The BMW 2002 is part of the automotive Hall of Fame, as it’s considered to be one of the greatest driving cars of all time. But on top of how great it drove, it actually invented a car even more transcendent, the BMW 3 Series. The 2002 invented a genre and that has cemented it in the automotive HoF. It’s also why BMW 2002s get restored and modified like crazy, because people can’t get enough of them. This specific one, restored by Clarion, looks especially good.
The best part about this Clarion build is the fact that they didn’t RestoMod it, which would have updated most of the car to make it feel and drive more like a modern sports car. Instead, Clarion restored the car and, as they went through the car, upgraded some aspects of the car with parts and techniques that would have been available and done back in the late ’60s. So it’s as if someone bought the 2002 back when it was new and upgraded it a bit back then. Aside from the sound system, obviously, as Clarion is a company that specializes in sound systems. The touchscreen head-unit looks a bit odd in the 2002, but it’s understandable, considering the company that build the car.
But it’s still a 2002 at its core. The 2.0 liter single-carbuereted engine has been swapped with a fuel-injected BMW M10 1.8 liter four-cylinder engine and then upgraded with a gorgeous, custom-designed K&N air intake. The upgrades, according to Clarion, give this 2002 the same sort of power as the 2002 Turbo. The suspension has been upgraded with coil-overs and the wheels have been swapped with beautiful BBS wheels on sportier tires.
This Clarion looks and sounds fantastic, being perfectly period but with some great upgrades. It’s the kind of car that just makes you want to drive it more and more. We haven’t even driven it yet and we even want take a spin. It’s a great build and the kind of restoration that should be done to the iconic BMW 2002.
