Tuned: Purple Haze, BMW 523i

How often does it happen that your future car is the one that your friend drives? Siddharth, the owner of this E60 523i was able to take this car off Digvijay, who was the previous owner and also his great friend. While Digvijay was looking for his next project build, an opportunity opened up for Siddharth to grab the car that wasn’t only his dream car but also the car he rode shotgun in for over a year. The car previously had a different wrap but when Siddharth got it, he put on a purple suit, white shoes and a tune from Digvijay’s automotive workshop in Pune called ‘Piston Wolves’.

This was the first generation of the 5 Series that came to India, known as the E60. It was the fourth generation globally, and it arrived on our shores in 2007. This model was part of BMW’s ‘Bangle era’, when Chris Bangle was BMW’s Chief of Design and the brand launched models with such controversial designs that weren’t really seen before, especially in the Indian market.

Most Indians preferred the 520d and the 530d, making this 523i a unicorn in a world of horses. This particular one gets a satin purple metallic wrap with forged carbonfibre fenders that are skimmed by hand. The headlights have been upgraded to laser projectors by Genome India and also gets RGB LED DRLs. The rear end gets smoked tail lamps, the 50th anniversary M logo, Remus exhaust tips, a rear lip spoiler and a rear windshield spoiler. Gripping duties are performed by 18-inch Kenda tyres with custom white wheels from N1 Concepts. The brake calipers have been wrapped in a fluorescent green reflective wrap – I knew these reflective wraps for the brake calipers looked cool on Instagram but when I saw it in person, I was immediately inclined to get these for my ride too. This already low 523i wasn’t low enough for Siddharth because he decided to equip it with lowering springs from Cobra – which means the ride is stiff but is as stable as it could get, special courtesy of the grippy Kenda tyres.

Step inside and you can see that Siddharth has lived out his childhood fantasy – scale models of six cars and a fighter jet, all glued on to the dash like it’s a kindergarten project. The trim is hydro-dipped in a red forged metallic colour and extends to the doors as well. The infotainment display has been changed to an android Hypersonic display that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It can also display the car’s vitals – speed and tacho – and that makes it feel a lot more integrated to the machine. Music is blasted into the cabin via JBL speakers and an Earthquake subwoofer – a biker on a red light standing next to this car will definitely feel an earthquake is here. The E60 generation’s seats were notoriously uncomfortable, but not in this one. It gets custom blue seats with extra foam to ensure plenty of comfort. The seats are so soft now, I could take a nap in it even if we’re doing high speed runs.

The 2.5-litre straight-six engine is a solid engine platform and can handle a fair few upgrades but Siddhath’s vision was clear: he wants fire. It now gets a stage 2 tune by Code 6 that bumps power from 190bhp to 210bhp and from 240Nm to 278Nm, but increasing power was not the priority. The tune has been done with focus on making it spit flames – visible during the night and when the engine has warmed up. All this was possible with a straight-pipe exhaust, a resonator delete and exhaust tips from Remus.

The modifications on Siddharth’s E60 are not subtle from any angle but he wants everyone to know that he drives one of the most iconic BMWs that were ever made. And by the looks of it, he does. While we were heading towards our shoot location, I noticed kids staring at this ride and shouting, “BMW hai jaldi dekh.” Odd, considering every third car in Mumbai is a BMW but the E60’s shape has a certain gravitas to it – helped no doubt by the bright purple it is wrapped in. Now, as the 5 Series moves onto a newer generation with India only getting the LWB version of it, it may lose the sporting DNA that made it popular amongst driving enthusiasts. And that is exactly what Siddharth wants to preserve with his E60 523i.