Building an aggressive street car nearly always involves making some sort of compromise along the way. As much as we would all like to think we could live with a stripped and caged daily driver, we all know that the reality would quickly wear thin. Especially in our modern motoring world where it would seem that every government is doing their utmost to remove the joy of driving from us.
When Phil Morrison bought this E46 M3 as a daily driver he wanted to keep things simple and civilized. But when you have a 720+BHP Nissan S15 in your garage, everything else is going to feel rather tame in comparison. As some of you know, Phil is the co-founder of Driftworks, which we published a story about earlier in the week. Earlier this year, Driftworks announced a new brand, Trackculture, to appeal to track day junkies and fast road car owners.
The modifications started quite soon in this E46's life once under Phil's ownership. A healthy 370 odd horsepower was extracted from the original motor but knowing Phil, this was never going to be enough.
It's also worth remembering that when your sister company's flagship car is the Driftworks S15, building something tame was never going to be an option.
Phil's vision for his M3 was to keep it sensible and retain the everyday drivability of an M3 whilst improving power and delivery but not detrimentally affecting the weight distribution or handling of the car.
The first time I popped the bonnet, it was to be honest a sort of anti-climax but for good reason. The engine just looked like a factory install. That's no mean feat considering swapping an S85 into an E46 is not exactly the easiest of conversions.
Thanks to the help of Dynotorque (one of the UK's leading LS motor swap shops), they managed to get the five litre S85 engine into the bay with the use of custom engine mounts and crossmember, an RX7 steering rack and a custom steering column.
With 500+BHP now being delivered, adequate stopping power was required. Behind the three piece AC Schnitzer wheels (18x9.5 up front and 18x11.5 at the rear). 360mm discs with CA Automotive six piston calipers for the front and Stoptech four piston calipers with Stoptech pads for the rear.
The subtleties on the outside are what really help this car shine in my book. To a regular passer-by it looks like just another E46 M3 but to a trained eye, all the details begin to reveal a much bigger picture. The rear bootlid is a carbon CSL item with the addition of an AC Schnitzer roof spoiler.
The inside has retained all the expected creature comforts of an M3. CSL front seats and ACS white kevlar dash and door trim. As far as I know the European E60 M5 never came with a manual gearbox - although the USDM version did - so Phil's research revealed that an E9x M3 six speed would mate perfectly to the S85 engine. A Dynavin headunit takes up radio, TV and navigation services.
Trying to get the engine up and running with the M5's extremely complicated electronics was a going to be a big no-no. With the help of KMS Racing Engines in the Netherlands, a company with great experience in running the S85 in track cars, Phil sourced a Pectel SQ6M12 ECU and paired it with a Cosworth Motorsports engine loom which all tied into the above Cosworth Pi Omega Dash2.
The rear arches alone required nearly 100 hours of labour to flare them for an extra 40mm of clearance whilst still retaining an OEM look.
The effort was worth it however, as there are no issues whatsoever with the 285/30/18 Federal RSRs (245/35/18 at the front) fouling the bodywork or inner-arch. Remember how I'm always harping on about how you can have a fully functional track car with stance and not have issues? This is how it can and should be done.
The exhaust is a custom stainless steel item built by Dynotorque with an Eisenmann back box with a QPR Electronic Exhaust Bypass Valve.
What appeals to me most about this car is that it offers the complete package - it has the power, the looks and the comfort to match.