Bimmer Invasion LA 2025 Was Even Cooler

At Bimmer Invasion Los Angeles 2025, if you had a bingo card of all BMW topics, styles, models, themes, interests, and more, you would have shouted “bingo!” by noon and then “Blackout” by 12:30. And Bimmer Invasion did not officialy “begin” until 1:00pm!

The variety of the day was represented well at the BMW CCA and BMW Performance Center compound in the middle of Bimmer Invasion in front of the Vintage Vault.

It would be hard not to check all those boxes with more than 1,300 show cars and more than 10,000 attendees. In 2024, the only complaint heard was that the temperature at Irwindale Speedway (rest in peace…) hit 108. This year, the event invaded the Pomona Fairplex and five of its exhibit halls. This provided five air-conditioned respites from the summer temps outside and also a way for the Bimmer Invasion to lend some focus to themed areas around the Invasion-customized fairgrounds.

Bimmer Invasion wasn’t just held at the Pomona Fairplex; it took it over, replete with its own signage throughout the facility.

Apologies up front—not everything will be covered here. I arrived early,was there more than twelve hours, and still didn’t get to everything. I was not alone; most of the people with whom I spoke there and the weeks that have followed all admit to not seeing everything.

The Ultimate Hall saw non-stop activity all day.

Many of the highlights were found in the aptly named Ultimate Hall. It was the largest and housed the VIP area, hundreds of cars, more than 20 of the vendors/sponsors, food stands, and the popular Taste the Rainbow exhibit. It was incredible to see so many colorful cars, many of which were sporting individually ordered paint some had never seen before.

The halls were excellent but they could not contain all the great cars and vendors. Outside was just as active.

Another hall was home to the 50 years of 3-Series. The Bimmer Invasion team has a wide range of BMW appreciation, so they were certainly keen to the relevance 2025 has in BMW history.  There were also many examples of those seven chassis throughout the fairgrounds (but the consolidated focus—and the air conditioning—made the hall a cool place to see them).

The only thing more surprising than how many amazing F8X and G8X were in this hall was that there were still hundreds more throughout the event, too.

The F8X x G8X hall was cleverly aligned with all the F cars facing off against the G cars like a small battlefield. The variety in there was incredible, especially when we consider that each generation included M2s, M3s, M4s, and M4 convertibles (ahhh, the oft-forgotten F83 and G83s). The exhibit had everything including unique wraps, wide-bodied cars, engine mods, interior touches, and more.

The M1 made an appearance at Industry Night hosted by CSF Cooling two days before Bimmer Invasion.

M-cars were found at every turn in every hall, but the M Division hall specifically curated M-cars from every generation.  There might have been a few missing, but royalty like the M1 made an appearance two days earlier at the Bimmer Invasion Industry Night event.

The Vintage Vault included cars spanning more than 30 years.

One of the misperceptions of Bimmer Invasion was that it was only about the “newer” cars. First, ask ten people how they define “newer” cars and see how back in the chassis lineage the responses will take you. Second, no, it’s not. To emphasize that, this year included the Vintage Vault. This hall included mostly cars older than the E46-era cars. There might have been one E46 and an E39, but the majority were built before most of the attendees were born.

There isn’t an age restriction for the car community.

Pause for a minute for bonus commentary on the naïve theory that the younger generations don’t like cars. Bimmer Invasion followed Monterey Car Week by a few weeks and the concern out of Car Week was “all the kids there,” probably from the same mouths complaining that kids don’t like cars. Hmmm. Now we get to Bimmer Invasion and, while this is anecdotal, the average age wasn’t much more than 30—and that’s with me bringing that average way up. The car community is strong. People of all ages are interested in cars, especially in this time where technology is taking the industry in countless directions (power efficiency, electrification, 3D printing, etc.) and leveling the playing field for who can find information and resources.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming…with the Vintage Vault. Some of the cars were owned and built by owners half the age of other owners in there. Some cars were bone stock. Others were modified almost beyond recognition. Some cars were owned since new and some cars were owned since Tuesday. Some people probably strolled in there first because word quickly got around that the Vintage Vault had the best air conditioning. But word also quickly got around that it was a favorite of the exhibit halls.  A common refrain was, “I’ve never seen one of these” or “I’ve never seen one of these this clean.”

Earlier model cars were represented by the venerable E9 examples to the many 2002s brought by Reyn Speed Shop and Manofied Cars, to Riley Koidahl’s Neue Klasse 2000Ti and Rial Barnett’s actual historic Trans Am B-Sedan. But if you wanted other similar models, or really any other pre-2000 chassis, that was the hall for you.

Rial Barnett rolls into the Vintage Vault.

The owners in the hall were equally as impressed with the overall event. Rial Barnett, founder of the popular B-Sedan brand, arrived with curiosity and left with more enthusiasm (and an award!). “What impressed me—blew me away, actually—had to do with nothing that was parked near me,” Barnett says. “It had to do with the hundreds of cars that are all new and the directed passion that each attendee had for their car. It was more than impressive; it was off the charts.” I might not buy most of those wheels, but I loved seeing that amount of effort going into a modern car, seeing younger car enthusiasts putting that amount of effort into their car. It was inspiring and quite frankly kind of a relief. All you hear is that kids don’t want to drive cars anymore and it’s all about Uber and Lyft and Waymo but there was a lot of high-level attention to detail.”

Rial Barnett was impressed with the attention to detail he saw throughout the other halls at Invasion. Here’s an example from Adro.

“It was really cool to walk around and take a look at everything,” he continues. “The equivalent to all levels of research I put into my car to make mine as accurate as possible to 1971, they were putting the same into their cars just using a different scope. That exhaust or those wheels or the stance, or the suspension or the lip or spoiler. I know they’re waking up in the middle of the night with the idea and researching it all day to see if it’s possible. And all of that is happening in real time as opposed to me looking at black and white photos at Riverside for hints at how my car looked in period for my car’s inspiration.”

Rial Barnett continues to keep the spirit alive, winning Best Classic BMW.

“It was really great to receive the award for best classic car,” he adds. It was a total surprise to receive that award. I was just there to participate; I didn’t see that coming.  I was there to support the Vintage Vault and community. There were some really cool cars in the Vault. It never occurred to me that I’d be a contender let alone win.”

Smiles abounded at Invasion, including one from BBS’ Jesse Hemans, seen here talking with Ryan Edge.

The event seemed well-prepared and well-run, too. Credit certainly goes to the Bimmer Invasion team, led by Corey Amirault (Managing Partner), Kenneth Fong (Co-founder), and Miguel Torres (Co-founder). Amirault was certainly busy that day but summarized it for us. “Invasion of Los Angeles delivered our most curated experience yet,” he says. “On a perfect day at the Pomona Fairplex, more than 10,000 enthusiasts explored five themed halls, 1300+ show cars and 90+ premier vendors. From ‘Taste the Rainbow’ and the Vintage Vault to a show-stopping appearance by Samantha Tan and our ‘50 Years of 3 Series’ tribute, the community’s passion was undeniable.”

Bimmer Invasion included Industry Night Thursday night and a rally on Sunday. Here’s Alex Fresh arriving Thursday Night.

There was a little buzz around the event when people heard Samantha Tan would be there. She is the only BMW Global Ambassador and this year has already raced in many of the IMSA VP Racing Challenge in her team’s M4 GT3 and then also raced in the Road to LeMans and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, among others. We had visions of doing an interview and photos there but there was always a long line of fans young and old waiting to meet or see her, but she enjoyed it.

Seeing Samantha Tan’s 1M parked outside the Ultimate Hall hinted that she was just inside with her race cars.

“Bimmer Invasion LA was an incredible event,” she exclaims. “Going in, I thought it would just be a cool BMW car show, but it turned out to be one of the biggest BMW gatherings I’ve ever attended. The scale and energy completely exceeded my expectations. Even though I didn’t get the chance to explore the entire show since we had our STR booth, I still met so many new and longtime fans, which was a highlight for me.”

Joining or renewing your BMW CCA membership netted you gifts from XPEL, Keeping Up With the Bavarians, LIQUI MOLY, and as we see here with Samantha Tan, a collector pin from Leen Customs. (Thank you to Samantha and Kim (on the right!) for renewing/joining!)

“The variety on display was impressive, from modern-day BMWs to vintage classics, with something for every kind of enthusiast,” she adds. “My personal favorite was the ‘Taste the Rainbow’ exhibition. Seeing so many unique paint finishes, some I’d never come across before, gave me real inspiration for my next spec.”

Wherever Samantha Tan went, she stopped to meet fans and take photos.

“What stood out the most, though, was the culture. It was refreshing to see such a strong turnout from female enthusiasts. Meeting my longtime social media friend Carissa from Bimmergirls, as well as my new friend Keely, was a special reminder that the work we’ve done to make the community more inclusive is making an impact. And of course, it was great to hang out with BMW CCA again! I even renewed my membership on the spot and picked up a Leen Customs pin of an M1 with my racing number, 38. I’m already looking forward to the next one. Huge thanks to Corey and the whole team for having us there!”

Paul Seto talks about the cars BMW NA contributed to the BMW CCA presence.

Tan was not the only one stopping by the BMW CCA booth. The club that’s synonymous with BMW and BMW enthusiasm had a large presence adjacent to the main stage with 12 cars surrounding it and the BMW Performance Center. Reaffirming the alignment with BMW NA, the club had multiple cars on display loaned from BMW for the event.

Yep, you can drive this car in programs at the BMW Performance Center!

Paul  Seto, BMW CCA M Chapter representative and National Capital Chapter president, flew in from DC for the event. “Invasion is easily one of the best BMW shows I’ve attended in quite a while,” Seto says. “I loved the five different exhibit halls filled with enthusiast’s cars, some of which were nicely modded and others which were over the top (but still cool to look at). It showed that car culture isn’t dying especially when the average age of this show is probably in their 30s. Looking forward to next year’s Invasion and the passion that follows.”

BMW CCA awarded CSF and Ravi Dolwani as an Outstanding BMW CCA Supporter for the Pacific Region. Presenting the award are Paul Seto (National Capital and M Chapters), Lisa Goehring (San Diego and M Chapter), Jeff Cowan (Golden Gate Chapter), and James Crivellone (Pacific Region VP).

The BMW CCA booth also included representatives from the San Diego Chapter, the Golden Gate Chapter, the LA Chapter, and the X Chapter. But it wasn’t just the X Chapter there; BMW NA supported the event with the actual Team BMW X5 participating in next month’s Rebelle Rally.

Next stop of the Team BMW USA X5…the 2025 Rebelle Rally!

Valerie Caprigno, X Chapter President, also made the trek from the east coast, and loved the event. “We took a gamble bringing a dirty X vehicle to this show, but it paid off in spades,” Caprigno says. “We are so thankful to BMW USA for supporting us in displaying the Team BMW 2025 Rebelle Rally entry at this year’s Bimmer Invasion of Los Angeles and to Rebecca Donaghe, Team BMW driver, for taking time out of a busy training and preparation period prior to next month’s rally.”

Rebecca Donaghe cheers after joining the BMW CCA…or it might have been after winning Best SUV at Bimmer Invasion!

“Invasion’s motto is ‘Every Build Has a Story’ and Rebecca was busy telling the Rebelle story all day,” Caprigno adds. “It didn’t hurt that Rebecca, team navigator Rebecca Dalski (@b_dalski) and the X5 were just back from a week of training in the Utah desert and the X5 was still covered in dirt as proof of the hard work Team 205 has been putting in to prepare for this intense competition. From rolling in bright and early at 8:00am until the event wrapped up at 7:00pm, event attendees could be seen stopping in their tracks to snap photos, chatting with Rebecca and checking out the eye-catching X5 (wrapped in recently launched XPEL Color PPF in Monza Red). The final nod, during Invasion’s award ceremony, confirmed our gamble when Rebecca and the X5 were honored with the ‘BEST SUV of the Show’ award. The positive reception for the Rebelle X5 is just further proof of the community the Bimmer Invasion team has built – it’s not about one model or one type of modification, it’s truly about bringing the BMW community together across all differences with BMW as the common thread. Every BMW has a place in our community from the fully stock daily driver, to the highly modified garage princess show car.”

Bimmer Invasion really was impressive. There was something for everyone at Invasion LA 2025 and it’s bound to continue to deliver each year. Stay tuned for Invasion as it visits Florida again early in 2026!

Bonus gallery below…