Built for BOTH: BMW M5 With More Than a Fancy Stance

August 26, 2013
Story By
Albert Roxas

stance: (verb) to adjust a car's camber, ride height, and spacing, so that the sidewall of the tire sits as flush as possible with the fender/quarter panel. A common trend and style impersonated on drift and show cars alike, originating from the older Japanese domestic market. The latest “style” to hit the US aftermarket industry has actually been around for quite sometime in Europe and Japan. Traditionally, stanced cars are usually pigeon-holed into the hard parked crewset – cars that are more show than go, rarely seeing track time or spirited driving due to their height or aggressive offset wheels.

Hubert Barnum’s 2001 ///M5 wears the stance card nicely while secretly holding a large arsenal of high performance items under its hood. First off, that’s not the traditional BMW Alpine White you’re looking at. That’s a 2013 Porsche color: Pure White. This custom color adorns the entire exterior which includes an AC Schnitzer Front Lip, AC Schnitzer Roof Spoiler, Euro Hella Headlights/Taillights, Black Kidneys and aftermarket rear diffuser.

Working our way around the outside, an extremely aggressive set of Leon Hardiritt Orden (19x9.5/10.5) wheels give this E39 its stance and stretched look. At this point in the build it sounds like a typical all show no go deal – but the next round of mods give a few breadcrumbs to the performance side of the vehicle.

Not your typical OEM seats, a custom set of Recaro buckets laced with full race harness keep passenger and driver at bay.

Suspension is handled via a set of KW Variant 2 Coilovers, Eibach Sway Bars and a Strong Front Strut Bar. Rogue Transmission mounts delete any excess vibration, along with a Rogue short shift kit for smooth, crisp shifting. Stopping is handled by Brembo Slotted 8 Piston Front Brakes / 4 Piston Rear Brakes. The heart of the monster, which in stock form was the first V8 BMW motor to include double vanos - is highly modified, starting with a pair of Dinan Carbon Fiber Intakes, Short Velocity Stacks, and RD Sport Pulley. Shrick Cams, VAC Sleeve kit and Arrow Rods & Valve springs are part of the motor build which grabs via a -Spec Stage 2+ Clutch & Aluminum Flywheel. RD Sport Long Tube Headers and -Hartge Exhaust round out the exit, all working seamlessly via a custom tune by Active Autowerke.

So the next time you see a “stanced” car remember it could be more than just a set of crazy offset wheels, perhaps it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing as Hubert’s ///M5 is. A wolf dressed in Pure White. -Albert Roxas

Built for BOTH: BMW M5 With More Than a Fancy Stance

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