I thought I was a racer," young Marcus Gottschalk began. "One night I saw an M5 enter the canyons in front of me, so I chased him. I kept pushing my car harder and harder to catch up. Unfortunately, I came into a turn in third gear when I should have been in second and smashed into the railing. It shot me right off a cliff, 140 feet in the air. Fortunately, I landed on all four wheels when I hit the bottom but couldn't open the doors so had to climb out of the sunroof. Miraculously, there wasn't a scratch on my body."
Equipped with only an exhaust and performance tires, Marcus underestimated his driving skills, the ability of his car and nearly lost his life. He confesses he was a nave driver in his teenage years, so after the accident he attended a race school in Germany to improve his skills and sense.
The morning after the accident, his '95 BMW 318ti was recovered from the mountain with only mild body damage. If Marcus was driving a less durable car, he may have experienced more repercussions.
He attributes his appreciation for BMWs to his family background. "I was born in the US, but all my relatives are from Germany," he explained. "My father was a BMW engineer but got a visa and moved to the US to work in BMW's California emissions lab." Having BMW in his blood, he learned the quality of driving machines like the 3-Series while growing up.
Since his father toyed with BMWs, Marcus understood the proper way to modify one. "Over there, they built cars in the old school tradition - suspension over motor," he grinned. "Everything needed TV approval, and with the cost of insurance you couldn't put much money into the motor. But my father would always bring home cars, take me to the canyons and show me how to drive."
The cliff-diving incident temporarily jarred Marcus' passion, but before long he continued his father's enthusiasm for fine German tuning. "My goal was to make the car daily drivable but look clean, like an old guy was driving it," he explained. "I also wanted to have fun and tackle some twisties whenever I could. A lot of my buddies have dedicated drag or track cars, but I have the best of both worlds."
Following the accident, Marcus delivered the damaged 318ti to JT Motorsport for a month of body repairs. The car returned with a fresh body and a new aftermarket front bumper. "I ran an E46 M3-style bumper," said Marcus. "It was a direct copy with an aggressive front splitter."
He enjoyed his newly repaired car for one week until a semi truck rear-ended him on the freeway.
Frustrated but determined to complete his project car, he decided to invest more money and make the car the best it could be.
Marcus started replacing worn parts and stiffening the suspension. "After the freeway accident I had to replace the rear bumper," he stated. "At the same time, I added Bilstein dampers and H&R springs. I continued by adding Eibach anti-roll bars and a custom X-brace. The brace extended from the c-pillars to the seatbelt bolts. After that I did strut bars. The car was dialed in pretty well and that's when it became fun to drive, but all I had in the motor was a chip and exhaust at the time."
After many miles, Marcus upgraded to adjustable Weitec coilovers. He completed the suspension with a Weicher Sport rollcage to ensure chassis stability and safety.