HGK Motorsport takes the beefed-up BMW out for some sideways action.
We don’t speak Latvian, but we’re pretty sure there’s a word in the language for “drift.”
We came to that conclusion after taking a look at the video above, which shows a highly modified F22 BMW 2 Series from a Latvian company called HGK Motorsport drifting its rear tires off. Then we looked at HGK’s website and noticed the company seems to specialize in drift cars with twin-kidney grilles.
According to our friends at Motor Authority, this particular 2 (aka the F22 Eurofighter) was created for a Qatari racing team. HGK seam welded the entire chassis and paired that with a completely reworked suspension with plenty of steering angle for hours of tail-out antics.
To make sure the rear steps out at will, HGK went big under the hood. No tune, no M2 engine transplant. It yanked the stock motor out and replaced it with a giant V8 from General Motors. It didn’t stop there, though. HGK worked with Mast Motorsports to crank an insane 820 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque out of the 6.2-liter power plant.
Those numbers look even better when you consider that BMW’s most powerful version of the 2 Series, the M2, generates 365 horsepower and 343 lb-ft, and weighs a minimum of 3,450 pounds. This stripped and gutted monster makes more than twice as many horses and almost doubles the M2’s torque figure. Hmmm… Is there a Latvian phrase that translates to “Sometimes too much is just the right amount”?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
