Euro

With every new model release comes new potential. Every year, car enthusiasts watch new vehicles hit the show floors across the world at shows in Detroit, Las Vegas and Tokyo and the first thing that comes to mind is how much better that car would look if _______________ was done to it. Seeing commercials, show coverage and photoshopped pictures of the new models exponentially increases the anticipation of how it can be modified. Whether it’s a certain set of wheels, a slight or dramatic drop, or specific exterior modifications, we can all picture it and build a full show car in our minds (with those imaginary, unlimited funds we also possess) before we even see it in person. After the car hits the showroom floor and goes up for sale, everyone anxiously awaits the first person to start modifying it. It’s a heavy weight Dan Allard has once carried on his shoulders but when he started modifying his Vauxhall Corsa, all eyes were on him and he did anything but disappoint… Read More »

This week we bring you a shot of Eric Penelow's Boston Green e36 at First Class Fitment 2011. Just when we thought Eric's car couldn't get any better on the OZ Futura's he switched it up and came out with a rare set of Cromodora splits in 2011. Eric is one of the founders of So Good!, a new street apparel brand, and he is also one of the videographers responsible for this video from First Class Fitment so check it out if you haven't already! Right click and save this image for the high-res 1920x1200 version!

Well my friend PT (founder of Blown Euros) reached out to me a few weeks ago and said his tires were almost shot on his Imola Red e39 M5, and he had a fresh set waiting to go on. So before he mounted the new tires he wanted to burn the old tires down to cords and take some burnout pics! Here is one of my favorites from our quick shoot!

We all had a starting point; a reason for getting into the scene. For many, it started at a young age with a passion for cars having been passed down from a father or grandpa who tinkered around in the garage or took them to car shows. A larger percentage found their roots through friends who had “sick” cars when they were in high school or college (depending on your age, it could’ve been the body-kit/underglow inspiring “Fast and Furious” Era) and wanted to turn their vehicle into an extension of themselves and their style, not just something to get you from A to B. For as many of us who have wandered from the first scene we became a part of (Euro, JDM, Domestic, etc), there are just as many who have stuck with the same make for years. Matt Waln is one of those who stayed true to his roots: BMW. The car you see before you as the subject of our feature is actually his fourth Bavarian creation, so he knows them like the back of his hand. Read More »

Influence is a rather interesting phenomenon in automotive culture. There are, on the whole, three major camps: the European, the East Asian, and the North American, each of which has a near unlimited amount of subcultures and movements. While each of the spheres has their own unique aesthetics, individuals are constantly pulling ideas from each other and blending those designs into their own region's styles. One can look to the American hot-rod culture's influence on the European air-cooled Volkswagens or the American adoption of the Japanese tuner style.  Eventually these influences get passed around so many times, that they end up coming back to the original source in new ways. For example, the Japanese VIP scene was inspired by the large, classy sedans of Europe.  Japanese tuners were drawn to the imposing characters of cars like the Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 series, and sought to apply those same styling cues to their own domestic sedans, mixing the classy Old World style with the existing shakotan look. Michael Milano-Picardi was inspired by that bippu look and has applied it to his own Mercedes CL500; an American, modifying his European sports coupe in a manner invented by the Japanese for to mimic stately European sedans. Wunderbar! Read More »

As the new year comes along, new builds will appear here and there. Most of the time we feature rides once, however, there are builds that are worth mentioning more than once. This is the third time we are introducing Alan's clean black on black BMW 335i coupe. This time it's back with a brand new interior and engine bay. This bad boy is part of the worldwide car group, EuroProjektz. The sole goal of EuroProjektz is to increase the influence of European car builds to the show circuit. This 335i is here to prove that not all show cars need to be over the top. Sometimes there are finer details that are missed. This is a build we wouldn't mind following until the end. Read More »

After years of riding around slammed on coilovers the original Silverstone paint on the arches of Leo's GTI (or what was left of it) was a testament to the old saying "you have to pay to play". So Leo decided it was time for a change... The car recently received a full color change in Toyota's Quicksand color code (that cool color on the FJ cruisers), and the Image IFX's were sprayed in a complimentary BMW Sepang Bronze. Now in order to avoid finding out what brand new burnt Quicksand paint looks like, Leo enlisted the help of Drew Dorbritz of Dorbritz Designs to install his new Airlift struts and AccuAir E-level management. Our friend Tek was on hand to document the entire install on this "Coffee & Cream"  GTI and he put together this beautiful triptych showcasing the finished product. If you would like to see a detailed look at the install and more of the finished product jump over to Dorbritz Designs writeup!

Since it first hit the showroom floors in 2004, the Volkswagen .:R32 has become one of the most well-known and well loved cars of the last 10 years. Featuring face-lifted front and rear bumpers, an AWD drive train, race inspired Konig interior, and the always beloved VR6 motor beefed up to a 3.2L with 240 hp, there aren’t many platforms in the last decade that are better to build up than this. With a sport-tuned suspension from the factory, this powerful little hatch was built to be a pure driver’s car; ready to enter, brake, apex, accelerate and exit every turn it encountered. With these capabilities and build quality, many .:R32 owners are purists who keep their cars bone stock and drive it aggressively like it was meant to be but there are a select few who decide to take it that extra step and give it some beauty to match the beast. Read More »

Some of you may have already ordered your SDobbins Photography 2012 calendar, but for those of you who haven't or are still looking for a 2012 calendar, you're in luck!  For the third consecutive year Performance Volkswagen photographer,  Sam Dobbins, has traveled the country shooting some of the best of the best Volkswagen's and Audi's to compile one of the highest quality, most picture intensive calendars out there! We are happy to announce that for the second year in a row we will be offering a special $5 Off discount to you, our Canibeat readers! Read More »

As the year ends, another season of shows will end with it. To close out 2011, we present our Autocon coverage for you. The event, along with the turn out, was much larger than last year. We were excited to use that opportunity to booth for the first time on the West Coast. Organized as a charity event, the show was a great experience for us, and we enjoyed meeting everyone. We'd like to thank the Royal Origin guys for coming out to show at our booth with their quality cars and hilarious entertainment throughout the day. Four different photographers covered Autocon for us just to make sure we didn't miss anything. Enjoy, and we hope to see you next year! Read More »