibre Hood with Hood Clips, Carbon Fibre Rear Lip
Downforce	RevoZport Raze
Other	Custom Purple Pearlescent Paint Job
Interior
Seats	Recaro Sportster CL100H
Steering Wheel	BMW M Performance Electronic Steering Wheel

Sylver would like to thank first and foremost Calvin from 2277, for the chef d'oeuvre that is her Baby BM both in terms of performance and looks. She also thanks her baby sister Chris for ensuring that she stays hydrated and entertained whenever she's at the workshop for long hours. Andrew from Velocity Tuningworks who made the gas guzzler work right. Peter from Kennol for the vital fluids that make her car run soundly. Eurotechnik for their help in achieving her desired looks. Darren from DFM for working up late on her ride.