During the Tokyo Auto Salon 2020, we were on the road in Japan, with the Hoonigans and Larry Chen. In Japan, we visited the show as well as some partners with whom we have been working with successfully for a lot of years.
By the way, you can watch the episodes on the “Autofocus-YouTube- Channel”, although we will present one or the other vehicle in more detail on our KW automotive blog.
If you are a BMW fan, you should visit Studie AG when on vacation in Japan. Yasuaki Bob Suzuki has already founded five branches in Japan in the past 25 years.
His Studie AG has long been the top address for refined BMWs and you will find his workshops and shops on the main island Honshū in the metropolises of Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagoya.
Although Bob Suzuki doesn’t just modify BMWs, he also has his own BMW motorsport team. – If you click on the picture above, you will see a BMW Z4 GT3 R from Studie AG in action! – The absolute highlight of our visit was when Bob took extra time for us and even lent Larry the key to an AC Schnitzer ACL2 for a joyride and photoshoot. Studie AG is not only a source for Japanese BMW enthusiast to get a set of KW suspensions but is also an official partner of AC Schnitzer.
The AC Schnitzer ACL2 is a concept car based on the BMW M235i. The brute compact sports car was first shown to the general public at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016; only a few months after the BMW M2 celebrated its premiere at the North American International Auto Show in January 2016.
This is also the reason why the engine of the ACL2 was a completely revised straight six-cylinder (S55B30) from the BMW M4 by AC Schnitzer. The M2 was not yet available at that time in Germany and other markets. The engine in the ACL2 develops 570 HP and has a maximum torque of 740 Nm (546 lb-ft).
The entire “Schnitzer two-seater” naturally weighs only 1,450 kg thanks to many lightweight components, and yet it is not a spartan “sports machine”. A personal highlight in our eyes is the six-speed manual gearbox!
The wide axles on the ACL2 come from the BMW M4, and the suspension is an AC Schnitzer Clubsport suspension with adjustable compression and rebound damping, where our development engineers supported the German-based BMW tuner AC Schnitzer.
Before we go any further into the lap times on the Nürburgring Nordschleife for the AC Schnitzer ACL2, we must also show you the BMW M2 Convertible from Studie AG!
Bob Suzuki really wanted a Convertible M2, but BMW never built an M2 Cabriolet, the Japanese BMW specialist built his own M2 Convertible from a BMW M240i Convertible and a BMW M2!
By installing the M4 axles, the M235i went quite far into the width. The AC Schnitzer forged wheels in AC1 design measure 20 x 10 inches and Bob Suzuki fitted 285/25 ZR25 Yokohama Advan Sport tires on all four wheels.
The brakes with their carbon-ceramic disc’s (400 x 38 mm and 380 x 28 mm) is a six- and four-piston brake kit. The ACL2 is unfortunately not for sale. But a large proportion of its parts are available directly from AC Schnitzer.
In 2017, the 570 HP ACL2 set a record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife back. In just 7:25.8 minutes the Coupé chased through the Green Hell. At the wheel was touring car and truck legend Markus Oestreich. So, the Schnitzer ACL2 is one of the fastest road-legal vehicles based on a BMW.
Photos Larry Chen / Videos Hoonigan AutoFocus, AC Schnitzer; Words C. Schmidt
