Hello crowd,
Writing from Geneva in Switzerland ! Just celebrated my 30th birthday last week…
Been wandering on this forum for quite some time now but never got the itch to register and present my car until now. But today is one of these days where I don’t feel like doing much else than surf the web (shhh don’t tell my boss…
). There are some truely awesome projects on here, I can only wish I was more experienced in mechanical stuff to do some myself! Compared to some of the cars on here, mine really is nothing special…
So, quick car history first:
-Started with a 1.8L Ford Escort Ghia about 12 years ago, was my dad’s car that he « gave » to me once I got my license. The car died about a year later, wasn’t worth getting it repaired. Enjoyed the car though !
-As I was a student with no money, my dad got me another car, a 2002 Civic ES 1.6L. Slow and quite ugly, I always felt the car was really badly styled as if didn’t know what it wanted to be. It looked like a mix between a hatchback and a people carrier on which someone sticked a pair of Pikatchu eyes on. Meh, still own it though, it’s pushing 120’000KM, has a few bumps here and there. You can hate on Hondas all you want, that thing will last for eternity.
-In 2010, I finished college, got a job and bought my first car, a 2008 Fiat Grande Punto Abarth. It boasts a 1.4L turbocharged engine pushing out 155bhp. It’s quickish, reliable and loads of fun. My wife made fun of me when we met for owning a car with red side mirrors and racing stripes, but she now loves driving it every time she gets to…
. It’s got a complete SuperSprint exhaust system and pops like a rally car as soon as it’s hot enough
-Finally, last year, I purchased a 2009 BMW 135i Sauber F1 Team edition (limited to 135 cars in the country), used. I bought this car after a long and careful debate with myself. I wanted something that was RWD as I had only owned FWD, comfy with a boot where you can put more than a golf club, with at least 300Bhp and that would fit a certain budget. And of course, it had to appeal to me in terms of looks. The 135i was the perfect and pretty much only choice I had !
That said, having a Sauber edition is basically just a sort of premium pack with which you get :
- Navigation pack
- M Pack
- Performance steering wheel
- Carbon mirrors
- Carbon interior
- Carbon boot spoiler
- A plate inside (see picture) telling you how „rare“ the car is even though it’s just a 135i with a few extra options
So here are a few pictures of the car itself. It’s bone stock and only received :
- BMW Performance Exhaust (purchased used)
- 80% window black tint on the back windows
All in all, the car is extremely enjoyable and the torque and power of the dual turbos is pretty amazing. The car feels pretty heavy though, I always need to be careful when manoeuvring when I've used to punto for a while...
If there are any other Swiss residents on here, I’d love getting some input on where/how you modified your 135i and some good plans you may have. I love my country but I feel the aftermarket for the 135 is pretty restricted, not mentionning the fact that you’re not exactly free to do what you want with your car in terms of mods…everything needs to be approved, kind of a pain sometimes. For example the only simple and « cheap » exhaust alternative is the BMW Performance one (good thing it sounds good…)
Mods I’m planning on doing :
- Roof vinyl wrap in gloss black
- Rieger diffuser (not decided on color yet, probably matte black)
- Blacklines, although I sort of dig the 2009 tail lights
- A set of new wheels, not decided which yet as I’m sort of lost on the wheel sizes and what I can put on?
- Coilovers
- Need to improve dat 6 cylinder sound a bit more...
Cheerios