DAKAR YELLOW OEM + Goodness
This quick spare of the moment shoot has turned into one of my favourite ones to date.
I’ve only shot at this location once or twice before but I can always rely on it to provide some awesome back drops no matter the vehicle I’m shooting. With the weather looking a bit moody and rainy I decided why not hit up this old spot again and see what we can do. Although rainy it being mid March meant that it was still pretty muggy.. and foggy!
The perfect moody backdrop to shoot a bright yellow subject.
Although this was my first shoot getting back into it after taking a bit of a break late last year I felt completely in my element. I generally prefer to shoot in dark environments like this one as I feel I can bring more of the environment around the shoot into the frame without taking too much attention away from the subject.
I guess one way to describe it would be that I’m trying to capture the feeling of the moment in the stills i’m taking rather than just shooting the subject.
In this case it would have been hard to lose focus of the bright yellow car in the frame so I had some fun bringing some of the surrounding plants & shrubbery into the foreground when shooting.
Did I say OEM Plus?
Based on a 323i chassis sporting the M52B25 FLY-787 captures the epitome of what an oem plus build is.
Starting with the exterior Will has replaced the factory 323i aero with a full M3 sedan aero package inclusive of Front & rear bumpers, Side Skirts, Mirrors & Side moldings. Additionally he has fitted an AC Schnitzer wing and some BMW Style 24 wheels which really help to tie everything in together.
Moving onto the chassis, just peeking out from behind those BMW style 24 wheels we can see the upgraded big brake kit. This big brake kit utilizes the Brembo brakes from a factory Porsche 911 (996 generation). The fronts are a 4 piston caliper with a 318mm rotor and the rears are again a 4 piston caliper however use a slightly smaller 299mm rotor. The calipers have also been paint matched to tie in with the body colour.
Backing up those brakes in the handling department is a set of BC Racing BR series coilovers and a heavy duty front sway-bar from Whiteline.
The driveline remains mostly as it presents in stock form with the addition of a single mass flywheel and an E34 M5 clutch fitted. An M3 Exhaust has also been fitted.
Last but not least we can’t forget the interior. The first thing you see when you open up that drivers door is the Momo Apache flat bottom steering wheel. Jumping in and looking down to your left towards the shifter you’ll find a BMW motorsport shift knob paired with a short shifter & centre console by Rendition Design.
In discussion with Will he mentioned that he also had some fixed back bucket seat’s and custom door cards coming, both of which are going to be upholstered to match the Dakar yellow exterior.
A massive thankyou to Will for bringing the car out for an afternoon and allowing me to shoot. I’m looking forwards to what’s in store next for this awesome build.
If you want to keep up with Will & the build be sure to give him a follow @williamrobb002