TG's restomod idea of the week: BMW 2002 with an M3 engine

Restomodding is seriously big business these days. And why shouldn’t it be? It combines the beautiful lines of classic metal with modern comforts and the real prospect of everyday driving – not just the one-sunny-weekend-a-month blast of a regular vintage car. 

To keep things simple, a restomod is any car that’s been modified while it’s been restored. So, even if the modifications are slight, like changing the dynamo for an alternator in a Morris Mini, it’s now technically a restomod. 

Of course, the best restomodders go far beyond the standard ‘recondition, replace, renew’ mantra of your garden-variety restomod. They go all out, creating finished products that take a classic car from being merely desirable to one that actually makes you hurt with longing. Modern materials and techniques are moulded into classic shapes in a way that’s appealing to just about everyone, regardless of whether they’re into cars or not. 

You’ve seen it from the likes of Singer, Icon and Eagle – creating desperately gorgeous and exceptionally engineered versions of iconic cars. But what about the cars that are just begging for a professional restomod of their own? In this new weekly feature, Top Gear makes a case for the restomods you never knew you needed. And this week, it’s the BMW 2002.

As we said in our drive of the infamous 2002 Turbo, the standard 2002 chassis was always able to handle more power than the standard 100bhp or so on offer in the regular version. Even with a peaky, 168bhp turbo, the 2002 was exciting, rather than terrifying. So let’s take this idea to its logical conclusion: with a 340bhp straight six from the E46 M3. 

Of course, we could have gone for the more powerful CSL version of the 3.2-litre straight six but, when you’re pushing along little more than a tonne on a short, 2.5-metre wheelbase (only slightly longer than the wilfully oversteery Peugeot 205 GTi) the standard 340bhp is going to feel like more than enough. 

Clearly, there’ll be one or two sympathetic modifications to ensure that you can actually finish the journey you start, rather than have it summarily finished for you up a tree or in a ditch. The independent front and semi-trailing arm rear suspension is a good starting point, but we’d convert the rear end to an entirely independent five-link setup from the modern 1 Series and update the front MacPherson struts with modern coilovers. 

The rear drum brakes will take a merry trip to the skip, in favour of all-round discs. Larger, aluminium reproductions of the original eight-spoke steel wheels will cover big Brembos up front and slightly smaller in the rear, more than enough for such a low body weight. 

And, as weird as a six-speed gearbox would feel in the 2002, it’ll go in, considering it’s already attached to the 3.2-litre engine. We’d also use the limited-slip diff and much stronger driveshafts, because the standard fare would likely turn to dust with the first application of 340bhp. 

The 2002’s boxy shape is a perfect candidate for box flares, so they’re a must-have item. They’ll also enclose the fatter wheels and wider track needed to make sure that the chassis doesn’t squander any of the 340bhp now at its disposal. Chin spoilers and other aero packages will be up to the discretion of the buyer. See how much we’ve thought this through?

If we were to start building our restomod 2002s (and if you are a bank manager, let’s talk), we’d have a range of engine options, not unlike Singer (definitely stealing ideas now), based on the naturally aspirated goodness of the BMW straight six engine. The base model could have the 230bhp 3.0-litre engine from the E46 330i, the mid-tier could be an uprated version of the same engine with about 280bhp, then you could go full-fat with the 340bhp 3.2-litre from the M3. Sounds like a cohesive business model, doesn’t it?