The legendary picture with Tyler The Creator’s BMW E30 and Frank Ocean’s orange Bimmer (the one that looks like on the cover of Nostalgia. Ultra) match is a staple to understand their taste in cars. The Frank Ocean’s BMW is more flashy, Tyler’s BMW is a more subtle cream color but in combination with the blue interior it is still a very outgoing combo. They are like yin and yang completing each other and both use cars in their music videos a lot. Read our individual articles on Tyler and Frank.
Tyler The Creator’s BMW: E30 M3 model
Brand: BMW
Model: M3 (E30)
Year: 1986-1991
Engine: 4-cylinder making 200-238hp
Description: DTM racing car made into a street legal vehicle
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Top speed: 238km/h
Originally Tyler’s BMW was in alpine white but he repainted it to a more creamy color. The interior is custom with parts in blue and black and the wheels are custom white aftermarket fittings. Other than that, his bimmer is close to stock, and it’s not known if he has added any performance mods to his M3. He is frequently seen pulling up to meets with the car and its one of the vehicles he likes to show off the most out of all of his collection.
What kind of BMW does Tyler The Creator drive?
Tyler, The Creator drives the BMW E30 M3 in beige. It’s the high-performance version of the 3 series and was homologated to take part in a german motorsport event called Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft as well as Group A Touring which required 5 000 cars to be built.
The M3 was produced from 1986 to 1991. This model year was the first time an M3 was made by the motorsport division of BMW. The M tune features a modified engine, suspension, aerodynamics, interior trims, and other high-performance upgrades to make the cars suitable for racing and track use. It featured either a 192 or a 197-horsepower engine (depending on countries’ regulations on catalytic converters) and a top speed of 235km/h (146mph). This model is already becoming a classic and very good examples can fetch around 100 000$ which makes this vehicle a great collectible. If you know Tyler, he loves rare euro classics since in his car collection there is a Rallye Fiat and Lancia as well. Motorsport heritage is an important factor for him regarding his whips.
Tyler The Creators’s BMW E92 M3
The E92 was also a favorite of Tyler’s even though he doesn’t drive it anymore. It was one of the first serious performance vehicles he had and definitely one of the more eye-catching ones with bright white paint. The acceleration of the M3 is 4.6 seconds to 100km/h and the V8 engine made 414 horsepower which is more than double of the E30 generation. His fondness of the car can be summed up in a classic all-caps tweet by Tyler. Maybe he liked it so much because it was a 1 of 100 Frozen Silver Competition edition which made the car even rarer than the regular road-going version of the BMW. This is the most powerful BMW out of all three.
Tyler the creator’s BMW 325is for Camp Flog
Does Tyler, The Creator own any other BMWs?
One of his BMWs was given away during the annual Camp Flog Gnaw carnival. A 325is coupe model with red stripes. It is not quite as powerful as the M3 but it was one of the punchier models nevertheless with a straight 6 engine which made 168 horses and was produced from 1985 up to 1993. Older beamers are good because of their good driving characteristics and that makes them fun cars to trash around or build and tune. He is also frequently trashing around in the bimmers with his friends and using them in various videos.
Tyler, The Creator – Bimmer (Ft. Frank Ocean)
Frank and Tyler also collabed on a song called Bimmer in which their love for the german sports-car brand is evident. The song is short but straight to the point. Lyrics for the Tyler the creator bmw song:
[Hook: Tyler The Creator]
You remind me of my bimmer
A lot of trunk space, the perfect two-seater
And you got a lot of drive, I’m trying to keep up
But it’s not a lot of miles on ya meter
You remind me of my bimmer
See your ignition, baby girl I’m trying to key up
And your headlights are off, I’m trying to see ’em
But it’s not a lot of miles on ya meter
So let me start it up and smash
…
Frank Ocean’s BMWs
Frank Ocean could be the number 1 customer of old and new beamers in the US, he has featured in music and Frank Ocean has owned a total of over 10 BMWs. He personally has owned models like the E92, F10, E30, and E46. In his music, the E30 models seem to be the most popular having been featured in multiple visuals over the years. Frank Ocean’s BMW is a popular topic because of the E30 M3 in the Nostalgia. Ultra album cover which has the bright orange car.
Mr. Ocean has said that he has an affinity for European and Japanese cars. For example, he likes models like the Nissan Skyline, Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM, Audi RS4 and Subaru Impreza some of which are also featured in the Boys don’t cry magazine and he likes some bigger SUVs like the G-Wagon, X6 and Porsche Cayenne. So it is no surprise that he is going all in with tuning the BMWs
List of Frank’s BMWs: Coupes, Sedans and SUVs
Frank Ocean’s BMW collection is huge. His favorite models are the E30 and E46 which have seen the biggest amount of love from the music artist. Cars owned currently or in the past by Frank Ocean:
- BMW 550i (first new car of Frank’s)
- BMW M5 (F10)
- BMW M3 (E46) (Three in total)
- BMW M3 (E90)
- BMW E30 (3+, M3s, Coupes and sedans)
- BMW X6
The red M3 was crashed by Frank on one occasion, thankfully he was fine and didn’t sustain any injuries. The orange E30 is modified to look like the one on his Nostalgia. Ultra cover, although they are different cars and Ocean didn’t produce the visuals that are seen on the album art. The X6 was owned by him around 2010 and he also mentions the car in his song from the Blond album, “Ivy”. In 2012 Frank got his driving license suspended.
“Ocean no longer had driving privileges as a result of some recent violations, on top of which he was cited for marijuana possession a few weeks earlier. “You can drive,” he said, though I could tell that it was killing him.” -New York Times
Featured in the visuals
- BMW M3 (E30, Golden)
- BMW M3 (E30, Nike Swoosh)
- BMW M3 (E30, Giant toy car)
- BMW E39 Touring
What BMW’s Frank Ocean owns and tunes?
Frank doesn’t keep his bimmers stock. Most of the are tuned heavily and feature cosmetic upgrades and performance upgrades. The grey sedan E30 makes 504whp with an added stage 2 tune with a supercharged S54 swap it was also converted to a right-hand drive car. The legendary orange M3 has an S52 swap and a custom turbo set-up making 470whp as well as German Engineering coilovers and Wilwood front. The Yellow E46 makes 504whp with a stage 2. Most of his tuning work was done by Castro Motorsports who tuned 6 BMWs for his music tour as well as Miller Motorsports. Compared to Tyler, Frank is rarely seen with his Bimmers on the streets, perhaps he goes for late-night/early-morning drives and doesn’t flash around as much. But he has been seen on racing tracks with his Porsche GT3 which is a proper track day car.
The car on the Nostalgia. Ultra cover wasn’t his, read more about the story of that car here.
When tuning his cars Frank is very specific in what he wants and boasts a lot of knowledge regarding the tune and modifications themselves. Ocean is always keeping a tight grip on what the shop is doing with his cars. Read about his visits to the tuning shop:
“Maybe he didn’t mind because we were headed somewhere that he was actually excited to go, a garage in North Hollywood, where a vintage 1990 BMW E30 sedan is being rebuilt to his exact specifications. He likes to show up unannounced, just to see if they’re working on his car, and as soon as we got there, Ocean jumped out and headed to the back of the shop. The car was indeed up on a lift, and as he circled it, he began to tick off things that he didn’t like.” -New York Times
Frank’s and Tyler’s cars
Overall Frank has more BMWs and tunes them a lot, Tyler The Creator’s E30 on the other hand is driven around more. In the future we expect both to pick up more bimmers as they keep getting more expensive and collectible. The latest cars both of them have picked up are rather new though. Tyler is boasting a new Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Frank has a Tesla and a 991 model Porsche GT3.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other car brands besides BMW do Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean like?
Tyler, The Creator likes british brands like Rolls-Royce and McLaren and italian brands like Lancia and Fiat. He also enjoys vintage models which have a boxier shape like the Fiat 131 and Lancia Delta Integrale
Frank Ocean likes Tesla and Porsche. He owns a Tesla model S and a Porsche GT3.
Why do Frank Ocean’s and Tyler, The Creator like to tune BMWs?
The BMW platform is accessible for tuning, there are plenty of mechanics and parts to do that. The aftermarket scene is strong. Secondly, the brand image of BMW resonates with Tyler and Frank. They are sports cars made to be driven and thrown around which is exactly what young rich kids are looking for.
What cars are in Tyler, The Creator’s music videos?
Tyler, the Creator’s BMW, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Camargue, Ferrari Enzo, Lancia Delta Integrale, McLaren 675LT and many others. He has showcased his full garage in his music videos.
