As some of you may know, i took a trip to Tokyo for the Auto Salon. Planned to coincide with this trip were visits to Studie of Yokohama and Tokyo. If you thought the cars at the Yokohama showroom were pretty, those present at Studie Tokyo will blow your mind away.

I would really like to showcase the cars here, but there are just too many images to share.
I hope you don’t mind clicking on this link to view. You will NOT regret it. Promise.

Here’s some review videos shot from my recent trip down to Japan. These are from Studie Tokyo!

I personally made a trip down to Tokyo for the Tokyo Auto Salon, and as part of my trip, i decided to drop by a couple of automotive tuners in JDM land. The Japanese really love cars and in Tokyo, a few shops stood out, for BMW lovers, no trip is complete without a visit to either Studie Yokohama, or Studie Tokyo. For me? I went to both of them.

After the frantic running around at Makuhari Messe for the Tokyo Auto Salon on Day 2 of my Tokyo trip, i planned Day 3 of my Tokyo trip to be slightly less hectic.

JR-ed my way to Yokohama station and transferred over to Shin-Yokohama. It was lunchtime now so some food was in order!

Tempura rice bowl… Burp!


Slowly trudged my way along the tracks and passed by a Porsche showroom / storage facility (The showroom is a couple of blocks ahead). Until finally, I reached my destination!!!

Studie Yokohama! (pronounced Study, not Stoo-dy) Having seen pictures on the net and in magazines and only having read about it, to see it live in person is a truly special experience.

Who/what is Studie? To keep it short and sweet, Studie is a Japanese tuning house specializing in BMWs. They do pretty much everything from simple aesthetic enhancements to some really wild and crazy BMW builds. (You can always check out their website here) The Yokohama shop is where the boss, Bob Suzuki is at and the showroom really feels alot more like a home then a place to view automotive parts. Artworks decorate the space and there are areas for customers to sit around and/or read the latest magazines.

I’ve always liked the cars that came out of Studie and always wanted to have my own future home to be modeled after their Yokohama showroom. Here’s some pictures to show you why…

This is what greets you when you walk through the doors. That E30 M3 sitting up front sure gets your attention right? It’s probably the 2nd coolest (THE coolest will be shown later) setups for Gran Turismo ever!




Even the best-times leaderboard consists entirely of BMWs.


Behind the E30, is an array of delectable parts.

Just along the sides of the entrance lie…

A Vorsteiner bonnet…

A Z3 kiddy ride…

And an M10 racing engine…

All flanked by a selection of AC Schnitzer wheels!

How about some Yokohamas for your BMW?

Not feeling the Yokos? There’s always Breyton or G-Power


Or the everlasting assortment of BBS’.

The entire 1:18 Art Car range is featured here.

3D Design gauges sitting pretty

This Frog’s name is Speedy (He sits just next to the E30 Gran Turismo racer)

A working lift sits towards the rear of the showroom…

Right next to the exhaust systems.



Having artwork, personal memorabilia and a lounge area really makes you like making this place your home.

Even the chess pieces are made of car parts

Just before i left, they gave me a set of Studie Yokohama stickers! And i bought the Studie “Das Foto” book and had it signed by the staff

The man himself, Yasuaki “Bob” Suzuki invited me to visit the workshop/factory area just out the back and of course i agreed.

That’s a 318is there, Japan still has quite a strong following for the 318is.

A genuine Alpina B3, but sporting an M3 front bumper instead of the Alpina item.

An E28 M5 waiting to enter the workshop. And with that, i said my goodbyes and made took leave from the showroom. But, that’s not the end!

Just across the road is the carpark for Studie! With some cars well worth showing!


A set of 1 series’ cars, with the 130i hatch sporting quad pipes.




A red and loud E46 M3 with flared wheel arches, a rollcage and a monstrous rear spoiler

We were born to run!

What’s that at the back? An Alpina B3 Biturbo! A bright green Z4M Coupe and the new E89 Z4 all begging to be driven. (Never got the chance though… darn)





Check out the wild and crazy bodywork on this Z4M




And a well done up new Z4

Here they are sitting side-by-side.

A Mini sitting in the back





The carpark also has cars for sale. Studie/Base! serving as their used car selling arm.
This E30 M3 was getting a wash. It’s for sale too.

That’s my roundup for my visit to Studie Yokohama! If you think the cars here look good, those at Studie Tokyo will make you go wild!

Currently posting from Tokyo, visiting the Auto Salon had always been a dream for me. So his year, i embarked on the “pilrimage” to the Holy Mecca of automotive tuning. It’s really something every car lover should do at least once in his/her lifetime. What an experience! Although the Tokyo Auto Salon features mainly Japanese cars, as the years go by, more and more “import” cars start to make a showing. This is a collection of the BMWs on display this year.

Varis M3 looking pretty wild and track-ready.

E46 M3 racer at the Kumho tyres stand, usually accompanied by the lovely ladies.

Racing Dynamics’ RDsport RS46 at the Pirelli stand. My first real life encounter with a Racing Dynamics car. Looks awesome. Love those RD wheels!

BMW Z4 by Active sporting a crazy paint job and wheels

Wald International’s 5 Series Touring. Badass looking Touring.

Evosport’s M3 sporting carbon body parts and an array of goodies lined up-front

Vorsteiner had an M5 on show with a beautiful bonnet and some lovely looking wheels

3D Design had their 135i and sexy Z4 on display. Love their Brombacher wheels. Stunning on the Z4 especially. Both the cars sporting a blue/silver stripe along the sides. I would have another encounter with their 135i in a few days time. Look out for it!

Absolute’s M5. Check out that F1 style rear brake light!

Awksher had a beautiful blue M3 on show. This car was sporting G-Power badges so one can only guess at what lies under that bonnet.

Work wheels had an E90 320i on show featuring a stonking Wald kit.

And finishing off the BMWs of TAS2010, Masamotorsports had a 6 series on show in Hamann style with a full flat-black wrap. Not really my favourite as i think flat-black wrapping has been overdone.
That’s all for the BMWs of TAS2010. Look out for a future post where i go in search of an even more crazy collection of BMWs whilst in Japan! You really wouldn’t want to miss it. If you want to read about my “Automotive Pilgrimage” to Japan, drop by my blog: http://garage36.blogspot.com

It looks like the rumours are true. BMW is going ahead with an M-badged 1 Series, according to a report from Autocar. The two-door coupe will use BMW’s famed 3.0-litre straight six petrol engine, but instead of employing one turbo like the 5 Series GT it will revert to a new improved twin-turbo system.

Power is said to be around 260kW (350bhp) and torque should hit the 500Nm mark if the new Z4 sDrive35is (450Nm) is any indication. The rear wheels will drive things as expected with the help of a limited slip differential. The fast-changing double-clutch gearbox is likely to be the standard transmission. Performance possibilities include a 0 - 60mph time of 5.5 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph (250km/h).

“I want to set a clear signal that our products are financially accessible,” M Division boss Kay Segler is quoted as saying. “With the modular production processes in place at BMW, it is possible to create performance cars that customers can not only dream about owning but also realistically afford.”

To that effect an entry price of about £38,000 (US$61,000) is expected when the car hits UK streets in 2011. Fuel-saving measures such as stop/ start technologies and brake regeneration will be included.

The outside is likely to feature kit such as a deeper front spoiler, chunkier sills and four chromed M-style tailpipes.

What remains to be confirmed is the name. BMW traditionalists will be loath to call it the M1 since that name is so sacred in BMW history.

Meanwhile….

Unfortunately, those who want a wagon variant will have to look elsewhere. No new BMW M5 Touring is planned for production at this time, according to CAR magazine.

Soruce: Worldcarfans