This E46 BMW is a very special candy, because it’s Coyote swapped with a Roush supercharger. Why you ask? Why the fok not? <—That’s to be read in a British accent… Jamie Tartt’s accent to be precise IYKYK. Look folks, in a pussy-cat era where masculinity is considered toxic & ridiculed, Roush is one of the last-standing quintessential blow-it-out-your-ass American go-fast companies. Just saying the name Roush kind of puts a twitch in your pants, doesn’t it?

Not only that, but the Ford Coyote engine is flat-out…

One of the most badass-sounding, hammer engines to ever be produced. You might not see that now…. but you will in 30 years when every car is an Apple AirPod. Trust me, I’m from the future. It’s just that nowadays – Mustangs are still so common on American streets… that we take the 5.0 for granted. Hell you can’t sit on the patio of any restaurant & get through a beer without hearing one. But when you hear that Coyote sound coming from something different… like a BMW for example… it just makes your ears tune into the Coyote’s charisma that much more-er. So here’s the deal:

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Chad Anderson grew up around dirt track racing in America’s heartland somewhere…

His dad shot photos for Nascar Illustrated. And eventually, Chad got a job at Roush Performance & packed it all up to move to Detroit. But apparently Detroit doesn’t have any dirt tracks; everything is paved. Which reminds me, if you want to “fix climate change”, worry more about not paving all the damn cities, and worry less about my ’88 CRX without cats. I’m from the future remember, I know what I’m talking about here. Anyway, there were no dirt tracks to be found, but Chad did hear about this new hip thing called drifting.

So Chad picked up his camera & went to shoot some photos at a drift event…

He didn’t really know what drifting was to be honest, and he definitely didn’t know anybody associated with the sport. But you know how the drift community is… all friendly & shit. So Chad pretty immediately got hooked & networked in. And it didn’t take much longer for Chad to realize he needed a damn drift car & not just a camera!

• photos by Sam Igel II •

So that was about 6 years ago, when Chad bought this E46 BMW…

He wanted to ease in & learn the ropes. But being a country boy with a background in 4-wheelers & dirt tracks… he learned the ropes pretty quickly. And Chad really settled into the moderately low-power E46 BMW chassis.

A couple years after that…

Ol’ Chad Anderson got the itch for more ponies. He strongly considered turbocharging the BMW engine. And he definitely considered an LS swap. But then he was like…

“Oh yeah that’s right… I work at Roush!”

So Chad found a deal on a gen-2 Ford Coyote 5.0 & stuffed it into that E46 BMW… like a gentleman. The cherry on top is the Roush supercharger! Now I know what you’re thinking…

Why not just buy a Ford Mustang & drift that?

You certainly could. Mustangs have gained a lot of popularity in the drift world, and that’ll only continue to gain traction (no reverse-pun intended). And actually – Chad has a later-model S197 Mustang that he drives daily on the street. But when it came to drifting, Chad really just likes the E46 BMW chassis. He likes the way it drives, and he knows it well. Plus – Chad was already pretty invested into his E46. And surprisingly, apparently around Detroit, it’s actually a lot easier to find E46 parts around the junkyard than newer Mustang parts. So from a serviceability aspect, the BMW is actually in a pretty sweet spot. Plus c’mon… wild & crazy swaps are just cooler in this world.

So Chad is doing his thing with the supercharged Coyote-swapped E46 BMW…

The car’s gotten pretty serious obviously, and Chad has a real knack for this drifting thing. I accidentally asked him that stereotypical dumb question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” And Chad saw it like this:

He got hooked on this sport as an outlet to have fun, create friendships, & blow off steam. As he & the car have progressed, Chad’s naturally moving into more competitive stuff. Which is fun! But in addition to the fun, it can also be frustrating… and definitely expensive. So Chad is going with the flow. And he’s already decided upfront that he’s not gonna force it. If his path ends up leading to more sponsorships & Pro Ams… great! But if-&-when the competition ever starts to outweigh the camaraderie… it’s no contest.