JSUTAI – Miro Sutai’s 1988 BMW E30 M3
"It's pronounced 'Jay-Sue-Tay,'" he says. Miro Sutai is the man behind JSUTAI, a connecticut-based automotive design company, whose specialties range from bodywork and paint, to suspension and wheels, and at its core, design consultation. In many ways, it's a unique and niche market to take head on, but Miro is out to make himself known. With his latest company build based on the iconic BMW E30 M3, it comes as no surprise that the car has made the rounds across the internet. Following suit, the JSUTAI name has gained some momentum, as the build has taken a turn that strays what most have come to expect from the E30 M3 ownership demographic. So why has Miro's M3 been discussed at length? Is it the heresy committed upon the M3 lineage? Is it due to the fact that one can't help but love any rendition of the quintessential sports coupe? Or has Miro got something special on his hands?
"Individual results may vary." It's at the end of every pharmaceutical commercial on American television, but it may as well be true for our community as well. While Miro's M3 the polar opposite of what I'd build given the same chassis, it's tough to ignore where Miro's tastes have gotten him. Of all the builds in a given season that make their way to the superfluous number of dead-end facebook and instagram "blogs," only a few tend to permeate to the upper layer, and even fewer do so with staying power. Nonetheless, Miro's E30 M3 has appeared and re-appeared, garnering impressive attention each time it goes around. E30 M3s are widely heralded as one of the "best of the best" out there, and building upon that, Miro took a tried-and-true, and often stale approach, but with an execution all his own.
Much like peanut butter and jelly, we have E30 M3s and BBS RSs; it's often hard to have one without the other. It's the purest form of modification to the archetypal BMW. They are forever joined in holy matrimony - it's almost as though one could describe them by uttering those two terrible words: "played out." It's a recipe for success, but not one for fame. That is, of course, where Miro and his design house, JSUTAI, have stepped in. They've taken what is very much part of the E30 M3 ethos, and rearranged it. The pieces to the puzzle are all there, yet somehow, they line up in a new, defining way. The end result is an E30 M3 that screams style, blending new, modern flavors with a proven foundation.
While the first-glance aesthetics alone are enough to make this M3 stand out, it's beauty is more than skin-deep. Taking the M3+RS marriage one step further in an unexpected direction, Miro's BBSs are undoubtedly unlike any you've seen before. He began with a standard RS center, which featured its rounded, cast aesthetic across the spokes. From there, he took them to Perfect Metal, a machine shop, where he had the wheels planed to flatten the face. Custom "waffle caps" were machined, which ditched the famous waffle stamping in place of totally-flat aluminum to match the freshly machined centers. While the finished appearance isn't immediately obvious to most, die-hard BBS fans have certainly been scratching their heads thus far. For others, its a subtle detail that adds to the package as a whole, whether it's noticed or not.
Beyond the intricacies of the wheels comes JSUTAI's injection of style upon the "reliable" mod list. Blacked out wheels keep the changes subtle, and differentiate from the classic BBS silver and gold that have become largely expected. Pink and teal stripes give a bit of depth to the shadows, and carry on to Miro's door art, which helps explain the philosophy behind his build.
The rest of the car lives up to expectations, ticking all of the check-boxes that tend to make E30 M3s drool-worthy. Supersprint components offer up more bark for the classic S14 four-cylinder, while the well-built engine is left otherwise true to form. The exterior is accentuated by EVO goodies, as well as VAC Motorsports bumper components. Inside, suede traces the details, and a Bride seat and Nardi wheel make the driver's seat feel like home. And through a slew of suspension components, Miro has wound up with a car that he insists is still as much fun in the turns as is expected from the M3.
In all, Miro has built a relatively simple car, but its execution has lead to one of social media's most popular cars in the past several months. His tried-and-true formula turned upside-down has made a splash and left a mark, but I'm still unsure of quite how I feel. So tell me, what do you think?
Original: Stance Works