It was finally time to commence work on the exterior. Before the widebody and color transformation you see here, the black BMW gained personality with an OE BMW M5 front bumper. "I looked at a lot of bumpers," Steven explained, "but there were no bumper replacements for the 540i; only add-on kits. Apart from the M5 bumper, there wasn't anything aggressive enough for me."
To make the M5 bumper more edgy, he fitted a Hamann Competition one-piece front lip. This was a rare item because most M5 owners opted for the two-piece version.
Adding to the collection of rare parts was the G-Power rear bumper. Steven has the only 5-Series in the States with this German unit which has been designed for a quad exhaust. Hamann side skirts finished the initial styling.
"At first I wanted something clean and unique, but then I realized I wanted to make a name for the company and myself, so I took it to the next level," he said. "After the first body mods were complete and the car was supercharged, I needed more traction so decided to go widebody." For the next eight weeks, M1 Autobody in El Monte, CA transformed Steven's 540i into a work of art.
"Inevitably, I built the iForged wheels first, then had M1 build the widebody around the wheels," Steven explained.
"We actually do a lot of widebody applications at iForged. Sometimes the fenders aren't really made to fit the wheels properly, so if the bodywork is done first, the wheels won't always fit perfectly. It's always best to have the wheels built first, that way you know how much clearance is needed. For example, with my car we could test the front wheels from lock to lock," he continued.
"The inspiration for the widebody came from the Hamann Daytona Beach 5-Series, except mine is a little wider," we were told. In fact, the front fenders were flared 1.5" wider than factory, while the rears were 2.5" wider. To match the beefier arches, the skirts were also flared toward the rear, along with the front and rear bumpers being pulled and widened to complete the new look.
"I was impressed with M1's work," Steven said. "I drove to their shop almost every weekend to monitor progress on the car and we went through a lot of modifications to get it perfect."
Once the widebody conversion was completed, Steven still wanted more done. To replace a lip spoiler on the trunk, M1 molded a carbon M3 CSL-style trunk to the factory bootlid. If you look closely, you'll see a strip of carbon was left exposed to show off the material underneath. Another addition was the custom carbon M3 grilles in the front fenders. The side skirts were then molded to the body to tidy the lines of the car.
More lightweight carbon was added, including an MA-Shaw hood, eyelids, grille, plus B- and C-pillar covers. To finish the project, Steven upgraded his headlamps to Euro spec with retrofitted 8000K HID lights.
The voluptuous 540i wasn't complete without being dressed in a special color to make it stand out. "There were many different candy paint jobs around, but I wanted something that was both loud and unique. My friend and I tried lots of Photoshop work before we eventually picked the BASF Carizzma Colors candy fuchsia over violet. I think it really defines the car well. In bright sunlight it turns pinkish. I have to credit Chris Garcia's '01 Audi TT as part of my inspiration (et 11/04) since that was a car I looked up to on the show scene."
M1 Autobody finished the exterior just two days before the debut of the 540i at the '06 Hot Import Nights in LA. Justifiably, it won a Best Paint award to prove its flawlessness.
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