The Best BMW Event Of The Year Is Over. Just Another Nine Months Until The Next Bimmerfest!
There are a handful of shows we look forward to every year, and the Fests always top our list of "must see" events - that's Waterfest and Bimmerfest for the VW and BMW crowd, respectively.
Bimmerfest takes place every May in Santa Barbara, CA and although the show has grown exponentially every year, organizer Jon Shafer and his team have managed to keep the same relaxed, family atmosphere it's always had.
Bursting at the seams of its location at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, we're told to expect a new venue for '09 to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors and vendors. We understand that the organizers are considering a larger location in Santa Barbara, or may move the show to Vegas!
Obviously we like the sound of the latter since a growing number of Vegas car shows and caravans have highlighted the benefits of cruising to and enjoying the facilities of Sin City. With a larger showground, the possibility of a track day to be added, plenty of accommodation and the city's famous distractions, Vegas seems like an obvious choice. Visit www.bimmerfest.com to share your thoughts about the show's future on its forums.
Returning to this year's event, the parking lot was full of sensational BMWs, as always. The organizers claimed almost 2000 cars on display, and up to 7000 visitors enjoying the sights and sounds on the day.
A tradition of Bimmerfest is the charity raffle, with vendors donating prizes and all the money going to the Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara - an organization that supports low-income families.
In case you missed the fun, move your mouse over to www.bimmerfest.com where you can check out the galleries and forums and purchase the exclusive $15.99 DVD.
The laidback car show isn't judged on the usual points system, so everybody has a chance to win. This year we were delighted to discover Dennis Wang's twincharged E90 325i was awarded Best Of Show, and you can read the full feature elsewhere in this issue.
Other awards were handed out for the highest mileage - won by Kirin Thurman's '87 325es with a staggering 326251 miles on the odo. That kind of mileage was racked up by some of the visitors who traveled from across the country. The farthest traveler was adjudged to have been an E21 320i that made a 5000 mile round trip from Washington DC!
Having traveled so far, visitors were treated to many of the BMW scene's top tuners selling new parts and offering advice. These included luminaries such as Active Autowerke, Turner Motorsport, evosport and Horsepower Freaks. Then there were old friends from Brembo, CEC, DPE, Groma, iForged, Supreme Power Parts, VF and many more. We were also pleased to see Yokohama, Nitto and Falken tires in attendance, showing the importance of Bimmerfest on the national level.
Wherever the organizers choose to hold Bimmerfest '09, we hope to see you there for a great show and a good time.
Best Of Show2006 E90 325i - Dennis Wang
Best Stock1.1974 2002 Turbo - Chris Provo2. 1989 750iL - Carlos Cardenas3. E34 M5 Touring - Greg Schultz
Best Classic1. E28 M5 - Ron Perry2. 1976 2002 - Jerry Boydston3. 1974 1802 Touring - Steve Padrick
Best Modified1. E46 M3 - Jeff Hsieh2. 1995 840ci - Fern Mora3. 996 Z3 - Raymond Lieu
Highest Mileage1987 325es - Kirin Thurman - 326251 miles
Farthest TraveledE21 320i - Joel Greenfield - Washington DC1986 325es - Saad El-Ahmad - Atlanta, GAE46 M3 - Van Baucum - Alabama
Brembo showed off its latest E92 M3 front and rear big brake kit. The front uses 15", two-piece, floating, drilled rotors and six-piston monoblock calipers while the rear has the same 15" rotors with four-piston calipers (www.racetechnologies.com) | 
JLeviSW's new E92 M3 with full Vorsteiner kit and 20" wheels (www.jlevisw.com) | 
DTM Autohaus E46 M3 widebody with true blue paint and 20" DPE wheels finally has more power thanks to VF supercharger. Full feature soon (www.dtmautohaus.com) |
In the et booth, we brought back Aaron-Ross Jimenez's supercharged '02 330i with its memorable Apple trunk setup and new Lambo grey paint | 
Mike Tran's Vorsteiner-kitted E92 335i from JLeviSW with front and rear Brembos, prototype carbon hood, Active power upgrades and more | 
Exec Studio's awesome E92 335i project was slammed on Air Runner suspension. It also sports a Hamann kit, 20" Agio wheels, Rotora brakes, ACS roof spoiler and more. Full feature soon (www.execstudio.com) |
Raymond Lieu's M Coupe with candy paint, Hamann gear, DTM Kreuz wheels and JBT big brakes took third place in the modified class | 
One of the most modified E92 M3s with Vorsteiner body parts, Eisenmann exhaust and 360Forged wheels matched to Nitto Invo tires | 
One of the first 335is we've seen sporting a Hartge front lip and 19" BBS LM-R wheels |
Jack Dayeh from DAI Motorsports showed this insane Flossman widebody E46 M3. Full feature soon (www.daimotorsports.com) | 
Our Project 135i made its public debut at Bimmerfest, complete with its H&R coilovers and new 19" DCR three-piece wheels on ContiSportContact3 tires (www.eurotuner.com) |  |