{"id":84203,"date":"2025-11-15T03:13:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T08:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84203"},"modified":"2025-11-15T03:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T08:13:16","slug":"bmw-z1-v10-engine-swap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84203","title":{"rendered":"This BMW Z1 Stuffed With A V10 Is Engine-Swap Insanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Z1 is one of the most fascinating cars to ever carry the BMW roundel. With removable body panels and vertically sliding doors, it\u2019s anything but a typical Bimmer. It was the first car developed by the skunkworks team at BMW Technik and one of the rarest, with only 8,000 units ever made.<\/p>\n

It was also the company\u2019s first model with a multi-link rear suspension and had an almost ideal weight distribution of 49\/51 front to rear. This car, however, is certainly more nose-heavy. Gone is the original inline-six M20 from the 3 Series E30 325i, replaced by a much bigger heart with four extra cylinders. Under the hood sits a V10 crate engine with a custom carbon-fiber cover styled to resemble the S85.<\/p>\n

That said, we\u2019re not entirely sure it\u2019s actually the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter from the M5 E60. We\u2019re told it\u2019s a \u201cbrand-new\u201d crate engine, but we\u2019ll have to ask Munich whether BMW Group Classic is still selling the S85. While full details aren\u2019t available yet, we do know the V10 is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox from an M6.<\/p>\n

The E63\/E64 did offer a three-pedal setup, but only in America, and just 701 factory cars were ever sold with a manual. We\u2019re also noticing an Eventuri carbon-fiber air intake in the overstuffed engine bay, along with a quad-exhaust setup.<\/p>\n