We’re so used to seeing huge numbers being put out by turbocharged plants that when someone says his/her car put down 350 HP at the wheels on a dyno we’re not all that impressed. However, naturally aspirated plants have their advantages compared to those using forced induction.
The most obvious one is the razor sharp pedal response that lacks any sort of lag in operation. That is the one thing that we’ll miss. And maybe the sound of some plants, like the S65 V8 from BMW’s M division.
In case you’re not up to par with Bimmer codenames, that’s the 4-liter mill fitted under the bonnet of the E9x M3 models and the last naturally aspirated engine from BMW to exit production. Along with its departure came the era of turbocharged engines in Munich.
Leaving that aside, what we have here today is an E93 M3 convertible that looks absolutely stunning thanks to some carefully place tuning bits and pieces.
Up front you’ll immediately notice the gloss black kidney grilles, Euro bumper, gloss black trims and Orion V4 LED angel eyes that decorate the headlights, creating a mesmerizing effect.
On the sides, the painted side markers make sure no nasty orange will dent the pure white of the car’s paintwork while the Velos Designwerks 20” wheels complete the package.
There’s also some engine tuning going on here, without appealing to forced induction whatsoever. The engine received an Active Autowerke underdrive pulley along with an Alpine custom ECU tune and transmission flash. Those changed the quantity of air needed for the engine so an Eisenmann exhaust was included in the package along with some new bypass track pipes and a stage 2 intake from Macht Schnell.
The result was then put to the test on the dyno and the readings showed 367 HP and 271 lb-ft (367 Nm) of torque at the wheels. That means that we have around 430 HP and 311 lb-ft (421 Nm) of torque at the crank. The sound though...
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