What defines a BMW M car? Is it the power output, the way it handles or a mix of these two attributes? The obvious answer would make us inclined to the latter choice but the truth of the matter is, BMW always focused more on the chassis and suspension setup than anything else. That’s why most of the time, even though rivals from AMG have more sheer force, they always seem to come second to BMW M cars whenever pushed on a track. The BMW E46 M3 is no different.
Back in the day, the S54 engine of the M3 used to make a bit over 340 HP out of the 3.2-liters it had at its disposal. It wasn’t a back breaking figure then and it isn’t one today, when a rather standard 340i has roughly the same amount of power. However, it was the balance of the car and the way the suspension and differential were set up that made everyone fall in love with it. That and the seemingly timeless design.
However, for some people, more power is always a good idea and the gentleman in the footage below, hailing from Georgia, seems to fall into that category. His choice is a rather peculiar one though as, instead of fitting the 3.2-liter mill with a turbo or supercharger, he decided to swap it all together with a monstrous Viper engine. And if right now you’re thinking how in the world he got the 8.3-liter engine to fit in the engine bay, the answer is obvious when you look at the footage below: he cut a hole in the hood.
That power dome now really has a practical use and helps accommodate the engine which in stock guise should be good for some 500 HP. Even so, since our good man went through so much trouble to create this ungodly hybrid, we’re guessing he has plans of taking the output a bit higher maybe using some kind of forced induction. Until then though, things look like they’re at least functional, even though it’s obvious there’s still some work to be done. Can’t wait to see the end result and maybe some drifting done with it, since that seems to be the reason why it came to be in the first place.
[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zAnbpIBuhU” width=”640″ height=”360″]
