BMW 2002 FR

Nov 03, 2020

During a rally in the South-West of France, we fell under the spell of a BMW 323i Alpina. This one belonged to Matthieu Cormier, pilot and BMW dealer in La Rochelle. Our love for old BMWs led us to get back in touch, under the initiative of Victor Sellier (in charge of the marketing of the dealership). When he mentioned the BMW Classic label, recently acquired by BMW H.Cormier, and in particular a BMW 2002 Turbo, we couldn’t resist to find out more. Honestly, the color is properly matched with the Halloween period, isn’t?

INTERVIEW – BILLY mechanic and former drift driver, owner of Motorsport Héritage

Deus Ex Machina: Tell us more about this orange 2002 BMW.

I found it in a garden while passing by. It was taking root. Here, I’m going to make a 2002, first because there was no one, all the guys started on the basis of E30 and more recent ones. There were a few nice 2002s, but not that many, often originals and not customized with a street look like this one. So I went to see the owner, he ended up selling it to me. I had my wife with me and she said: “Wait a minute, I buy it and it’s mine”.

Didn’t you tell her that you wanted to put on a turbo ?

No, at first I just wanted to restore it and put nice little rims on it.

What was the model?

It was a normal 2002 with a carburetor, a 2.0L, but the body was rotten like manure. I remembered that a buddy had kept a 2002 body for at least 20 years. He bought it when he was a minor and took it apart. It was his first car and he never put it back together. The car was in a barn for years. I bought it from him once 15 years ago, I put a 3.0L M3 engine in it and I never finished it. Then, I needed the engine to make a track car, so I took it out and he decided to take the body back. But, he didn’t touch it. When I finally bought the orange 2002, I bought him the 2002 body a second time to put the parts from the orange one on it. Total restoration, naked car body, we took care of it.

The case was clean, but the elements weren’t very beautiful; for example for the doors, I couldn’t find any. It is a little old man, Albert, who shaped the steel sheets by hand. He bought some sheets and made the doors, with: a petanque ball, a hammer, a tube and a cutting torch. Same for the hood and the trunk. Finally, the epoxy paint was redone.

Do you have pictures of the restoration?

To stay in the spirit of the 2002, we decided to put a 318iS four-cylinder, affordable and with a good power-to-price ratio. Then I put the E30’s rear-end and a big front-wheel axle unit and then, it was seriously beyond the fenders.

At what point did it flip over?

It flipped over with the rims, actually. I kept it for 10 years in my garage and one day I was at a friend’s house, there were these rims stacked in a corner and I said to him :

“They’re nice, are they for sale?”

– Yes, here, 200 bucks and you take them away” my friend answered me.

So, I bought them and I put them on an E30 but it doesn’t match very well, it was horrible! Then, I put them on a 2002 body that had the front and rear axle and I thought “Wow!”. I started the restoration. We had to seek parts all over the world (some elements are coming from Germany, China, Peru or the United States), the buddies and at the car dealership.

I decided to make an upgraded 2002. As the wheels exceed the fenders, we switched to a Turbo kit, I thought “I might as well give it the full Turbo look, with the stickers”, then I thought “It’s stupid to have a Turbo and not have a turbo”. So, we went on:

– a custom manifold (that we made)

– a turbo a “little bit” oversized

– programmable engine management (JACOB Sport set it on the bench)

– a six-speed gearbox

– a large flywheel

– reinforced clutch

– large dive axles

– self-locking differential

– big brakes, Ferrari brake callipers (from a 355)

I dug into everything that was cool in the garage. I wanted to keep the spirit of the Turbo with a Phase 1 rear end with round lights and a Phase 2 front end. The rear hood is also normally shorter. It has a lot of little details that, on the Turbo, are different when you know it. So it’s not a real Turbo, it’s a “fake one” but we’ll say it’s a “super Turbo”. there’s not a single cylinder block that’s not new.

What kind of shock absorbers did you put on?

They are threaded handsets: at the rear, it’s custom made, I did like the M3 group A and at the front, it’s E46 handsets.

You do everything, what did you study?

I studied mechanics but nothing to do with that. It’s mostly on the job that I learned. First swap and then it got out of control, I was 17 years old. I didn’t have a driver’s license yet and I had already swapped a Golf 1 GTI.

And a big thanks to:

Billy Motorsport Héritage garage BMW H.CORMIER

Deus photos : Alexandre Taube @taubalex Circuit Photo credits

ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Setiap tahun, teman-teman kita Tasix Adventure—penyelenggara petualangan ban berlumpur dan adrenalin berbahan bakar terbaik di Bali—mengadakan acara akhir pekan berkemah yang sangat dinanti-nantikan. Mereka menamakannya “ The Wild,” dan jujur saja, tidak ada kata yang lebih pas dari itu.

Ini bukan sekadar acara; ini adalah petualangan wajib bagi siapa saja yang mencintai tanah, tantangan, dan persahabatan yang hanya bisa terjalin saat tertawa melihat teman lain terjatuh.

Hal tentang The Wild adalah misterinya. Kamu tidak tahu ke mana akan pergi, bagaimana sampai di sana, atau apa yang akan kamu temui—seperti hidup, tapi dengan lebih banyak asap knalpot.

Tahun ini, The Wild yang berlangsung pada 7 Desember 2024, mengumpulkan 135 pecinta motor enduro, trail, dan cross di Desa Kopi, Tabanan. Tepat pukul 9 pagi, kami berangkat menuju Desa Gesing, Singaraja. Rute tetap dirahasiakan hingga hari acara, meningkatkan sensasi penasaran dan antusiasme. Dengan dibagi menjadi beberapa kelompok kecil, kami melengkapi diri dengan perlengkapan motocross lengkap untuk menghadapi tantangan musim hujan.

Perjalanan? Murni magis. Jalur berkelok melalui permata tersembunyi Bali, di mana setiap tikungan menawarkan pemandangan yang memukau atau hampir membuat jantung berhenti. Rute tahun ini menghadirkan medan tanah liat merah—dijuluki tanah "keramik" karena teksturnya yang licin dan keras saat basah. Untuk melintasinya, diperlukan teknik khusus yang disebut “paddling the throttle,” sebuah manuver yang mendebarkan dengan motor yang sering bergoyang liar. Dari kejauhan, mungkin terlihat lucu, tetapi saat di atas motor? Ceritanya berbeda.

Setelah menempuh 68 kilometer petualangan liar, kami tiba di perkemahan di puncak bukit yang sudah dipenuhi tenda-tenda peserta lain dan deru knalpot. Destinasi selalu mencuri perhatian, dan yang satu ini tidak terkecuali—tempat tinggi dengan pemandangan 360 derajat yang menakjubkan dari laut, gunung, hingga kota.

Saat hujan turun, tenda-tenda didirikan, dan malam itu diisi dengan berbagi cerita tentang penyelamatan heroik dan kecelakaan yang menggelikan. Dan tentu saja, ada balapan. Bayangkan sekelompok pengendara penuh semangat meluncur di perbukitan dalam kekacauan yang terkontrol. Balapan tahun ini termasuk duel 1 lawan 1 yang seru di sekitar puncak bukit, dengan peserta menyelesaikan dua putaran penuh adrenalin.

Bukan soal menang; ini tentang hadir, tertawa, dan menikmati momen. Para pemenang dan peserta tercepat yang mencapai puncak bukit dirayakan dengan hadiah, tetapi senyuman, persahabatan, dan kebersamaan membuat semua orang merasa seperti juara.

The Wild tahun ini benar-benar sesuai namanya, bahkan lebih. Petualangan, tawa, dan cukup banyak tanah di gigi untuk menyebutnya otentik—kami tidak akan menginginkannya dengan cara lain. Terima kasih yang sebesar-besarnya kepada semua peserta yang menjadikannya pengalaman tak terlupakan. Sampai jumpa di petualangan berikutnya!

Every year, our mates over at Tasix Adventure—Bali’s finest purveyors of muddy tyres and fuel-driven adrenaline—host their much-anticipated camp-out weekend. They’ve named it “Wild,” and honestly, there’s no better word for it.

It’s not just an event; it’s a pilgrimage for anyone who loves dirt, daring, and the kind of camaraderie you can only forge while laughing at someone else’s wipeout.

The thing about Wild is that it’s shrouded in mystery. You don’t know where you’re going, how you’ll get there, or what you’ll find—kind of like life, but with more exhaust fumes.

This year’s Wild, held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, brought together 135 enthusiasts of enduro, trail, and cross motorcycles at Desa Kopi, Tabanan. The route was kept a secret until the event day, heightening the thrill of the unknown. At exactly 9 am, they shared the destination, Desa Gesing, Singaraja, Divided into small groups, we geared up with full motocross kits to tackle the rainy season’s challenges.

The ride? Pure magic. Twisting trails through Bali’s hidden gems, where every turn promised either breathtaking views or breathtaking near-misses. This year’s route featured red clay terrain—nicknamed "ceramic" soil for its slick, hard texture when wet. Navigating it required a special technique called “paddling the throttle,” a nerve-wracking maneuver that had bikes swaying wildly. From a distance, it might have looked hilarious, but on the bike? It was a whole other story.

After 68 kilometres of this wild adventure, we arrived at the hilltop campsite already alive with the buzz of activity and the roar of exhausts. The destination always steals the spotlight, and this one was no exception—a high-altitude perch offering stunning 360-degree views of the sea, mountains, and city.

As the rain came down, tents went up, and the evening was all about swapping stories of heroic saves and laughable crashes. And then there were the races. Picture a pack of overexcited riders tearing up the hillside in what can only be described as controlled chaos. This year’s races included thrilling 1-on-1 duels around the hilltop, with participants pushing through two laps of sheer adrenaline.

It wasn’t just about winning; it was about showing up, laughing, and embracing the moment. The race winners and the fastest hilltop arrivals were celebrated with prizes, but the smiles, the camaraderie, and the shared triumphs made everyone feel like champions.

This year’s Wild lived up to its name and then some. Adventure, laughter, and just enough dirt in your teeth to call it authentic—we wouldn’t have it any other way. A massive thank you to all the participants who made it unforgettable. See you on the next adventure!