Chapter2. Falling for the charm of BMW

2-1: Mr. Kimura's childhood and teenage years

Kimura-san, have you been a car enthusiast since you were a child? <

Yes, I am. I am of the supercar generation in terms of age, and my father is also a car enthusiast, so I naturally fell in love with cars as well. My father started his business around the time I was born.When I was in elementary and junior high school, I drove American luxury cars and Mercedes-Benz.I was there. Even as a child, I was thinking, "Wow, how cool!

Then, when I was in my late teens.If I were to buy one myself, I would want a Mazda RX-7."I began to think that I was a good person. At that time, driving on mountain passes and buzzing around on the Hanshin Expressway in Osaka was a boom in flashy driving that is unthinkable today. Seeing thisWhen I get my license, I want to drive the RX-7 through the mountain passes."I have come to have a longing to be a part of this project.

So your first car after getting your license was an RX-7?

No, that was not the case...as soon as I turned 18, I got my license and I was going to buy an RX-7. I saw a used car magazine at the time.400,000-500,000 yen...that's what I can afford if I work hard and get a part-time job!"When I told my father about it, he said something like this.

No! Get a sturdier car! Your father will buy you one!" He said.

I am ashamed to say that as a child I was what you might call a typical dopey kid. My father had lost his own son, my older brother, in a car accident, and he didn't want to lose me in a car accident as well.

So, from his father.When it comes to rugged cars, it's Volvo!"However, at the time, Volvos were designed to be ridiculed as "running bricks" (laughs)... They were not very attractive to me as a teenager who wanted to drive an RX-7.
I told my father about it.'Okay, then let's go see Bembe (BMW).'So I visited a BMW showroom for the first time.

I understand your father's parental feelings...

But at the time, salaries were rising steadily and the economy was booming, and the BMW 3 series was known as the Roppongi Corolla. I wasBMWs are never going to be popular with the ladies!"I was not keen on going to a BMW showroom because I had the prejudice that
At the time, I was a bit of an idiot.An RX-7 with a banging engine would definitely be more popular!"I was a naive young man who thought (laughs).

But then, in a BMW showroom, I spotted one car that really stood out. It was a BMW 635CSi.A luxury car that cost over 10 million yen at the time and was called "the most beautiful coupe in the world".It is. Instantly captivated by the elegance and beauty of the sports car, I asked my father to buy me a BMW 635CSi.

Wow, that's amazing... to be able to buy a brand new BMW when you just got your license...

Sorry...it's embarrassing to talk about it myself. So, of course, that BMW 635CSi was so good.What fun handling! The engine! This is what BMW calls the joy of driving!"I was so fascinated with BMWs that I became a BMW devotee, even though I was not a fan of the RX-7.

From then on, until I was over 30 years old, I wanted to "drive a BMW until I die," not a Porsche or Ferrari.

2-2:Going to the Circuit in a BMW

So, did you continue to drive BMWs after that?

Yes, I have owned several BMWs, and when I was 31 years old, I owned a BMW M3, which was an eye-opening experience. I thought I knew enough about the beauty of BMWs before that, butI was amazed at how great BMWs with an M are.

There were some sacrifices in terms of ride comfort, but it was a car that sharpened the BMW's driving performance and brought out its sportiness to the fullest, so just driving around town was a lot of fun.

How did you end up on the circuit?

Since that time, I had always enjoyed modifying cars, so I tuned up my M3 in various ways, such as changing the wheels and suspension, and I was very pleased with myself. HoweverSince we are "tinkering with what is in the best balance," various parts of the system can become faulty...I began to visit different stores that specialized in tuning and repairing BMWs, and the last store I drifted to was one of the BMW stores with a strong track-oriented focus.

As I listened to the store owner and his customers, I gradually became interested in the circuit, even though I had no interest in it at first.One day, I was invited to run with him at a circuit, and when I was 33 years old, I ran for the first time at the current Okayama International Circuit.

Have you been hooked on the circuit ever since?

No, the first time I drove the M3 on the track, it was a lot of fun, but after a few runs, I realized that the maintenance of the car is ridiculously expensive...I thought, "I can't do this," but then I started competing in races.

I entered the Eurocup, a kind of grassroots race in which only foreign cars compete, and I wanted to see how well my driving would do in a race and what level I was at.

My husband is also addicted to Gran Turismo because he wants to see if his driving style works.

I know exactly how you feel. I was also playing Gran Turismo on the PlayStation at the time, but I was practicing harder than my own children (laughs).
At first, I participated in this race with a light heart, but I found myself hooked.I went to practice at least twice a month, and practiced and practiced and practiced to improve my time by even one tenth of a second, to improve my position by even one position, to improve my time by even one tenth of a second.All of my own spending money was poured into the cost of tuning my car.

However, the more tuning we did, the greater the risk of breaking the car, so we had to keep fixing it, and fixing it, and fixing it, and fixing it... it was a lot of work.

Did your wife see this situation and say nothing?

At first, he disagreed with them and even criticized them, but I think he gave up halfway through, saying, "There's no point in saying anything.We took the stance, "Please, feel free to do so." (laughter)Then one rainy day, the tires got caught on the road and I crashed hard on the track... I survived, but the car was almost scrapped.

I was quite depressed, thinking, "I have spent so much money, played so much, messed up my precious car... What a stupid thing I have done.From there, I distanced myself from races and circuits for 4-5 years and stopped going at all.

2-3: I want a Porsche GT3.

What kind of car life did you lead after that?

During the time I was away from the track and racing, I enjoyed driving BMW sports sedans, but there was always a part of me thatSomeday I want a Porsche GT3."I thought it was a good idea.

If BMW's M3 is so much fun, Porsche's GT3 should be a hell of a lot of fun," he said.

I felt again after experiencing the circuit that Porsche is still an amazing car.The M3 requires modifications to the brakes and radiator for circuit specs, which can be quite expensive, but the Porsche does not require any such modifications.You can take it straight to the track as you bought it, and it will run tremendously.

Also, the oil and water temperatures are always stable no matter how many laps are driven on the circuit, so the same time can be set for dozens of laps. This is not the case with other companies' cars.Porsche cars spend a lot of money on things that you can't see from just a glance at the specs.I found that the

Is that what makes Porsche so appealing?

Yes.The fact that it can be driven on a race track and also used on the street is truly amazing.I think. The high quality of Porsche as a car, supported by German craftsmanship, is a major attraction of Porsche, isn't it?

Many of my acquaintances who started out racing on the circuit in cars made by other manufacturers, once they switched to Porsche, they never cheated on their Porsche.Seeing this, I have also decided that my car for the circuit will be a GT3.If I could do that, I would really like it as a car enthusiast.

Why don't you buy it now, not someday (laughs)?

No, no, no...a new car is very expensive and I can't afford it. However...I've actually been to a Porsche dealer in the past, decided on options, and almost bought a GT3 with an appointment. And twice (laughs).

But both times I had to cancel at the last minute for some reason or other... I began to wonder if they were still saying that GT3 was not ready for me. Even from people around me.Mr. Kimura is no stranger to GT3."(laughs).

In the meantime, about eight years ago, I found a Ferrari at a consignment sale.

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