Sinister, malevolent, and fiendishly clever, Pumaspeed’s modified BMW M240i represents an unnatural remixing of the established formula.
Picture the laboratory that must have spawned this beast. The bubbling beakers, the jets of flame, the creeping clouds of noxious green vapor, the occasional crackle of maniacal laughter. This modified BMW M240i is nowhere near what its Bavarian masterminds intended, it’s been deconstructed and reformulated by a team of mad scientists with malevolent intent and the sort of relentlessly inquisitive minds that are always asking questions like: What happens if we make that bit bigger? Can that part be lighter? Which of these bits shall we just throw in the bin? Is it all noisy enough?
Peep behind the curtain, however, and we discover that these deranged boffins aren’t operating out of some manner of secret experimental facility in the middle of a snowy Baltic woodland. In fact, their premises are based in a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, just off the M1 on the way to Leeds.
The folks in question are Pumaspeed, a business that started up back in 1999 to specialize in tuning the Ford Puma… but as you can see, they’ve diversified a bit over the last quarter-century. They’re still the go-to guys when it comes to modifying Fords, but now they demonstrate equal prowess with brands including Porsche, Audi, MINI, Honda, Toyota, VW, Hyundai, Mercedes… and BMW. Well, you’d probably guessed the last one, given what you’re reading. Yes, this modified BMW M240i is Pumaspeed’s latest build, and frankly, it’s pretty astonishing.
Pumaspeed’s development BMW M240i
Daniel McQuire (@dannymc55) is the company maestro holding the keys, and this F22 has been his pet project since it was all brand new, shiny and stock. “We bought the M240i specifically to be a Pumaspeed development car,” he explains, “and very soon after purchasing it I realized that the B58 platform had so much potential across drag racing, track use, racing – it is simply the perfect base to work from. Our initial plans were to track the car and then use it as such while using the platform for the development of our range of products. This has allowed us to take our time with it and get things right, so it’s taken approximately three years to evolve the car to the stage it’s at now.”
All of this comes from a deep-seated passion for the BMW brand that Daniel enjoyed from a young age. Sure, he grew up around Ford tuning and his first car was a Fiesta, but today he’s got a G87 M2 and an F30 335d parked alongside this very special modified BMW M240i, and these still waters run very deep. “I’ve always been interested in BMWs ever since I can remember; they have raw power, and they’re also very reliable,” he enthuses. “My first was a 330Ci that I bought to be used as a drift bus, and it all escalated from there.”
A passion for modifying
The modifying keenness has always been strong with this one, too; well, with this type of thing being the family business, how could it not? If you were to ask Daniel to outline his modding history, he’d definitely cock an eyebrow and raise a smile. “How long have you got? At Pumaspeed, we have had everything you can think of, from the most powerful Ford Fiesta in the world to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Cayman GT4… we don’t like to leave anything standard, and then it’s very quickly taken to tracks in the UK after!”
Initial modifications for the BMW M240i
When it came to developing the M240i, it was the suspension that Daniel and the team opted to address first (“These cars cry out for a decent suspension setup from factory,” he reckons), and it’s fair to say the chassis makeover has been pretty comprehensive. Full-fat four-way adjustable KW Clubsport V4 coilovers are joined by H&R anti-roll bars fore and aft, as well as the full suite of upgrades from handling supremos SPL. This comprises everything from the drop links at either end and the lower control arms to uprated front caster arms, bump steer-adjustable tie rods and the full rear-arm kit. With all of this dialed in, it makes for a fearsome fast-road and track predator… but Daniel was just getting started.
Increasing the power
“The next thing to address was the power,” he says, with the strong B58 motor acting as a decent blank canvas that’s just begging for some breathing mods and a little extra boost pressure. “We fitted a billet intake manifold from RK Autowerks along with our own Pumaspeed PS800 turbo kit, Pumaspeed auxiliary coolers, port methanol kit, front-mount intake kit, and a custom turbo-back exhaust system with a Scorpion de-cat downpipe and Milltek road-spec cat-back.” This is all corralled into shape by a MAXD Stage 4R custom calibration, with peak power in Map 3 (the excitingly dubbed ‘Kill Map’) being a hairy-palmed 657hp. The ZF eight-speed transmission has been treated to an xHP Stage 3 gearbox map to suit, while sitting between the rear wheels, we find a hardcore Drexler limited-slip differential.
“These upgrades were all chosen through tried-and-tested means,” Daniel assures us, “we don’t typically sell any products that we haven’t tried. And given that this was a development car, it was a good opportunity to truly see what setup worked for us. Time-wise, this has been steadily ongoing since purchase, and I carry out most of the work myself when I have time and availability. So, luckily, I’m in the position where I can take my time with the build and ensure it is absolutely spot-on for what we need it to be.”
Styling upgrades for the modified BMW M240i
It’s a very serious performance machine indeed, the specs tell you all you need to know there – but for Pumaspeed, a shop build is a complete package, with every individual element of the vehicle addressed. And when it came to the aesthetics, it’s just possible that they might have experienced a little mission creep. The eagle-eyed enthusiast will no doubt have noticed the distinctly M-like footprint that the M240i now enjoys, and that’s down to the fact that it’s been treated to the full-on M2 Competition-spec wide-body conversion. And with great girth comes great responsibility, so the wheel choice had to be absolutely perfect.
“We knew that it ought to be running either ATS GTR or Protrack wheels,” says Daniel. “We’ve got a couple of sets of each, and now that the ATS GTR wheels are not available anymore, we fell upon a gem!” The rims in question measure 9.5×18” on the front axle and an impressive 11×18” at the rear, the latter wearing meaty 295-section rubber, and this particular attention to detail carries on throughout the form-and-function vibe of the car’s revamped looks.
Wide-body conversion and track-specific mods
“In all honesty, I’d actually planned to keep it looking pretty stock exterior-wise, or at least as stock as can be,” he muses, and we’ve all heard that one before. It never pans out. “Then I started with a big wing,” Daniel laughs, “followed by the wide-body conversion, the carbon bonnet, Team Schirmer GT front splitter, then an even bigger wing (the swan-neck one that’s on it today) and a carbon roof… a bit of a snowball effect, I think.”
Yep, that sounds about right. And looking back over his work, this fella is very pleased with what he’s achieved. And rightly so. The shiny inlet manifold is a particular favorite, and of course, while this project can now be considered to be ‘done’ from a business perspective, there are always fresh ideas floating around. What if it had a set of carbon fiber doors? How about a DCT transmission conversion? Ah, but you can’t do it all. There are always other cars to play with.
What’s next for the modified BMW M240i?
“Yeah, we’re finished with this one now,” says Daniel, with perhaps a trace of melancholy in his tone. Understandably, as it would be a very difficult car to say goodbye to. But in the realm of cutting-edge development cars, there’s always another one coming down the pipeline. “We’re looking to sell the M240i – so if anyone’s interested, contact Pumaspeed,” he says. “And what’s next? We’ve already bought it, it’s the mighty G87 M2! We’re just doing the break-in miles at the moment after having the car PPF’d, and we may or may not have already installed some carbon.”
That’s just the way the game is played. Real enthusiasts, developing real-world usable parts for you, the consumer.
Hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Daniel and his mad-professor team will keep those beakers bubbling and Bunsens burning – because, as you can see from this mold-breaking modified BMW M240i, there are always ways to reformulate and remix the science.
Photos: Simon Ward.
