As with most automotive events that were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, last year’s tuner-focused SEMA show also didn’t take place. The Specialty Equipment Market Association is eager to return in full force in 2021 and one of the more interesting builds will be this wild BMW M2 Competition. Filippo Speed Shop has done a rather unusual engine swap that we’re pretty sure very few saw coming.
Gone is the S55 twin-turbo inline-six engine as instead of a 3.0-liter unit, this 2020 M2 Competition is now rocking a massive 6.2-liter HEMI. Yes, it’s the V8 mill powering a series of SRT Hellcat muscle cars sold in the US. Since the engine bay wasn’t originally conceived to accommodate such a massive powertrain, the folks over at Filippo Speed Shop solid mounted the supercharged eight-cylinder powerhouse.
The high-performance coupe has retained the original strut mounts, but with a couple of spacers in the back. As you can easily see, the large-displacement engine barely fits under the hood, but they made it work in the end. The result is a massive power boost over the M2 Competition’s stock output of 405 hp and 406 lb-ft as Dodge offers the HEMI engine with as much as 807 hp and 707 lb-ft in the Challenger SRT Super Stock. There’s no word about how the larger powertrain has affected the weight distribution, although it’s safe to say it’s no longer 53:47 as the M2 Competition is likely quite a bit more nose-heavy than before.
With great power comes great responsibility, which is why the little Bimmer now features a custom set of six-piston front and four-piston brake calipers from StopTech, hiding behind custom 18-inch forged wheels finished in black. It’s an M2 worthy of the CSL badge as it boasts carbon fiber vented front fenders, Lexan windows all around, and a completely stripped-out interior with just the driver’s seat.
Don’t go into thinking this build is just for the SEMA show as the skilled folks at Filippo Speed Shop are saying it’s a legit race car and they’ll be taking it to the track to show what it’s capable of at full tilt. The project started off with a brand-new M2 Competition before getting a full makeover, which included a sequential gearbox, a four-way-adjustable coilover suspension, and a rear wing likely visible from the moon.
The custom BMW will take part in the Battle of the Builders (BOTB) competition at this year’s SEMA show, which kicks off on November 2.
[Source: SEMA Show / YouTube]
