BMW has consistently made some of the best engines of the motoring world and in almost every considerable configuration from the inline-three to the V12. Particularly of note are the iconic S65 N/A V8, featured in the E92 M3 and the S54 straight-six of the E46 M3. As master engine makers, it’s not too hard to believe that these works of art have been featured in cars outside of BMW’s portfolio… some a little wilder than others. We’ve picked out our favourite BMW-engined cars that might take you a little by surprise.
Ascari KZ1
The S62 is a brutal sounding engine and featured in the E39 M5 and underappreciated Z8, but one of its best appearances was with the Italian-sounding British marque, Ascari. The beautifully styled KZ1 paired the 4.9-litre V8 with a six-speed manual gearbox resulting in a rather swift mid-engined supercar which gets from 0-60mph in just 3.7 seconds. Not bad for 2005. 507PS (373kW) and a kerbweight of 1,350kg was always going to result in performance that demands your full attention. The racing version, the KZ1-R also used the V8 S62 engine but tuned it to 527PS (388kW) at 7,000rpm and if you’ve ever heard that at full chat, you won’t forget it in a hurry.
McLaren F1
OK, you may have known this has a BMW engine, but hopefully I can shed a little light on how the car many consider the greatest ever made ended up with one – it’s not as simple as you’d think. Before the BMW S70/2 6.1-litre V12 made its way into what was then the fastest car in the world, there were a few other potential suitors. The first potential manufacturer that the F1 designer, Gordon Murray, approached was Honda for their F1-derived power plant featured in the McLaren Honda F1 car. Unfortunately, Honda denied Murray his Japanese powered supercar, but was then approached by another Japanese company… Isuzu. Yes, this one came as a little shock as it takes a very good memory to remember that Isuzu planned an F1 entry with their 3.5-litre V12 engine that was tested in a Lotus chassis. This time it was Murray who told Isuzu he wanted something proven and with pedigree, so that’s where BMW stepped in. Paul Rosche, BMW M’s engine expert, ended up producing an engine 14% more powerful than Murray’s original specifications with the same block length. And so, the legendary McLaren F1 had its Bavarian heartbeat.
De Tomaso Guarà
De Tomaso is mainly known for one model, the Pantera. An icon of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Few of you will know much about the successor to the Pantera and for good reason. As with nearly every De Tomaso model other than the Pantera, the Guarà’s production was rather short-lived. Maybe it was the slightly rounder and more bulbous edges of the ‘90s design that led to only 52 being sold, but it certainly wasn’t the power plant. The Guarà had the BMW M60 4.0-litre V8 that featured in the monstrous BMW 840Ci. This may have been the result of Ford’s inability to supply an engine, but the owners weren’t complaining.
Veritas RS3
An RS3 with a BMW engine? Don’t worry Audi fans, we’re not talking about the ‘rear-view mirror hogging’ Audi RS3, we’re referring to the Veritas RS3 that has a striking resemblance to Aladdin’s Jafar when he turns into a snake. The original RS III concept had a 6.0-litre V12, but around 10 years later when entered into trade shows, it had been replaced with a weedy 5.0-litre V10. This meant that it only produced 670PS (500kW) in a chassis that weighed the same as a feather duster.
Wiesmann GT
Across their entire range Wiesmann have used a variety of BMW engines to power their eye-catching models. The MF30 kicked things off with the six-cylinder 3.0-litre M54 engine, but Wiesmann quickly improved things with their next model, the MF 3, by replacing it with the BMW M3 E46 engine. That 3.2-litre straight-six S54 is one of, if not the best engine BMW made and it absolutely sang in the Wiesmann.
They didn’t stop there though as the 2003 Wiesmann GT MF 4 used both the N62 4.8-litre V8 engine and the S65 4.0-litre V8 engine. You’d think the little chassis of the GT was at its absolute limit, but no… Wiesmann was addicted to power. The GT MF5 went ahead and slapped the S85 5.0-litre V10 in it and it propelled the thimble sized car to 193mph.
Brabham BT52
Another Gordon Murray designed car here and like the McLaren F1, he sought the help of BMW’s Chief Engine Designer, Paul Rosche. Brabham were left, along with a lot of the grid, in the precarious position of having the car they’d developed for the 1983 season made redundant as ground effect cars were banned. The BT51, in Brabham’s case, was now unusable and the BT52 had to be developed in the six-week period before the season started.
They must have done this pretty successfully as the BT52 was the first ever F1 title-winning car to win with a turbo. The 1.5-litre BMW engine was also the most powerful F1 engine ever with 1,298PS (955kW). Even if the car hadn’t been successful, we have it down as one of the most beautiful looking F1 cars of all time.
Project Car Brutus
This one is a little bit of a curveball, but it’s a car and the engine is certainly BMW. No, this isn’t your average 3.0-litre straight-six, it’s a 47-litre (yes, there is no decimal point) 12-cylinder aircraft engine. The fact that the driver always puts a horseshoe on the front of the car for good luck tells you that mounting an aircraft engine to a car isn’t the smartest of ideas. The fuel economy figures are enough to make you wince, especially as petrol prices aren’t at their best right now. If you’re popping to the shops, you’re going to be looking at 0.18mpg.
Why did BMW plop an aircraft engine into a car, you may be asking? Well, after the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was forced to disarm after WW1, there wasn’t much use for a 47-litre V12. So, BMW decided to strap it onto a 1908 American-LaFrance chassis to make a ridiculous racing car and called it the Brutus. The BMW engine produces 500PS (368kW) at just 1,500rpm.
Keyword: 7 cars you didn’t know have BMW engines