Executive Decision

A 5-door German diesel saloon; something that could never be cool, right?

Owner: Scott Riddles - @scottriddles | Photography Courtesy of: @clubbragga_official

The BMW 5 Series. Owners, cast aside your briefcases, bluetooth earpieces and business meetings because this isn't all this 5-door German saloon is good for. With its vast array of trim and spec levels ranging from the 520 all the way up to the M5 power house, there was a model for every level of the corporate ladder.

Standing at the upper-middle tier of the executive pyramid comes Scott with his 530d; a slammed, iced-out, super clean example.

"I've owned the car for 8 years now having found it on Gumtree. When I saw it advertised I called up and bought it completely blind".

Buying anything from Gumtree (with it's 2.4 / 5 Trustpilot rating) is a risk in itself let alone purchasing an entire car without even seeing it, yet for Scott this decision has paid off.

"I was originally going to keep it standard as I wanted something fast comfortable and spacious, however, I bought a splitter kit and started the transformation."

Initially Scott was lured towards the 530d for all of the reasons you would expect. The renowned comfort of a German saloon paired with the infectious straight six M57 turbo diesel engine planted under the swooping bonnet. After some fettling, this 530d is now pushing out 310bhp with 712NM of torque - plenty to get ahead at the lights on the morning commute.

With this being a comfortable daily, there was only one option when it came to getting this thing closer to the tarmac and that was air suspension. As Scott wanted something that would catch an audience at a show, the Beemer had to be made brighter and that came in the form of a full Oracle Gloss White wrap.

Sat here writing this in mid-February I can only wince as I think about the level of exterior maintenance Scott has to perform to keep the perils of daily winter driving from eroding the charm of this icy saloon. This is before we even get to the wheels...

"I've always loved polished lips so when I saw the Rotiform SJC pop up I decided it was time to get the shine on!"

There are very few people in this world who would decide to run polished lips on a daily basis yet alone a set as stunning as Scott's Rotiforms. Nestled under the smooth arches of this comfortable cruiser, the stance is spot on for all slammed fans and adds an air of intrigue to onlookers. So much so, that this 530d has gone on to achieve a Top 3 spot at Ultimate Stance 2024; where it clearly held its own against some of the best bagged, slammed and cambered show pieces.

In pursuit of creating his vision, Scott did come across several challenges predominantly centred around the draw backs of modern technology.

"Most challenges were in the interior as most newer cars have sensors for everything. Aside from that, the wheels when I built them up were far too wide so I had to get the hubs re-drilled, arches cut and re-welded."

Whilst there has been difficulties the interior retains it's executive feel with the performance aspect strengthened through the introduction of Bride reclining seats. On top of this the dashboard has been finished in Alcantara, the gear and handbrake trimmed to match the seats, and rear seats removed to take away any doubt that this is a boring daily saloon.

Personally, the aspect that makes this 530 stand out from the crowd is the combination of the German executive feel with JDM tuner elements. As a self-confessed JDM fan, Scott has thrown in inspiration from the Japanese aftermarket which include a shotgun style exhaust and, of course, the Bride seats.

Whilst it's already a slammed, show-stopping example of a fast saloon, Scott has more plans in the works for his Beemer:

"Next up is a roll-cage, getting the wheels refurbished and some carbon parts."

All of which will help add even more of a performance feel to match the output purring away under the bonnet. Once complete, Scott's 530d really will look as performance driven as it feels whilst having a stance and exterior clean enough to turn any head (even the most dedicated BMW despiser).