• BMW CCA has partnered with Turn 14 Distribution over the last five years to create a no-holds-barred grand prize car for its annual Dream Car Giveaway.
• With help from Thompson BMW and Thompson Performance Group in Doylestown, PA, Turn 14 Distribution ordered a fashionable Velvet Blue Metallic BMW Individual F95 X5 M Competition to help celebrate the X5’s 25th anniversary.
• The grand prize build was tastefully modded with the standouts from the European aftermarket: Akrapovič, CSF, H&R, Vossen, and more.
• There are only three days left to buy your raffle tickets for this year’s contest—it ends at midnight on Monday, October 7—so make sure you enter while you still can.

It’s easy to assume the end is the defining moment—each piece of tireless effort accumulated into a whole—that conveys a grander message. For this year’s BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle grand prize build, an X5 M Competition, that isn’t completely true. The larger storyline had been established for us already; it was the 25th anniversary of the X5. Over that span, the label would continuously evolve, spawning dedicated M variants that more directly translated the marque’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” credo into the experience. The latest and greatest version of BMW’s “M SAV” is the F95, the chassis we opted to build for this year’s effort using standouts from Turn 14 Distribution’s European line card like Akrapovič, BMC, CSF, H&R, and Vossen. It’s a good thing that we had options. Although the bigger story was a happy coincidence, the anniversary year added an extra layer of pressure to pull the project off right.

WHERE WE STARTED

The build started and ended in the same place: Thompson BMW. It’s been our go-to for the last several builds because, as an M Certified Center, the dealership was well-versed in helping us through the BMW Individual program. It’s an amazing offering, but because the options can feel rather limitless, it’s good to have a helping hand through everything you can do. The other reason is its mod-friendly attitude. Indeed, Thompson is a dealership that prides itself on this, creating a separate division, Thompson Performance Group, to give discerning enthusiasts the service and attention we desperately need.

PEDIGREE AND PERFORMANCE

We chose a hue from BMW’s vast library called “Velvet Blue Metallic”—a smart mix between blue and purple—that would make the nearly $150K M SAV feel even more regal. The choice helped dictate the rest of the mods; they would have to help accentuate the X5 M Competition’s pedigree and performance and, with it, create an exciting product that a BMW CCA member would be happy to park in their garage. That caveat requires some restraint because everyone’s tolerances differ as much as their palette. What we did would have to distinguish it from the rest of the pack while walking the line of OEM+ execution.

Over the week that we spent assembling the car with TPG, that lofty goal was our mission. Every subsequent mod was another valuable tick towards that effort, and in some cases, our unwavering commitment prompted us to one-up ourselves. We began with some of our usual suspects: the full gamut of Akrapovič offerings and engine upgrades from CSF and BMC. On a 617hp SUV that would haul friends and family around, stratospheric power wasn’t a priority. We added some, but the real priority was making sure it’d be a robust machine long term. Using the industry’s best at the first stages of the project set the stage for everything else.

We’d originally opted for a set of H&R lowering springs, but its VTF height-adjustable springs allowed us to dial the X5 M in that much better. Vossen’s wheel lineup was similar to the BMW Individual program: there were a lot of options to consider, and that’s before you got to the custom finishes. Once we landed on the S17-04, it helped us find the perfect complement to the Velvet Blue Metallic exterior—something it called “Marbled with Brushed Face Light Smoke”. Those incremental choices may not scream for attention, but they made a significant difference at the finish line.

HOME FOR THE NIGHT

There was no better place to shoot the finished product than in Turn 14 Distribution’s swanky lobby. It’s become somewhat of a tradition, a final nod to where we were able to source a healthy sum of the components that made this M SAV into a deserved grand prize for the BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle. We challenged ourselves by tackling the one facet of BMW M that we’d ignored so far, and I think it turned out better than we expected. Someone is going to be very happy about adding this to their stable.

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO WIN

If the title didn’t give it away, your chance to win the Turn 14 Distribution x BMW CCA F95 X5 M Competition is narrowing. Fortunately, the club has just extended the contest until Monday, October 7th to accommodate all of the interest from members who were waiting to see the final product, or for people who’ve managed to procrastinate joining the club so far. In either case, this is our final reminder to grab as many raffle tickets as you can.

Thank you to our long list of esteemed build partners—Akrapovič, BMC, CSF, Future Classic, H&R, Thompson BMW, Genie Company, Vossen, and XPEL—for contributing to this year’s grand prize build and to BMW CCA for the opportunity to collaborate for another year. It’s been an immense honor to finish a project that serves as a beacon for the club’s mission and the enthusiasm for BMW that powers it all.

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