This story starts way before the actual shoot of the “Shu”. I discovered this insane turbo Bmw Z3 M Coupe while searching race videos on youtube. Popular content provider of these videos, Talontsi97, had a few of this brutally fast “Shu” pulling on various other impressive vehicles. Fast forward many months I finally had the opportunity to see this Internet famous racecar in person.
I spotted it immediately at a fellow photographer and friend Johnny Bazooka’s Cruise to New Hope. The “Shu” blasted past me on the on ramp to the highway, this was the first taste I had of the car, and its impressive speed and looks. Upon arrival at the meeting spot I was drawn to taking pictures of this car, the aggressive stance, and beautiful Fiske Fm10’s fit perfectly.
After taking many pictures of the car, Andrei Spirin, the owner struck up conversation with me. I immediately complemented him on his awesome car. He wasn’t like many car owners where they brush you off; he was interested in what you had to say which was a big shock. However, the time came for me to depart and make my way from New Hope, back to my house on the Mainline to edit the pictures from the cruise. After having posted the pictures Andrei messaged me thanking me for the pictures of his car. This then lead to the idea of having a shoot together. Needless to say I was pretty excited.
In a few weeks I found myself at Mach 5 rental cars where I was invited to spend the day on the dream cruise with Andrei prior to shooting his car. This is where I got to know Andrei; we talked about cars and life for a while and basically got to know each other. We joked around, and talked about how Bmw is the best brand how he would convert me to a Bmw lover, and owner.
Once the cruise had lead its course it was time to shuffle the million plus dollars of exotic cars back into their prospective places and call it day at the shop. However, it was not over, it was far from it. Andrei left one car out to take to dinner, this was no regular car, it was the Porsche 911 Turbo S. This was probably the coolest Porsche I’ve ever been in, Andrei and I made it about 45 seconds before I was exposed to the raw power of this 911. We stopped on the on ramp leading to the highway, the cars launch control was engaged and we where off in a massive burst of acceleration carrying us to a pretty decent triple digit number in a mere few seconds. After cruise around we ate at Tgi Fridays, leaving the car out front, this is probably the first Turbo S to be parked in a Tgi Fridays parking lot. Once finished we got back into the car where I was shown around at speed your ears would start to pop. This speed will not be disclosed but you can imagine it was not twenty miles per hour. After returning the 911 back to its space in the warehouse the shoot of the “Shu” was underway.
Unlike the hermetically sealed chamber of the 911 Turbo S, the “Shu” was not as “sealed”, the car was more of a racecar than anything else. The interior is filled with two Bride Glitter back seats, harness bar, and harnesses.
The attention to detail was spectacular, the gauge pod affixed to the top of the dash seemed factory with its day glow orange gauges and precise fitment. Even the passenger seat was adjusted with precision; the front of the seat was elevated slightly to give the passenger more comfort. I was completely taken back by this car. Everything was perfection, the simple yet potent power plant, a 3.2L turbo inline 6 (s52) with a precision 62/62 affixed to it is a potent combination yielding around 500whp and a little over 600 at the crank. This car felt like it was making every single bit of 500whp too, it put the 911 Turbo S to shame once we hit boost.
Andrei had initially said the car felt slow on our way to the Mainline. He corrected this by turning up the boost, which in turn made this already awe inducing rocket ship of a car even faster. This was probably one of the fastest and coolest cars I have ever been in, along with one of the coolest owners I have ever met. I want to thank Andrei for his generous actions and for giving me an experience I will never forget; it was truly an amazing day full of fast cars, and new friends.
Words & Photos: Thomas Schlegel
