Vintage and delicious BMW metal brought up to modern standards? Yes please.
This BMW 2002 is one of the nicest builds you’ll ever come across and you can thank Clarion USA for that.
The car audio company’s Builds department took a 1974 BMW 2002 and performed a frame-off restoration but instead of getting the car back to its original seventies’ mechanical condition, they upgraded almost everything to make it perform in a more modern way, still retaining though its vintage feel and goodness.
We are used into seeing way more powerful and newer powertrains in restomod projects but in this case, Clarion Builds kept the original 2.0-litre M10 engine which was carefully upgraded to perform with more zest.
Similarly, the five-speed manual gearbox comes from a later 3-Series model while the suspension now utilizes a full Koni custom setup with adjustable shocks, beefier sway bars front and rear. The brakes are now Wilwood discs on all four corners, with four-piston calipers up front. It even has period-correct BBS RS wheels, which were sourced from Japan.
Clarion USA used this car as a demonstrator of course, adding one of its own advanced audio systems in there, with the rest of the cabin featuring the Europe-only lux interior pack with the upholstery redone in leather.
The car was eventually sold at an auction for $125,000, with all the proceedings going to charity.
Matt Farrah drives this beautiful machine both on road and on track. If you want to listen to one of the nicest and healthiest four-pot soundtracks out there you know what to do.