The first generation of turbocharged BMW M cars has forged its own legacy among the greats and builds like modified M4 this show just why these cars are so popular and what’s possible when you go all-out.
When you think about the legacy of BMWs many M cars, it’s easy to dismiss the turbocharged generations just because the cars that preceded them were the last of the NA models, and there’s something undeniably special about that. But the thing is that the first generation of turbo cars was also a really big deal. When you’re doing something new, you’ve got to start somewhere, so those first turbo models were trailblazers for everything that would follow. That transition from so many years of pure NA M performance to turbocharged power was not easy to accept for long-term BMW fans, so it helped that the F8x M3 and M4 were so impressive in terms of everything they delivered.
The fact that they offered so much performance definitely helped, and while the F8x styling may have been a little divisive when the cars were new, compared to some of BMW’s most recent efforts, today, they look taught, athletic and aggressive. And if we’re talking aggression, Huy Nguyen’s (@sinister_f82) M4 is just on another level, but then again, so is the whole build because this is one serious M machine.
Huy’s car history
Taking in everything that this full-on modified BMW F82 M4 has been equipped with, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Huy has been a lifelong BMW fan, and this build is the culmination of years of working his way through the BMW back catalogue, modifying as he went until he peaked with this veritable monster of an M4. But that’s not the case…
“I have always been a JDM guy,” he tells us with a chuckle. “I have had several Japanese cars, starting with my first car, a Honda CRX, then a Honda turbo S2000, which was a popular build of mine that was featured on several websites and magazines, a 1000hp Mitsubishi Evo X GSR, and another Honda S2000, which I decided to build after missing my first one.” In fact, even Huy’s move to BMWs was purely circumstantial…
Buying the BMW M4
“I bought my M4 after I had a couple bad luck streaks with my cars,” he explains. “I wrecked my Honda S2000 during a foggy, rainy night; dialling-in my Evo X after a motor build, I spun a bearing, which seized the engine; also, my daily car, after being old faithful, decided to die on me. That left me no choice but to look for a replacement,” sighs Huy. Not that stepping into an M4 was any sort of hardship, you understand. “I remember the first time I saw an F82 M4 on the street – it was love at first sight, I loved all the lines and curves. I told myself if I could ever afford one, I would own it. After a few years, I was blessed and have enjoyed every minute of it,” Huy grins, but the ownership experience had a less than auspicious start…
“I found my car on Facebook Marketplace. The owner lived close by and let me test-drive the car. It was wrapped and lowered, had a bootmod3 OTS stage 2 ECU tune, and rims. Not knowing much about BMWs, I thought I got a good price,” he explains. “I met up with the owner the next day and purchased the car. That’s when the headache began,” says Huy, his face dropping. “The owner lied about the crank hub being done. The car had HRE wheels, but they turned out to be fake. He also said the car was lowered on KWs, but that also turned out to be a lie. I ripped the wrap to find out the paint wasn’t pristine as the original mentioned,” and we wouldn’t have blamed Huy at all if that list of disappointment after disappointment put him off the car completely.
Taking it back to stock
“I was able to fix and re-do everything that was done to the car,” he says, and that’s when he could finally start enjoying himself, and that’s what led him down the slippery slope of modding… “To be honest, other than updating the rims and adding a lip kit, I thought that I would be done. The more I drove the car, it became an addiction, where I wanted to purchase more mods to continually improve the performance,” he chuckles, and it was this desire for more power that really kicked things off.
Tuning the modified BMW M4
The S55 is eminently tunable, with just a few basic mods required to send power levels soaring, so Huy got stuck in. “I started out with the basic FBO. Loving the car, I decided to swap the turbos out with Pure turbos, and now the car has everything other than a built motor,” he grins. “It has an RK Titanium intake and charge pipe, every CSF part made for the car – intercooler, heat exchanger, DCT transmission cooler, and Stage 2+ Pure turbos,” but there’s so much more on board here.
There’s a Dorch Engineering HPFP lift kit, an Evolution Of Speed intake manifold, a BMS Elite J-pipe and BOV, EU5 fuel injectors, a Snow Performance meth injection setup, a Precision Raceworks Stage 4 brushless fuel pump, Nexsys ignition coils plus VRSF cat-less downpipes, an Auto EL mid-pipe and an Akrapovic titanium exhaust. That is a lot of mods, and it adds up to a lot of power, with Huy’s M4 currently makes 630whp on 93 octane fuel and with meth, which is around 730hp, so this F82 is fast.
Exterior changes on the modified BMW M4
It looks fast, too, even more so than a standard M4, because Huy has not been shy when it comes to styling, and this BMW definitely stands out from the crowd. “I saw this Touge Showdown on YouTube years ago with a JDM Tuner that worked on an M4, and it had a Laptorr lip and I absolutely fell in love. Being there were no USA distributors, at the time, I contacted Laptorr and was surprisingly assisted by Taka and Sena there. They helped me acquire one and sent it to the USA. I got the lip the same week, where I had Aum and Gibby test fit it and send it to my painter Donnie.
The rest of the aero parts are a Vorsteiner Aero deck lid spoiler, GTS Aero blade and carbon fibre side blades. I also got a Varis hood and diffuser to complete the JDM look,” explains Huy. “Then I added a PSM Dynamic roof spoiler for that aggressive look. Completing the race look, I went with the M4 GT4 rear quarter Lexan windows, modified to install a Nuke Performance remote quick-lock filler cap.
“Sean from Mashimarho helped me acquire one of the first GTS-style tail light sets, and BavGruppe Designs and Bayoptiks collaborated and helped me with my custom RGB demon/halo and half-X headlights with upgraded E46 projector lenses to help me see at night. Also, I have a pair of carbon fibre fenders from Dinmann, and Sean helped me acquire the first production carbon fibre vents that mated with the Dinmann fenders,” he continues.
Colour scheme
“Last but not least, my painter Donnie sprayed the car with a Porsche Paint To Sample (PTS) Oak Green Metallic, and I left some carbon parts exposed,” says Huy, and we need a moment to take all that in. This M4 looks insanely good. It’s so aggressive, it pulls no punches, and everything comes together perfectly – the colour, carbon, the aero; it’s been built to get noticed, and it does.
Wheels and chassis modifications
And you just know that when we’re talking about looks, we’ve got to talk about wheels because they do so much in terms of a car’s overall appearance. “Being that I came from the JDM world, I decided to go with Advan GTs or BBS LM-Rs, and ended up with the BBS FI-Rs, since they were the only 19” wheels I could find that fit over the AP Racing brake calipers. They also completed the race look that I was going for,” says Huy, and the FI-Rs look fantastic on the M4, filling out the arches and amping up the aggression further still.
Naturally, Huy has not neglected the chassis, and this M4 has been treated to a comprehensive selection of upgrades beneath the surface. “Being blessed and sponsored on my EVO X build with Fortune Auto, it was a no-brainer that I reached out to Dev and Ray at Fortune Auto, where they provided me with 510 coilovers and Sinister-spec air cups where I can air up over speed bumps not to damage my front lip,” Huy tells us.
“I’m a spirited driver and take the car occasionally to the track, so I decided to fit the car with all of SPL’s suspension arms, end links, rods and bushes. Also, I replaced the carbon strut bar with an RK Titanium one just to set my build apart from every other F80 build,” he grins. “Aum from Brothers’ Garage helped me dial in the suspension alignment, knowing that I had traction issues from the torque. With the alignment and Toyo R888R tyres, I was able to grip and feel more confidence in high-speed cornering,” and with the M4 being a bit of a handful in stock form, sorting the suspension was definitely a priority with over 700hp on tap.
Modified BMW M4 Interior
Finally, we come to the interior of the modified BMW M4, and, if you couldn’t already tell, Huy has not scrimped on the cabin mods. “I contacted Marek from AMX Performance to do my custom door panels, Recaro Sportsters, and sun visor wrapped in leather and suede with the M tri-colour stitching. I added all the M Performance carbon parts, and for the ones that didn’t exist, I contacted Cannan from Dinmann to get some door trims, vents, and a carbon back seat delete. His products fit like a glove,” says Huy with a smile. “Going with the race look, I added the Studio RSR half-cage, which absolutely improved the handling of the car by stiffening the chassis.
Sean again assisted me, contacting Jeremy from JQ Werks to provide one of the first steering wheel systems to test on the M4. I love this thing, and I paired it with a MOMO leather steering wheel to replace the suede one, as I don’t like how the suede gets dirty after handling it a few times.
“The JQ Werks system is one of my favourite mods on the car – every shift is so crisp, and it looks like a race car,” enthuses Huy. The steering wheel system with its various controls and built-in paddles, looks insanely cool, especially when paired with the MOMO wheel. And then, everywhere you look, there’s carbon – it covers every surface imaginable, and then there are the extra touches like the digital vent gauge, the two yellow dials, and the lime green details on the Recaros to match the roll-cage. The amount of work and attention to detail that’s gone into the cabin is just unreal.
Modified BMW M4 verdict
And that applies to this whole build. Considering Huy went into M4 ownership with no real plans, for him to have put together a project on this scale is astonishing, and it’s a riot. The way it looks, the way it goes, and the countless individual touches across the whole build make it truly special. “It took me a total of three years to build the current version of the car you see here,” Huy tells us. “I had a lot of help from Brothers’ Garage, which installed most of the parts, and Sean from Mashimarho acquiring prototype parts and the best prices,” he adds. But despite there being so much going on with this M4 and so many top-tier mods, Huy’s modding brain cannot rest.
“I want to do a Nuke performance air jack and fuel system overhaul, a Varis wide-body, and also a different paint colour…” and, hearing that, it becomes clear that this isn’t even this M4’s final form. But what it is, is a next-level M4 that demonstrates just how car you can take this platform – the F8x has forged its own legacy among BMW’s legendary M cars, and thanks to enthusiasts like Huy, these cars will continue to capture the hearts and stir the imagination of BMW fans the world over far into the future.
Photos: Kevin Choi.
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