The shop

Bringing you guys back to Japan with Part II of my automotive pilgrimage holiday, where we arrive in Higashi-Fuchu, a small suburb about 40 minutes out from Shinjuku station. Truth be told, I almost never made it here, the previous days walk around the massive halls of the Tokyo Auto Salon had taken its toll on me and I was exhausted. Extremely happy, but exhausted. But as always, nothing can really keep a petrol head down when it comes to visiting cool garages and workshops, and 20 minutes away from the train station, was Studie’s Tokyo showroom.

As I walked through the relatively quiet neighbourhood, I wasn’t even sure this was the right way as the Google street view’s data was collected before the showroom opened. I had to just keep walking and hope for the best.

Even though Studie’s Tokyo showroom is the newest and largest, the Yokohama outfit is the one that gets written and covered more often, maybe because the boss operates from there. I didn’t really have much of an idea what to expect.

When I first saw the Studie sign, my jaw almost dropped to the floor. If you thought Studie Yokohama had a delectable selection of Bavarian metal, this place will blow your socks off! Right beside Studie was AC Schnitzer’s showroom and sitting outside were a collection of some truly eye-popping BMW machines. The X6 based ACS Falcon and the Z4 based Profile sat amongst Studie built road warriors.

Not wasting much time outside, I headed straight in and came face to face with Studie’s Z4 GT racer, wearing its distinctive Hatsune Miku “itasha” livery. You really cannot mistake this for anything other than a Japanese team. It is absolutely stunning to behold. I just started to take in all the details and began firing off my camera as if there was no tomorrow.

Right across the room, just ahead of the Z4M, sits what looks like a beautiful E36 DTM race car, but remember the E30 M3 from the Yokohama showroom? Yup, this is another Gran Turismo setup. This truly insane Gran Turismo rig has a semi-opaque film coating on the windscreen and a projector just above the car to beam Gran Turismo right in front of the driver.

Note the projector on the top left corner of the photo

Surrounding these 2 cars are all the parts and accessories you need for your BMW. Wheels, exhaust, suspension, decals, steering wheels, carpets, you name it, I bet they can get it for you. Not wanting to be a copy of the Yokohama showroom, Studie Tokyo has been given a more modern approach with regards to the interior, although the same attention to detail is evident. Painted engine covers line the walls and another M10 racing engine sits dormant whilst customers flip though magazines or browse through the store as their cars get tuned or serviced.

If the Studie Tokyo showroom isn’t enough to satisfy your BMW craving heart, step over to AC Schnitzer’s showroom where my jaw totally dropped at the sight of this E36 ACS CLS II. This was an extreme example of the E36 M3, the “Coupé Lightweight Silhouette II” was based on the AC Schnitzer CLS launched in 1993 but nonetheless is a totally new development. Many components of the CLS II were previously tested in the Group A M3 of the AC Schnitzer race team. The CLS II sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 290 km/h. There was a very, very limited production run of the car, and this particular example if front of me, is production serial #001. Rare enough for you?

After spending probably a good half hour salivating over the green monster, I headed out towards the workshop, or factory as they call it. Beckoning towards me was a fully decked out Hamann M5 being moved out for a wash. Even the cup inside the cup holder is colour coded to match the interior. Talk about details.

Sitting inside the workshop was a beautiful black Z4M Coupe on BBS LM-Rs. As I was busy shooting away at the Z4M, I heard a rumbling noise coming from outside, as I headed out, this positively insane pink M3 came in.

It not only sported the wildest paint job on a BMW, but also, the craziest GT3 bodywork yet seen on a street M3. It was no cheap body kit either. This car is top-notch. How much more awesomeness can a BMW fan take in a day?

As I was finishing up shooting pictures inside the workshop, I headed towards the main carpark where the Hamann M5 was getting hosed down and I saw the beautiful white 3D Design 1 series from TAS2010 backing in.

Had enough? I sure did not; coming to Studie Tokyo totally blew my mind away. Pretty much every car here is worth a feature on its own. Sadly, time was running out for me and I had to make a hasty retreat back to the train station.

On a related note, apparently, I wasn’t the only BMW nut that flew all the way to Japan and visited Studie; the folks over at WheelSto visited Studie Tokyo on the exact same day and almost the same time as me! They rolled in with more style though, in the 3D Design 135i. You can read about their visit here: http://www.motormavens.com/2010/06/guest-blog-bmw-mania-at-studie-tokyo-wsto-wheelsto/. Small World indeed.

Here’s more BMW craziness next page for you all to enjoy!

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