BMW tuned in Japan: Y’s Factory M5

Japanese tuners are often criticized for slapping together a car with lots of fins, big mouth front bumpers, oversized wings and other aerodynamic devices. It is not their fault; this practice tends to have positive results when applied to a Japanese vehicle. The problems arise when a Japanese tuning company decides to modify something that is not Japanese.

A perfect example of this culture clash can be seen in the Y’s Factory BMW M5. This high performance European sedan now has the appearance of a tuner track day special. Most M5 customers would scoff at such a design and pledge never to be caught dead in anything like it.

Some of the more tacky upgrades to the BMW include the twin oversized coffee can mufflers and the larger than life rear wing. The front end has been slightly more tastefully modified with the addition of a lower spoiler and canards.

Other modifications are intended to enhance the cars performance for competition. Inside the 20 inch rims are giant Project Mu brakes, perfect for scrubbing off speed after a long straight away. At all four corners are Y’s factory coilovers, dialed in to make the hefty saloon nimble around the track. It looks like the car was put on a diet, as there appears to be no carpeting or sound deadening underneath the blue Recaro race buckets. It is always nice to see the contrast between wood grain and bare metal.

No performance information is available at this time, but expect the Y’s Factory M5 to be up a few ponies from the stock 507 HP 5.0 liter V10 and quicker from 0-60 MPH (0-100 km/hr) than the factory numbers of 4.7 seconds.

No matter what your opinion may be of the vehicle, at least one person likes the way it looks, the owner.