derBayerische November/December 2021 - 30

By Mike Bevels
Mike and
Mandy Cole:
Have ZHPs, Will Travel
I
met Mike and Mandy Cole for the first time at the NCC Summit Point
Shenandoah HPDE in June of this year. Mandy is Mike's daughter and I
remember thinking that it was especially cool seeing them share such a fun
experience together - in similar E46 ZHP sedans no less! What could beat a
weekend of driving their own cars and improving their skills at the track?
Given that I try to involve my kids as much as I can in my own automotive
escapades, I hope that one day I'll be forging similar memories when they have
their driver's licenses. Let's learn more about our fellow members, Mike and
Mandy Cole, and their road to father-daughter automotive events!
Mike Cole isn't a stranger to the automotive world or motorsports. When
he was in high school he was modifying and painting cars. He swapped a V-6
into his four-cylinder Ford Capri and even stuffed a V-8 into a Datsun 280Z.
He also fondly recalled a 1983 VW Rabbit GTI that he modified for autocross and
track duties. And by " modified " I mean he swapped engines multiple times, fabricated
his own roll bar, installed a limited
slip differential, among plenty of
other performance upgrades. Despite
not having a BMW at the time, he was
a BMW CCA member because he
enjoyed the club's HPDE events so
much.
Time passed and when his
daughters were born, Mike started
autocrossing factory cars. He ran a
Chevy 1LE Z28 Camaro, a Pontiac
WS6 Trans AM, a Subaru WRX, and in
2004 he even had a sponsored ride in
a brand new 2004 Subaru STI. He won
many local autocross events including
the regional autocross Subaru
Challenge in 2004 and then retired
from the sport to focus on his family.
It was nearly 16 years later, when
Mandy took over ownership of her older sister's E46 325i, that Mike tapped back
into his passion for modifying and driving cars.
30
Mandy got her driver's license in 2017 and her first car (and first BMW)
was the E46 325i that was handed down from her older sister. Unfortunately
after five months of ownership and on the first day of her senior year, it blew a
head gasket. Mike was in Las Vegas at the SEMA show at the time and recalls
Mandy calling him on the phone to relay the bad news. Mandy said that the
broken BMW led her to making the expensive mistake of buying a Toyota
Camry, which just didn't compare to the driving experience of her 325i. After
the Camry she knew she just had to go back to her favorite manufacturer: BMW.
Mike and Mandy have had a number of cars and projects over the years.
When I asked what BMWs are at the top of their list to own, Mandy said she'd
love an M2 CS. Wouldn't we all though? Mike says he likes the M2 and M240i.
Mike recalled that one of the reasons for moving to his current residence last
year was to find a place with a large enough garage that he and Mandy could
work on their cars together, something they both enjoy doing. As Mandy's first
big mechanical project, she took the
suspension, differential, and interior
from an E46 that Mike had previously
restored (which was later rear-ended
and totaled) and transferred it to a
different 330i, which they still have as
a daily driver. Mike had a large enough
garage that both donor and transplant
cars were parked next to each other, so
the parts transfer was fairly easy.
Mandy learned to drive a car
(Top) Which one is your favorite. (Above) Mike's ZHP has a roll bar and
harnesses for track duty.
equipped with a manual transmission
on her father's Civic Type R. While the
Honda was a fun car and they enjoyed
it for a year, they both stopped driving
it after purchasing a manual 2011
135i, affectionately called " Stubby. "
Mandy said that the 135i is " the most
fun car to drive " . Mike says that " it just
drives like a BMW " and " when they're running right and they're set up correctly
they drive beautifully. " The 135i has seen a few track events, but after a spun
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