BMW followers in Japan are identified to be a very devoted neighborhood. Sporty M fashions, specifically, are sometimes tuned, and there’s no extra famend vacation spot for this than Studie AG in Yokohama. Proprietor Bob Suzuki is a legend in Asia, and never simply relating to tuning BMWs.
Bob Suzuki: The Man Behind Japan’s BMW Tuning Mecca
There’s little magnificence to be discovered within the unassuming industrial park of Yokohama, and the intersections round Kishinecho are jammed from morning until evening. However for BMW lovers, Studie AG is automotive Mecca. Right here within the coronary heart of Yokohama, Bob Suzuki has been working a tuning enterprise since 1995 that really packs a punch. Even the identify “Studie AG” on the facade, harking back to an unique BMW dealership, appears distinctly German in Japan. Stepping by means of the double doorways, you’re greeted by a workshop setting in any other case solely discovered on the Nürburgring or, at most, within the northern a part of Munich.
All over the place you look, the logos of German tuning and accent manufacturers shine brightly. A map of the Nürburgring stretches throughout the ceiling, and an illuminated map of the larger Munich space adorns the wall. Welcome to Studie AG – a Bavarian oasis within the coronary heart of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan space. German license plates, acquainted stickers, the imposing Nürburgring map, and a wide range of racing memorabilia beautify the store like a singular automotive shrine. It even features a sport console with racing seats and workstations with free Wi-Fi. The doorway: “Autobahn.”
The thirst for efficiency—this isn’t only a boon for BMW itself, but in addition, and particularly, for Bob Suzuki’s firm in Yokohama. “At Studie AG, we consider that the client expertise goes far past merely working with elements,” explains the pleasant, smiling Bob. “It’s about making a deep connection between our prospects and their autos.” Thirty years in the past, the Japanese automotive fanatic opened his tuning store with the weird identify “Studie AG.” The common age of BMW lovers who store at Bob and his staff’s place is between 30 and 40.
From E36 Beginnings to a Full-Blown BMW Establishment
Bob Suzuki explains, “Once I first opened, there merely wasn’t something like this in Japan. The primary automobiles we labored on had been E36s.” However modifications to the suspension, shocks, wheels, and exhaust methods rapidly grew to become not sufficient. Clients needed increasingly, more and more specialised modifications, and so they got here from farther and farther away. Initially, elements and contacts had been solely obtainable to Bob Suzuki’s staff in Germany. Because the mid-Nineties, the proprietor of his personal racing staff has commonly traveled to Germany, making detours to BMW headquarters in Munich after which visiting his second ardour: the Eifel area with its winding Nürburgring.
Haruto has simply parked his white BMW Z4 Coupé in entrance of Bob Suzuki’s store. “I come right here commonly to purchase elements or get work finished on my automobiles,” Haruto says, posing behind his tuned Z4 Coupé with its gigantic exhaust muffler. “I’ve six automobiles—together with a number of Z4s. I merely love these automobiles and commonly go for drives.” He rapidly pulls out his smartphone and reveals footage of current outings with different M lovers.
“For BMW elements, there’s solely Studie AG for me,” he says and hurries off to the elements counter, the place firms like Eibach, Bilstein, and KW are promoting their sport suspension methods. Proper subsequent to them is a certificates stating that Studie AG is an official associate of BMW tuner AC Schnitzer. A couple of meters away, a model-making workshop with a silver Z3 and an entire arsenal of instruments appears like an automotive shrine worthy of veneration.
Tuning as a Method of Life in Japan
Regardless that speeds on Japanese highways hardly ever exceed 120 km/h, tuning has cult standing right here – not only for BMW, but in addition for the native favorites Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Mazda. Nonetheless, the German manufacturers Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche get pleasure from a stellar status with their fashions. Particularly on weekends, tuning lovers like to fulfill at freeway interchanges to share their custom-made automobiles with like-minded people.
Model envy? Not an opportunity! However at Studie AG in Yokohama, solely BMW aficionados are welcome. Amongst them are sometimes vacationers or Germans at present working in Japan, as a result of Bob Suzuki didn’t change into a cult determine solely by means of Instagram and social media.
Past the Store: Bob Suzuki’s Favourite Roads and Racing Roots
His personal Studie AG racing staff has merely elevated his fame. “For my part, BMW’s passionate fan base in Japan is because of the alignment between the model’s values and the Japanese temperament,” says Bob Suzuki. When he’s not engaged on one of many world’s nice racetracks or in his store, he heads off to the corners about an hour and a half south. “Certainly one of my absolute favourite routes is the Hakone Turnpike,” he laughs, “a really exhilarating highway that’s excellent for my automobiles. 13 kilometers of superbly sweeping curves and an elevation change of 981 meters.”
Stefan Grundhoff; press-inform / Photographs Courtesy Of Studie AG]
