Supercharged LS3-Powered BMW Rips Donuts at Hoonigan HQ
Bright-orange E30 drift car barks like a hellhound and melts tires like the Hoonicorn.
ANDY HATELEY’S BMW E30 IS LOUD. LIKE, REALLY LOUD. EVEN THOUGH WE TURNED OUR HEADPHONES DOWN, WE STILL MIGHT HAVE SUFFERED SOME HEARING LOSS FROM AN INTERNET VIDEO.
OK, enough all-caps. That said, it’s the only way to demonstrate what happened when Formula Drift PRO2 driver Andy Hateley dropped by the Hoonigans’ office with his raucous Bimmer. It turned plenty of rubber into smoke and probably beat up on ears for a mile around, at least.
The E30 is hard to miss, really. With screaming-orange paint and massive fender flares, it screams while sitting still. The details are pretty neat, particularly the Sierra Cosworth-style hood vents and protruding intake plumbing.
However, the Bavarian machine’s American heart makes all the difference. Although Hateley originally planned a supercharged 4.0-liter BMW V8, he changed his mind in the middle of his five-year build.
Instead, the E30 got an LS3 crate engine that is largely stock except for pushrods and valve springs to handle drift-caliber revs. To that LS3, he added a Magnuson supercharger. That’s all good for somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower. A new engine next year should add at least 150 horsepower to that total.
If a blown LS3 isn’t American enough for you, the transmission should change your mind. Andy installed a four-speed NASCAR dogbox to handle the power. Not only is it a NASCAR transmission, it also came from Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew.
The rest of the build includes a pile of trick suspension and brake parts too long to list, we suspect. However, Hateley moved all of the cooling to the car’s rear. You’ll find the radiator, oil cooler, and oil filter remotely mounted in the rear.
As you’d expect from any proper Hoonigan guest, Andy Hateley whips a few donuts in the back parking lot. Even in a place with regularly visiting noisy cars, this one seems to draw the most frightened and/or painful reactions.