For millions of German car enthusiasts around the world, the BMW M3 is a gift from the driving gods. Over six generations and more than 30 years, it’s evolved to give you balance, performance and enjoyment. The E36 BMW M3 is the target of a SEMA 2022 build unlike any before it, featuring a new widebody kit inspired by the legendary M3 GTR.
Slotted between the boxy E30 and curvy E46, the E36 came out in 1992 and brought with it a few obvious advantages. Firstly, you could buy it as a practical sedan. And second, it was equipped with an inline-6, be that a 3.0 or a 3.2-liter. Basically, it wrote the formula used to this day.
While there have been many E36-based SEMA builds over the years, fans of this M3 have been eagerly awaiting the launch of this particular body kit, designed and built in limited numbers by a company called Live To Offend, or LTO for short.
If the name doesn’t ring any bells, this puts the designs of Khyzyl Saleem into production. You may have seen his work featured by the Hagerty YouTube channel recently, but he’s one of the OG rendering artists from a decade back, and “talented” would be an understated way to describe him.
SEMA build, the LTO story
LTO has plans to build a handful of these E36 coupe body kits. This one is the first to reach production and it belongs to @lookmush (Mush Karkhi). He owns an LTO widebody E30 that’s just as spectacular as this one.
Mush has had this 1995 M3 sitting a friend’s shop for 3-4 years without an engine. After it was stripped down, the next step was actually to install the engine he had in mind, the S52, which is a good 3.2-liter for this model. After tuning, a turbo and many custom parts, it now puts out 450 hp on regular gas or 600 hp on E86.
The owner had some unique GR E36 3-piece wheels with a center lock made for this car. And Toyo Tires managed to offer up some R88R performance rubber just in time for the SEMA Show.
Naturally, you can’t do a widebody without lowering the suspension; that’s the whole point. The setup is cleverly hidden in the trunk, under what looks like luggage at first glance.
About the E36 LTO kit
While this build may have been done in the style and livery of an M3 GTR, you can buy a kit just like this and install it on your custom project. It even works with a regular E36 if you swap the bumpers.
The Kyza-designed body kit features boxy fender flares, a deep chin spoiler, a vented hood, a massive wing over the trunk and this large diffuser. Compared to a normal M3, this build is 90mm wider at the front and a massive 135mm wider at the rear. It has also been equipped with window louvers, a trademark of the artist. The price, $4,950, though it can go as high as $7,450 if you want CFRP spec and a wing.
