74 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
NO-COMPROMISE BMW M3 MARRIES HARD WORK,
MENTORSHIP, AND A SEMA DREAM
WORDS Benjamin Hunting
PHOTOS Darrien CravenTHE ULTIMATE
STUDENT
PROJECT
Anyone who’s ever drooled over a
prize-winning, top-quality car build
has probably asked the question:
“Could I do that?” As in, is it possible
to give birth to a no-compromise car
that turns heads on some of the biggest
automotive stages in the country from
one’s own modest home garage? It
turns out the answer to that question
is “yes,” as long as you have access to
the resources provided by some of the
best minds in the business, that is. At
least, that’s what a group of engineering
students from University of Colorado
Boulder discovered last year when they
started down the road toward producing
a BMW that attracted major attention at
the 2018 SEMA Show.
“I’d wanted to do this kind of project
for several years—something high-end
that would bring together a group of
average car nuts, student builders, and
mentors in a bid to put together the best
E30 M3 possible,” says Cory Rowan of
Visfire, an auto-focused advertising and
PR agency. “I thought it would really be
something interesting to film.”
As luck would have it, Cory had
already met the players in what would be
one of the most compelling stories from
that year’s show. About a year before the
build began, a group of college students
from Colorado had volunteered to help
crew an endurance race he was running.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, their
dedication to all things automotive was
apparent, and they immediately came
to mind when it was time to get the ball
rolling on Rowan’s idea.
The challenge was substantial. Cory
paired Zach Lagarenne, Justin Bruch,
Parker Brown, Reece Cochran, Isaac
Gesundheit, and Peter Golledge with
lead sponsor and mentor Dori Ahart
from CRC Industries and gave them the
challenge of completing an ’88 BMW