2009 BMW 335i - Yoo-Tube

When we first came across, Darren Yoo’s BMW in the HRE booth at MFest 5, we thought he’d built a modified E90 M3 with a Porsche grey repaint. But as we pored over its details, we discovered it was actually a converted 335i – and somehow that made it even cooler.

Strangely, the 31 year-old owner from Oxnard, CA, couldn’t understand why we wanted to photograph it. Despite all the work he’d done, it had never occurred to him that a magazine might be interested.

It wasn’t until we met Darren that everything made sense. He’s a hardworking restaurant owner who started out as a waiter, grafting merely to eat rather than build cars.

Having left Korea at 15 to study in San Jose, CA, an economic crisis at home meant his family was unable to support him. He had to drop out of school, move to Philly and take a series of fast food and factory jobs simply to survive.

Returning to Santa Barbara, CA, his parents were finally able to help him again but he took a job as waiter in a Japanese restaurant while he returned to college.

After transferring to California State University, he again returned to Santa Barbara and became the manager of the same Japanese restaurant, eventually becoming a co-owner before deciding to open his own, called Hashi, in Oxnard, CA.

“It’s an amazing feeling when you start from the scratch and make it this far,” Darren explained. “It was my dream to own a Japanese restaurant ever since I started as a waiter. I love meeting people and always dreamed of inviting good friends to dinner at my own restaurant. It isn’t all about making money.”

Throughout this time, Darren never lost sight of his goals, nor did he give up in the face of adversity. It taught him some hard lessons and he’s come to appreciate the good things that come his way.

One of those was his wife, Jaewon, a former schoolmate from Korea. Another is his opportunity to create his own Japanese restaurant. And he’s clearly excited to own such an amazing car, but its path to the front cover of eurotuner also required perseverance against adversity.

When he was waiting tables, Darren’s dream car was the E46 M3 but couldn’t afford one at the time. So when he was appointed restaurant manager, he had the chance to realize his dream and attended the annual Bimmerfest show that was then on his doorstep in Santa Barbara. That’s where he discovered the BMW 335i. “I liked its twin-turbos and BMW’s maintenance program,” he said. “The 335i also had similar performance to the E46 M3, so it seemed like an interesting alternative.”

As somebody who’s used to stretching every penny, tuning wasn’t a priority. “I was thinking about maybe some springs, wheels, an intake and exhaust,” he laughed, looking back on his first few months with the car.  “Oh man, was I wrong!”

It was around this time he met Long Tran online, a guy who was working out of his home garage. Two years later, he owns LTBMW in El Monte, CA with partner Ivan Madrigal and tech Rene Lopez. Having also risen from humble beginnings and built his car, Darren regards them as friends more than shop owners.

Over the past two years, the car has been through several stages, wearing wheels such as BBS LM, VMR V710 and Volk CE28. It’s sat on suspension from H&R, Koni and Bilstein, and was even wrapped in matte black vinyl.

It was this last mod that proved a turning point in the car’s development. The day after the wrap was finished, Darren and Jaewon left their home to discover some lowlife had keyed every panel on the car.

In need of extensive repairs, Darren had already been contemplating an M3 overhaul after his wife mistook his 335i for an M3 she saw. After a discussion with Long Tran, the concept became a reality as the E90 M3’s bodywork and suspension components were transferred to the sedan.