Hiding in Plain Sight – This BMW Started as a Burnout Car Build, But Will Double Down in Drifting Competition as Well at Sick Powerfest
It’s not uncommon for vehicle builds to stray from their original plans or intent, but this BMW does so many things, it’s a larger version of a multitool. “We had a vision for it, but it got out of control,” said Carl Balzer, the owner of the Exo cart BMW known as Klaus and the man behind the magic at Hidden Motorsports.
A BMW affection ado for many years, Carl wanted his vision of another popular Exo Cart, Cleetus McFarland’s Leroy Corvette. “I’ve been a Cleetus McFarland fan for a while, and wanted to build my version of Leroy,” said Carl.
So, when a BMW 4-door gutted shell was bound for the junkyard in late 2018, Carl stepped in to buy his starting point for 400 hundred dollars.
Nearly five years later, that shell is aiming for BMW records, as well as entering drifting and the burnout competition at Summit Sick Powerfest Presented by M1 Concourse.
Summit Racing Equipment Sick Powerfest Presented by M1 Concourse comes to Pontiac, Michigan on August 11, 2023. For more information, click HERE!
In 1999, the BMW build began to take shape, starting with the Exo roll cage that would be one of the central features of the car. “At the time Exo Carts weren’t common, only about three of four out there,” said Carl. “We decided to take all the bolt-on parts off the BMW, then we planned out the Exo cage. Then install four seats and do a naturally-aspirated LS swap.”
With the massive cage complete, Carl picked up a 5.3-liter from a junkyard, changed all the gaskets and plopped it in the BMW with a T56 Magnum transmission. After doing 4 sets of burnouts within the first month, the engine developed a rod knock in late 1999.
With things slowing down a little for 2020, Carl decided to upgrade the engine. “The entire build was supposed to be an eBay junkyard build for no more than five thousand dollars. It got out of control,” said Carl.
The original 5.3-liter block and crankshaft were retained, but Texas Speed connecting rods and pistons were added to the mix. Carl found a used Holley hi-rise intake, added in a cheap twin-turbocharger kit, and ditched the stock computer for a Holley Terminator system.
The updates were done just in time for the 1320 Video Ice Cream Cruise event in September 2020, followed by Cleetus and Cars in November that year. The new combo made 1150 rear-wheel-horsepower before rolling into Cleetus’ event, and Carl went straight for the burnout contest.
The 5.3-liter hung the rods out of it at that event, so the next 5.3-liter build got a full slate of Texas Speed internals with aftermarket crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons. That engine lasted through the end of 2021 before expiring, so the next candidate was a built 6-liter LS engine.
By 2022, Carl had decided to also try out the BMW in drifting and drag racing. “The car is very good as a drift car,” he says. “Not pro level, but better than some would expect.”
But while the car was having success on the drift circuit, it was disappointment on the drag strip, and Carl ended the year without a good drag strip pass.
For 2023, the BMW has made the move to a Texas Speed-built 427 cubic inch LS powerplant, and embarked on their first drag-and-drive event, Heads-Up Hustle, clocking a 9.20 at 157 mph pass in route to finishing. “We know the car has enough to get into the 8-second range, and we’re aiming for the BMW stick shift record soon.”
Just over a week from now, the BMW will try its hand at both the drifting and the burnout competition at Summit Sick Powerfest, and with plenty of power on tap and tires to burn, Carl thinks the BMW will be in the mix in both competitions. “It’s become quite a car, and we’re looking forward to Tom’s event,” said Carl. “It should be a lot of fun!”
The Summit Sick Powerfest Presented by M1 Concourse is a huge 1-day event coming to Pontiac, Michigan on Friday, August 11th, 2023!
Massive amounts of smoke will come from the burnout competition, as well as the style and engine-screaming sounds of the drifting competition, with $5000 on the line for each!
PLUS, a super-sized Car Corral, nitro-breathing cackle cars, and RC Drag Racing, it’s a full day of fun you won’t want to miss!
Want to participate, or come out to watch all the action? All the information on Summit Sick Powerfest is available HERE!
Spectators: you can get special $10 general admission tickets thanks to Summit Racing! Use the discount code summitracing when you pre-purchase tickets HERE!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Carl Balzer.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com