Coverage: RRT Racing Open House

Rolling out of bed, the only question in mind was if the weather would hold out. Today was the RRT Racing open house and car show that promised plenty of jaw dropping BMW and go-fast stuff to lust. RRT Racing, previously known as Road Race Technologies, was started in 2002 and has grown to be the premier BMW service center in the DC region. The cars built by RRT have campaigned in Grand-Am, World Challenge, BMW CCA, SCCA, and NASA as well as a variety of independent events and races such as the annual One Lap of America.

The skies were gray with the occasional light drizzle but nothing that would keep prevent the enthusiasts from showing up to lay eyes on the cars. A beautiful silver Dinan 550i was parked just out the front entrance. A Dinan representative was also on hand to answer any questions about their products. This particular 550i was powered by a twin turbo V8 with what appeared to be every goody Dinan offered.

On the other end of the lot I found this E36 M3 that was repainted Bluewater Metallic – a color originally only available on the M5.

I think the color looks great on the E36 M3. Thanks to reader Jake for the correction!

Carbon black on cinnamon is one of my favorite color combinations. Purely biased, as that’s my personal E46 M3. The interior trim is a white, blue, purple and red splatter design that was made by my wife and I.

IS THAT A LAMBO?!

I thought this was a BMW show? The Lamborghini Murcielago is European enough, right? It received plenty of attention. Nearly as rare, is the Dakar Yellow (or Dakar Yellow II?) E36 M3 parked next to it.

Cars were lined around the entire shop. Out back I found a small group of Japanese all wheel drive turbo cars had snuck in. That’s cool. I’ve always had a thing for the Evolution and STi. Any vehicle that can glue a smile on your face and still haul the family around is okay in my book.

I previously labeled this E34 wagon as a 540i to which I was mistaken — Jake caught that one too. It is actually a 525iT. The mild drop and larger wheel application gives this 525iT a sporty OEM+ look.

Unfortunately the lives of performance cars don’t always end well as we can see in this quarantined grave yard. Hopefully RRT Racing can go all zombie on these and put them back on the asphalt.

Speaking of back from the dead, both of these cars had previously flat lined. The E46 sedan is a 330i however the owner had RRT swap the engine with an S54 from an E46 M3.

As for the Mitsubishi Eclipse, its looking all business. If RRT has worked their magic on this DSM, it’ll undoubtedly turn quick laps!

Inside the shop was also no joke. A BMW M1. Two BMW E30 M3s and a prepared E36 M3. BMW M1. A Lotus Elise. An M1. Have I mentioned there was a sweet blue M1?

And as you can imagine this space received plenty of foot traffic.

Talk about a crazy build. You couldn’t miss the polished big single turbo on this widebody E30. Imagine if this had a full interior and was tagged for the street!

In the next room over was a perfectly positioned GTS3 prepared E36. The bay door was open, casting dramatic lighting on the M3. The rest of the room was pretty much empty. It’s as if this was planned studio setup. Click, click, click. Oh yeah!

In the store front were even more goodies. RRT Racing is a super clean shop with a decorated waiting room with plush leather chairs plenty of Dinan parts on display.

And back out front I spotted a few more cars worthy of the lens.

Kyle’s silver E36 M3 has transformed over the years. Today it was on polished Forgeline RS wheels.

Avus Blue may have been over shadowed by Estoril Blue, but it looks great with the amber corner markers, which have been trending lately.

If you are a BMW enthusiast in the DC region and you missed this event then you truly missed a good one. RRT has held open houses for the past couple years and no doubt they will increase in popularity and quality. I’m looking forward to the next RRT held event and you should be too.