When BMW CCA Club Racing was organized in 1995, the liberal rule book gave racers broad latitude to exercise their creativity.  This provided Jim Roueche with an opportunity to transform his 20-year daily driver into an ultra-light semi-tube frame racer.

He didn’t play around. Jim acquired one of the rare cylinder heads designed by brothers Josef and Herbert Schnitzer and homologated for Group 2 competition in 1973. The Schnitzer head is cast in magnesium alloy, with two chain driven camshafts operating four valves per cylinder that measure 36mm on the intake side, 31mm at the exhaust. It represents a big step up from the stock M10 engine’s single overhead cam and two valves per cylinder, and delivers about 200 horsepower to the rear wheels.

Next came an S14 crankshaft, custom pistons and rods, TWM throttle bodies, an aluminum flywheel, E30 M3 clutch, five-speed transmission, 16-inch BBS wheels, Korman coil-over suspension and four-wheel disc brakes.

He removed the doors and replaced them with fiberglass panels held on by Dzus fasteners. The one-piece nose/fender assembly in fiberglass is also held on with Dzus fasteners, which allows the engine to be removed from the front as well as from the top.

In 2015, Jim generously donated this racing beast to the Foundation’s collection. This car was on display at the Foundation up until 2017 when we started our exhibitions. We put it into the ICON exhibition is 2018.

This car is currently housed at Thunder Bunny Racing in Greenville, South Carolina.