Community building, Evolve Automotive style: take over a BMW dealership with Rennstil.
On paper, it sounds pretty straightforward. Get a dealer to hand over the showroom for a day, move in a bunch of your own cars, invite some friends, and you’re done. The reality is a lot harder. It takes months of planning, plenty of favours, and knowing the right people to make it happen.
That’s where Imran Arshad comes in. As the man behind Evolve Automotive, he’s built a network most enthusiasts can only dream of. Spend a minute on his Instagram and you’ll see two things: he’s obsessed with BMWs, and he seems to know everyone in the scene. Those connections have helped Evolve do things few others can. After three years of taking over BMW Park Lane’s showroom in the UK, the team started looking further afield. The Netherlands was first in 2024. This year, Rennstil joined the party for a takeover at BMW Procar in Wuppertal, Germany.
One car that stood out because of its Java Green paintwork was the BMW 1M demo car with a GT3 V8 engine swap. Check out my featur on the car here -> BMW 1M With GT3 V8 Engine Swap – Streetwell
Another Evolve Automotive demo car on display was this black-on-black BMW M5 G90. It looks mean enough that Darth Vader would probably approve.
Under the bonnet is BMW’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid, now pushing 1,025PS and 1,200Nm thanks to an Evolve ECU tune. The car also sits on Evolve’s own 22-inch wheels, front and rear.
The aggressive carbon bonnet comes from Alpha-N, while the rest of the exterior carbon parts are supplied by Trevora.
My favourite car in the showroom had to be this BMW M3 CS G81 Touring. Finished in British Racing Green from the factory and sitting on a set of 21″ Yido Performance CS 1.1 wheels, it stood out straight away.
With KW V3 suspension dialled in by Gepfeffert, the stance was spot on. Simple changes, but they worked. In a room full of serious machinery, this was the one I kept coming back to.
Another Dutch enthusiast made the trip to Wuppertal in this BMW 3.0 Si E3, and it was one of the more interesting cars of the day.
Lift the bonnet and you’ll find an S38 swapped into the engine bay, running on a MaxxECU setup. It was the sort of build that didn’t need to shout for attention. Clean, simple and properly thought through.
Check out the gallery below for more photos from the event.
