It’s said that BMW manufactures its automobiles with room to spare under the hood, in case it decides to accommodate a bigger powerplant. An urban legend that might explain the plethora of engine-swapped Bimmers, including this particular M5.
It’s uncertain if the theory has something to it, but back in the day, the most powerful engine that came with the E34 generation of the 5 Series was the 3.8-litre straight-six, in the European-spec M5, which developed 335hp.
Even by today’s standards, the power and weight ratio of the E34 M5 is deemed admirable, but this BMW owner wasn’t very impressed. That’s why he (and when we say “he” we mean a professional crew specialized in these sort of modifications) stuffed a 5.6-litre S70B65 V12 engine under the bonnet, that had been modified to develop 450hp.
In case you’re not familiar with BMW’s engine line-up, the S70B56 is deemed the rarest variant of the M70 engine, and the lowest production BMW engine to date – with 1510 units manufactured, all used in the insanely rare E31 850CSi. As a side note, a variant with 4 valves per cylinder and variable valve timing of this mill was known as the S70/2, and featured in the McLaren F1.
Anyway, the M5 is available for sale on Craigslist for $16,500, and also features a Getrag 560G 6-speed manual transmission, a UUC short shifter, UUC 2-piece, 355 mm (14″) rotors and UUC 4 piston aluminum calipers at the front and UUC vented 328mm (12.9″) rotors and UUC 4 piston aluminum calipers, a Eisenman stainless exhaust, and a Quaife limited slip differential – among many other improvements.
Moreover, the owner says that the car performs flawlessly, and all of the mechanical parts are in very good working order (since almost every mechanical part on it is either new or has been replaced). What more can you ask for?
via Bring A Trailer
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