When it comes to outright street performance Down Under, V8s rule supreme. You only have to look at the race track battles between Aussie GM branch Holden, and arch rival Ford to see that.

In more recent years however, the four-cylinder scene has exploded and the country has more than a few obscene four-pot screamers.

Six-cylinder cars, on the other hand, stayed in the land of urban family hacks and have never really been in vogue so to speak in today’s performance scene. A situation no doubt aided by the fact that neither Toyota’s Supra nor Nissan’s R 34 were ever officially brought into the country.

You might think therefore that BMW’s M3 would have a hard time in the popularity stakes Down Under, yet nothing could be further from the truth.

The original four-cylinder M3 can still be found in decent numbers on the streets of major cities, as well as on race circuits in club competition.

The later six-cylinder M3 has more than an enviable reputation too, and in 1994, BMW Australia even produced the M3 R limited edition racing special

When all is said and done though, the Whipple supercharged, nitrous oxide fed 1995 model M3 you’re looking at here has to be the ultimate performance M3 ever produced in Australia.

This is serious, Mum!
Did we say supercharged and nitrous fed ?

You better believe it, and with a dyno proven 538 rear wheel horsepower this Bavarian monster is more than capable of chewing up Aussie V8s for breakfast, lunch und Krakewurst !

Formaz Performance in Perth, capital city of Western Australia, are better known for extracting ridiculous power figures from rotary engines and they’ve got an impressive list of local and national titles, records and such like to their credit.

In more recent times, however, Formaz have expanded to the more conventional internal combustion engine, so when Keith turned up on their doorstep looking to do something special with his M3, he was welcomed with open arms.

Now, Keith’s no stranger to fast Beemers. Back in his home country of Singapore he had tried a 350hp AC Schnitzer kitted BMW, but it didn’t really provide enough excitement !

Forced induction was the only way to go, yet on paper at least, turbocharging couldn’t provide the horsepower and there was also the question of turbo lag.

The engineering side of the turbo equation too would have caused numerous headaches, especially the installation of an intercooler due to space constraints.

Decisions, decisions…
A variety of superchargers from the USA and even Germany were considered for the Formaz M3 project, but the cost of bringing a single unit in combined with a lack of backup support saw Formaz turn to local supercharging experts, Powerhouse Performance.

The Australian agents for Eaton and Whipple supplied a 2100 A blower from the latter manufacturer, a twin screw compressor unit as opposed to the better known Rootes style of supercharger.

Consideration was also given to a centrifugal supercharger, but although relatively easy to fit, centrifugal blowers act a bit like a turbo and are best suited to top end horsepower.

Getting this big German mistress moving off the line would require solid low down punch, and with the screw supercharger using less power than the Rootes type to actually spin up, Whipple’s 2100 A got the nod.

An individual by the name of Gregg Barr performed much of the fitting of the supercharger, including the manufacture of a custom alloy plenum and 4’ throttle body

The car’s original inlet manifold remains and believe it or not, but with these few modifications, the supercharger was quite easy to install, fitting into the vacant space with relative ease.

The supercharger is driven from the crank in ‘traditional’ supercharger style, yet there’s no custom crank pulley as such.

Instead, the stock power steering and water pump crank drive is used, but now with a longer 1780cm six-rib belt and an additional tensioner, the supercharger can be driven also.

Air begins its journey by first passing through a huge K&N air filter, before travelling up a custom intake pipe to an equally custom 4" throttle body.

From here, the supercharger does its thing and feeds the compressed air into the manifold.

Fuel is then married to the compressed air supply via the original M3 injectors, mounted on the original fuel rail which is now integrated with that custom inlet manifold.

More injectors please (and pass the methanol)
Fuel is supplied from the original fuel tank, but a Bosch motorsport pump aids flow and also supplies two additional injectors.

These extra squirters are controlled by a digital programmable Microtech micro fueller MT-2 and naturally come into play when boost pressures rise, satisfying the need for more fuel.

Interestingly, these extra 550cc injectors are positioned before the supercharger, so when operational, the blower is actually ‘processing’ a lean combustible mixture as opposed to just straight air.

One of the injectors is positioned right at the back of the Supercharger’s intake plenum in fact, and just about directly sprays directly onto the spinning screws.

The mixture which eventually reaches the combustion chamber is actually quite a cocktail, thanks to the NOS and a water/methanol injection system to keep excessive temperatures at bay.

"The water/methanol injection is set to come on from 8psi of boost," explained Formaz head honcho, Frank Federico. "The spray is located just after the air filter and the mixture is stored in the car’s original washer bottle."

The NOS system, itself good for an extra 100 or so horses, is a wet, single-shot arrangement with a single nozzle strategically placed just after the air filter.

The system is made live by a switch just above the gear lever and once on, the NOS is squirted when the accelerator pedal activates a micro switch at full throttle.

Of course, simply adding a supercharger, NOS and all of the associated equipment to a stock engine would be asking for trouble.

Down inside the go-department
Not surprisingly, Formaz had properly prepared Keith’s motor by calling in a number of local experts.

Graham at Southside Engine Centre stripped the Beemer’s engine right down and began a blueprinting process that also included adding some trick internals.

Although the crank is original, Saenz rods from California now push and pull APE pistons from Melbourne - and yes, the compression ratio is on the low side at 7.9:1.

Incidentally, the barrels were simply honed in preparation for the circlip pistons, so the original 3.00 litre capacity of the motor remains.

Meanwhile, the heads were de-dagged and mildly ported to aid gas flow both in and out of the engine, although the latter aspect is helped even more thanks to a full Supersprint exhaust system.

To tell the truth, the car’s original M series twin headers remain, as everybody agrees it’s a terrific stock set up anyway.

The Supersprint system sees twin 2 3/8" pipes head rearwards before ending in twin tips.

While outright control of the engine is still handled by the original engine management and EFI systems, there is one piece of additional equipment not mentioned thus far - a boost cut controller.

With the supercharger on board, the normal air flow sensor will obviously send the car’s computer higher value signals (in Volts) than it is used to.

These signals are used to determine fuel delivery to the original injectors, yet signals above 5.0 Volts are actually processed as a ‘fault’ and the computer accordingly cuts back on fuel delivery.

As boost rises therefore, the prospect of leaning out could become quite critical, so the boost cut controller steps in and tells the car’s computer not to cut back on fuel.

Of course, the above mentioned Microtech fueller also acts when the boost rises, supplying extra fuel to those additional injectors.

Another piece of equipment crucial to the survival of this M3 is a custom twin-plate ceramic brass button clutch, living next to a lightened and balanced flywheel.

The M3 gearbox, on the other hand, is as strong as they come and has been used safely in race cars producing over 600hp.

A bit of attitude for the camera, please
As can be seen from the photos too, this M3 isn’t just about aggressive performance.

The whole attitude and stance of the car has been enhanced significantly thanks to suspension, wheel and body mods.

The ride is accomplished these days on Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, whilst those awesome 18" rims are Wun Guns from the Enkei catalogue.

Hamann Motorsport meanwhile, supplied the front lip and rear wing eyelids, although eagle eyed readers might notice the Euro style white indicators front and rear.

In the cabin, while everything is virtually stock, Keith has added white dials and a variety of gauges supplied by good friend Eric from Jeep Chee in Singapore.

Oh, and don’t even ask about a sound system, because as far as this owner is concerned, music is the sound of a Whipple supercharger winding itself up.

And, just as this article was going to together, Formaz entered Keith’s M3 in a dyno shootout contest, winning the six-cylinder forced induction class and collecting outright second against a horde of big block V8 street terrors.

I think I’ll have that Bavarian chocolate cake with double icing on top thanks!

Nuts`n'Bolts

Engine:
3.00 Litre M3, APE 7.9:1 circlip pistons, Saenz rods, original crank, de-dagged & mildly ported head, fully custom air intake system with 4" throttle body plus K&N air filter, Whipple 2100 A screw supercharger on custom intake plenum, NOS wet single-shot system, water methanol injection, two additional 550cc fuel injectors, Bosch Motorsport fuel pump, Microtech micro fueller MT-2, boost cut controller, M series twin headers into Supersprint twin 2 3/8" system, custom twin-plate ceramic brass button clutch, lightened and balanced flywheel, stock M3 gearbox.

Chassis:
18 X 8" Enkei Wun Gun alloys all round. 225/40 Falken GRB rubber front, 225/35 Falken GRB on the rear. Eibach springs & Bilstein shocks all round

Exterior:
Hamann Motorsport front lip, rear wing & eye-lids, Euro style white indicators front and rear.

Interior:
Stock trim, boost gauge, temp gauge, shift light & turbo timer adapted to supercharger application - all supplied by Eric from Jeep Chee in Singapore.

Audio entertainment:
The sound of a Whipple 2100 A supercharger winding itself up into a frenzy !!