Let's learn about the Republic of the Philippines, children: Pinched between Taiwan and Indonesia in South-East Asia, the Philippine archipelago is made up of 7107 islands and is slightly larger than Arizona. It's comprised of 81 provinces and 136 chartered cities, supporting a population of more than 96 million, with 80% of them being Catholic
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century, but were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth until they fell under Japanese occupation in 1942, finally attaining its independence on July 4, 1946. Why does this matter? Because we're citizens of the world, and we're celebrating our first Filipino feature car in eurotuner.
The vehicle in question is a '08 E93 BMW 335i Convertible belonging to Anderson Tan. The 28 year-old grew up and studied in New York City during the mid-to-late '80s, where his family owned a restaurant on 34th Street. He finished his undergraduate studies at Oxford University, England and eventually returned to the Phillipines where he runs his own camera business.
"There are four elements I look for in my dream car," he told us. "It has to be fast, have four seats, be a convertible and European." Fortunately, there are a few choices in that category, with BMW, Audi, Mercedes and VW offering something, plus Bentley if you're a balla!
Having previously owned a supercharged E46 3-Series, it was possible to predict where Anderson's loyalty lay: "The E93 nailed all four elements really hard. I've got to give mad props to BMW for making such a ride with the best of everything. I've always been a fan of Bimmers since I was a kid, so had no regrets selling the E46 for this baby!"
Wanting a BMW and actually getting one seems to be oceans apart when you live in the Phillipines. "I had to wait six months for my E93 because I placed it on special order through my local dealer Klassik BMW. It was the first in the country but with all the taxes and duty paid, it cost me a hefty $115000!"
If you owned what appears to be the world's most expensive 3-Series, most of us might be a little cautious about modifyingit. However, the long wait gave Anderson time to research how the 335i could look,handle and drive, thanks to the various BMW internet forums.
Inspired by what he saw, most of the parts had arrived even before the car reached him. They were mainly ordered from JLevi Streetwerks in Santa Clara, CA and Atoy Bodykits in Quezon City, Phillipines.
"I wanted a simple but aggressive look," Anderson explained. This encouraged him to opt for Vorsteiner's front chin spoiler and carbon dome hood. The latter was painted in the center, leaving carbon accents down either side, both for uniqueness and to ensure everybody knew it was something special.
Although not wishing to overdo the carbon fiber, he couldn't resist another flourish, adding BMW's own M-tech rear bumper with carbon diffuser. He also fitted the M3 trunk spoiler and completed the styling with Hamann sides skirts and M3 mirrors.
Wheels are a crucial and sometimes agonizing decision, yet Anderson had become infatuated with DPE wheels back when he had the E46. So flipping through their selection for the E90 was a painless process. "Thanks to Jojo (Cagungun at DPE), the 20" LS5 wheels were the only ones for my E93," Anderson asserted.
Measuring a healthy 10" wide on the rear and 8.5" on the front, a set of wide Falken tires were stretched over the rims. Yet despite the aggressive wheels offsets and 2" lowering from the KW V2 coilovers, the owner swears it doesn't rub!