Our latest installment began on a slightly different note than usual – instead of the typical months of planning, budgeting, and devising our next feature vehicle, this one happened on us totally by chance. Local DFW customer Bill Stevens first walked thru the door of our Southlake facility inquiring about the possibility of fitting a set of HRE wheels for his soon-arriving 2007 BMW M6, finished in Black Sapphire Metallic with 2-tone red and black interior. By the time he walked out the door, he was envisioning something much, much more….

The first step of our journey starts as usual with the suspension. German tuner AC Schnitzer was the first of the European tuners to have a suspension program prepared for the new E63 M6. Due to our long-standing relationship with North American importer CEC, we were able to acquire some of the first parts available from the world-renowned tuner. We proceeded to install ACS’s sport suspension kit, consisting of 4 progressively tuned lowering springs, which brought the car down 1.25” at all four corners. This provided the ground-hugging stance Mr. Stevens was looking for, while also vastly improving the handling characteristics of the big coupe. Next step: you guessed it – rolling stock.

Being a previous HRE wheel owner (a set of 20” black 545Rs on his short-lived E60 M5), Bill wanted to stick with HRE wheels again on his new M6. After a few visits to our office, we decided on a set of 547Rs, with a powder coated black center to give the car that sinister look, and chrome lips for more contrast and less maintenance. The wheels were custom built to our specifications, measuring 9x20 up front and 10.5x20 in the rear. These forged 3-piece wheels were subsequently mated to Dunlop Sport Maxx ultra-high performance tires, measuring 255/35/20 front and 285/30/20 rear. This package ensured the overall rolling diameter of the wheel/tire package would be the same as the OEM 19” rolling stock. Mr. Stevens was ecstatic with the outcome up to this point, but it was now time to move on to the final (and most drastic) phase – the aerodynamics.

Being a factory high-performance model, the new M6 features a carbon-fiber roof straight from the factory. While not only looking trick, there is a considerable weight savings also. We wanted to tie in this carbon fiber theme with the aero body enhancements so once again we called on long-time partner CEC, who provided us with one of the first full ACS aero packages for the new M6. This package consists of a pair of carbon fiber front spoilers, along with a pair of F1-inspired aluminum stabilizer struts and new chrome lower grill for the front end, while the backside consists of a carbon fiber rear diffuser and rear deck lid spoiler. Like project 997, all of these aero pieces were expertly prepped, painted and installed by the folks at Stuart’s Paint and Body. To cap it all off, the ACS sport exhaust finished off the rear, fitting perfectly in the new rear diffuser, while providing a F1-inspired sound to the high-revving V10. After a quick photo shoot, it was time to deliver the car, and needless to say, Bill was extremely pleased with the final results.

Wheel Experts would like to thank all involved in making this project possible: Brandon Baker at CEC, Matty G and the crew at HRE, Doug Carson and the crew over at Stuart’s Paint and Body, and last but not least, customer Bill Stevens who had faith in us and gave us the opportunity to build this project for him.