Talking cars with Philip Smit
Philip Smit, the sole owner of Philip Smit attorneys, shares his love of fast cars with Review
LIMPOPO – He has been a practising attorney for 21 years and we had the opportunity to talk to him about his BMW E64 M3 2002 model.
Q. What is your dream car?
A. I would have to say a Porsche, no specific model because all the models are amazing.
Q. Did you have many toy cars when you were a child?
A. Yes, I had boxes full of toy cars. Even today I have several model cars in my office.
Q. When did you buy your latest toy?
A. I got it last year.
Q. What are some of the features that you appreciate most about the car?
A. The car is a farrowbrid which is still roadworthy. It also handles exceptionally well around corners, has extremely good brakes and very fast acceleration.
Q. What’s the highest speed you ever did with this car?
A. About 260 km/h.
Q. Do you have a nickname for your car?
A. My younger son calls it Beast.
Q. How far have you driven this car?
A. I mainly use it for racing, so I don’t drive long distances.
Q. How much does it cost for a major service?
A. Difficult to say because of the racing components on the car, so it can cost anywhere from R1 500 to R8 000.
Q. What do you wish to drive after this one?
A. I would love to drive and even own the Mercedes Benz McLaren F1 which is fitted with a V12 BMW engine in full racing speed. It cost in excess of R40 million and it’s not available in South Africa.
Q. When did you decide to pimp your ride and why?
A. I was participating in track racing with my Porsche and I have been part of the BMW club for the past three years. I decided to build a dedicated track racing car as my Porsche was too valuable to risk damaging it on the track.
Q. Where did you pimp it?
A. Fast Development Speed in Pretoria built the car for me.
Q. What did you change on the car?
A. We installed an extra large V8 M3 air cooler to get extra oil cooling during racing conditions. We also installed an extra large power steering oil cooler, a high performance camshaft and a cooling float reservoir that will not burst at high temperatures. We fitted brakes that use special friction material to reduce the high level of “bite” when you brake, so you can brake constantly from a high speed. We fitted a full race suspension system specially tuned for the car along with a short diff ration to help with quicker acceleration out of corners and improving the gear shifting. We replaced the bonnet and boot with carbon fiber to reduce weight and replaced the doors with fibre glass. The interior has also been stripped out and the gearbox has a short shift system. We added a special exhaust which offers 12 to 15 kW of extra power and the computer system is adopted by a Dustic Unichip Computer System.
Q. How long did it take you to complete your car?
A. The whole build and development took about five months.
Q. What advice do you have for motorists who also want to pimp their rides?
A. The first aspect to keep in mind is safety first. Do not modify the engine without modifying the brakes and the suspension. Whenever you develop or pimp your car to have higher performance, make sure you can handle and drive it properly. Adding extra kilowatts to your car doesn’t automatically give you Michael Schumacher’s drving skills.
Q. How often do you drive the car?
A. I race at least once a month and we practice with the car in between.
Q. Do you have any other cars that you plan on pimping?
A. At this stage no, this was the main project and I am happy as it stands. It gives me a lot of joy and pleasure and it’s doing well in competitions.
