A group of about 20 BWWs, mainly E30s

An off-line meeting of BWW owners of the same age in 1980s fashion was the “30 Meeting”, held on 30 December 2023 at a motorway parking area in Japan, where about 20 BWWs, mainly E30 series, gathered to have fun. Here are some BMW 325i Touring cars and their owners that caught our attention from the event.

M3 badge on the front grille

This time, we visited an offline meeting called the “30 Meeting”. Basically, it is a meeting of BWW owners from the 1980s, and its name is of course a reference to the E30 series, the key model of the time. It is a meeting of friends who know each other well, and there are no strict rules for participation, just that “participants who are conveniently able to meet on the 30th of each month”.

Only in December, however, there is a special regulation that “participants are to dress in 1980s fashion to match the cars (not compulsory)”, and some participants show up looking very much like they did in those days. The ability to casually hold such informal meetings can be said to be one of the advantages brought about by the spread of the Internet.

At the motorway parking area where the last meeting of the year was to be held, the participating vehicles began to gather one after another before the set meeting time of 9 AM, and despite the hectic end of the year, BWWs and their owners gathered. The owners who dared to continue driving BMWs of this era were all very particular about the cars they had assembled. Participants were chatting and laughing here and there.

Amidst all this, one car caught my eye, this 325i Touring. It has a slightly lowered stance and an M3 badge on the front grille. We thought this was more than just a badge tuning, so we asked the owner, “Tsukabon”, about it.

I chose Touring to travel with my family

“It was originally a 1991 325i Touring. The mileage is over 185,000 km, and in fact, the engine has been replaced with an M3 one, so technically it is a 1991 325i Touring Modified.”

They were emitting an unusual aura, which was understandable, but how did that come about?

“I got a BMW 318i four-door in 1998, a little after I started working, and I was having fun with BBS wheels and Pirellis. Later, I had to give that car away when I was transferred abroad for work, but that’s when I fell in love with BMWs.”

Mr. Tsukabon has returned home after working abroad for several years.

“I wanted to drive a BMW again, preferably an E30 M3 this time, but by then I already had children, so I got a Touring for my family. At first, I quietly drove it as stock, but I still wanted to feel the M3, so I finally decided to change the engine a few years ago.”

The M3, a homologation model created on the premise of winning a Gr. A race, has its 2.3-litre DOHC straight-four engine shoved into a five-door wagon body that was originally acquired for the family, making Mr. Tsukabon’s 325i Touring the strongest of all.

translated by DeepL