IND-Distribution unveils their latest project: Atlantis, the world’s first BMW E90 M3 Carbon Fiber roof.
Very rarely in life, one will have the opportunity to create something truly unique. Whether it be a work of art, a work of engineering, a work of literature, or anything else, the opportunity to build something that you know has never been done before, and will not be achieved since is an opportunity every person should have the privilege of seizing. For the staff at IND, and for the car's owner, IND's Atlantis portfolio car was just this opportunity to make a unique mark on the world.
From the first time I spoke with our client Myke, I knew that his BMW Individual Atlantis E90 M3 was not a car that could be allowed to be in his ownership in factory form. BMW’s Individual program allows the most committed BMW enthusiasts to create their own unique car, with a choice of one-off exterior and interior colors and other options. Myke has a passion for personalized BMW’s that is difficult to match by anybody’s standards, and I knew immediately that we could create an amazing car together.
Through hundreds of phone calls, emails, and private messages, one thing became very clear to me- Myke is not afraid to take risks in creating his own interpretation of the already classic E90 M3. Several moments of constructing the car were downright nerve racking- will the wheels fit the overall theme of the car? Was it a mistake to apply gloss black powdercoat to the already beautiful Akrapovic exhaust tips? Will our hand built Carbon Fiber roof panel fit? Commitments like these required absolutely no fear.
When talking about IND’s Atlantis, the first thing that needs to be mentioned is the color. Available only through BMW’s Individual program, and only with the express approval of the BMW Individual program’s director, BMW Atlantis Metallic is a slap in the face to the average gray, silver, and white cars in your office parking garage. Vibrant does not begin to describe it. Atlantis Metallic shifts from Estoril blue to Avus blue to shades of green and teal, and simply can’t be captured by a single description. All of the staff at IND knew that the wrong modifications would ruin a car of this caliber, and so had to tread carefully.
From the start of the project, the centerpiece of the car would be the completely one-off carbon fiber roof panel. Because E90 M3s never came with a Carbon roof from the factory, we knew that this one item alone would set the car apart from any other like it. Myke even changed the build specifications of his car from a sunroof equipped car to a non sunroof equipped car, just to acquire the non sunroof headliner panel required to install our Carbon Fiber roof! Constructing a Carbon Fiber roof panel is no easy task, but fortunately for IND, Atlantis was in it’s planning stages well before the car even existed on BMW’s assembly line!
We began work on selecting the parts and preparing the various components of the car about 8 months prior to delivery, which gave IND and our partners enough time to ensure absolute perfection. IND partnered with a local composites shop that constructs body work for winning ALMS, Grand Am, and Formula cars in order to create the carbon roof panel. Although IND had completed over ten carbon roof projects on E46 M3 cars, no amount of experience will steel you from the uneasy feeling of cutting the roof panel from a BMW Individual M3 with only 1,000 miles on the clock! All of the employees at IND breathed a sigh of relief when, after weeks of preparation, the Carbon Roof panel safely fell into place as if it had been there all along.
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