Hoonigan Checks Out a Supercharged E30 Drift Car
This Classic E30 should come with a ‘Mandatory Hearing Protection Area’ sign plastered across the back.
If you’re not familiar with Hoonigan or their Daily Transmission YouTube show, the quick version is this: They’re a bunch of guys who like cars, and awesome people with awesome cars stop by their office to show them off. Also, there’s a lot of tire smoke. Hence the name Donut Garage.
Which brings us to this bright orange E30. Andy Hately is a PRO2 Formula Drift driver with an absurdly loud E30. The E30 does not sport a BMW mill, sadly, but follows a proven formula used by many competitive drivers and teams: LS3 V-8 crate engine, with a little extra something on top. With its Magnuson supercharger, Hatley estimates it’s putting down 625 hp, and it sounds like it!
If you’re lamenting the lack of a BMW engine under the hood, take some solace in the fact that he had the best of intentions, since the car initially sported an M60 with a supercharger. That’s the V8 from the E34 540 (1992-1996). When he got the E30, the engine was already removed, and a fresh M60 wouldn’t have been ready for the 2013 Formula D season.
CHECK OUT: What the Forum Has to Say About this Loud BMW
Andy went with an E30 because a buddy had one that could keep up with his 350Z and another friend’s Evo. The way they drive and the way he could hang the back end out got him hooked on the classic. Over the course of 5 years, he built the car up to be a competition car, learning as many different skills as he could. Andy mentions learning to weld and fabricate on it, including the cage.
Skip to 10:15 in the video if you want to get right to the fun stuff, where Andy tries to deafen the Hoonigan guys. Lots and lots of tire smoke follow, in addition to some donuts. When in Rome, eh?
