Manhart Racing, yet another German tuning firm, found that the current iteration of BMW’s M3 just wasn’t good enough, so they decided to upgrade it. OK, fair enough. That’s what tuning firms are there to do, but to the guys at Manhart Racing the concept of “enough” meant cramming a 5 liter V10 into the M3.
If German tuning firms keep going at this rate, by sometime in 2012, we’ll see the biggest AMG blown V12 crammed into a VW Polo.
Manhart calls their BMW M3 E92 5.0 V10 SMG a “Porsche Chaser”, and just reading over the press release I think that might be a bit of an understatement. The existing M3 is anything but underpowered nor is it underperforming. The M3 is, however, not really the sort of car that you could run with a Porsche 997 Turbo, even if the current M3 has a 420-HP-V8 under the hood.
So, Manhart Racing thought a way to counter the performance of the 997 Turbo was to develop a M3 with a 550 HP V10 under the hood. That’s 70 ponies more than the Porsche Turbo’s 480 HP and 20 more than the Porsche GT2, that clocks in with 530 HP. And Manhart says that the majority of the parts are OEM from BMW.
The 550 HP plant was derived from the current version of the M5 E60. The 5.0 liter V10 just barely fits into the engine compartment of the M3 Coupe. Manhart did away with 250 km/h speed limiter and updated DME-steering. The catalytic converter was updated to two 200 Zeller-HIS units and the exhaust system is titanium and features four 84 mm thick tailpipes.
The Mannhart M3 V10 tips the scales at a respectable 1.550 kg, which is pretty low, considering. The Manhart modified M3 accelerates to 100 km/h in only 3.9 seconds, and tops out at 334 km/h.
Suspension-wise Manhart Racing installed Bilstein coilovers and BBS challenge-R-wheel rims. Up front they’re 9Jx20 ET20 with 245/30ZR20 tires and out back they’re 10.5Jx20 ET20 with 295/25ZR20.
There’s limited bodywork changes along the lines of a front and rear spoiler, a diffuser, a roof spoiler, front steel flooring and an air collector. On the inside Manhart installed heated BMW performance seats a performance steering wheel equipped with illuminated rocker switches and scads of carbon fiber, Alcantara and leather.
Here’s their presser
PRESS RELEASE Manhart Racing – BMW M3 E92 5.0 V10 SMG
Porsche Chaser!
The current M3 generation is – as everyone knows – anything but underpowered. Nonetheless, there is a continuous desire for even greater performance. When you’re competing against the calibre of a Porsche 997 Turbo in particular, the 420-HP-V8 power of the M3 is no longer good enough. At Manhart Racing, we noticed a gap in the market for precisely this performance problem and developed a M3-V10-Coupe with 550 HP – not only comfortably keeping in check the Porsche Turbo with its 480 HP but also its big brother the GT2 with 530 HP. What is particularly interesting here is the fact that Günther Manhart almost exclusively sourced original parts from the BMW corporate group.
The power of 550 HP originally came from the current new version of the M5 E60 built V10 motor which - with its 5.0 L cubic capacity - just barely fits into the engine compartment of the M3 Coupe. Compulsory changes included removing the pointless Vmax bar of 250 km/h, up-dated DME-steerage and with a power of 550 HP, the catalytic convertor has a much more noticeable effect. With a differential gear boasting 100 percent bars, the 7 gear SMG gearbox was completely trounced by the M5.The species specific processing of exhaust fumes is carried out by a titanium complete system with four 84 mm thick exhaust tailpipes and two 200 Zeller-HJS running catalytic convertors. Thanks to a manageable basic weight of only 1.550 kg, the Mannhart M3 V10 accelerates to 100 km7h in only 3.9 seconds, while its highest speed is an impressive 334 km/h. This makes the M3 V10 the perfect choice for speed freaks on the Italian high speed racing track in Nardo!
For perfect contact with tarmac surfaces, Manhart Racing installed a state-of-the-art Bilstein PSS10- coilover in combination with classically attractive BBS challenge-R-wheel rims, at the front in 9Jx20 ET20 with 245/30ZR20 and behind with 10.5Jx20 ET20 with 295/25ZR20. The changes to the bodywork were somewhat limited but definitely what was needed. In this way, Manhart Racing’s engineers gave the coupé silhouette of the M3 a front and rear spoiler, a diffuser, a roof spoiler, front steel flooring and an air collector - all of course finished in exclusive carbon.
The exclusiveness continues inside the M3. Here you can also benefit from the classiest accessories straight from BMW. Performance seats provide the perfect support while also offering seat heating. An authentic motor sport feeling comes with the performance steering wheel equipped with illuminated rocker switches, _ mile and side acceleration display. The complete interior has a sophisticated finish thanks to a number of carbon fibre trimmings and the almost extravagant use of Alcantara and leather.
Conclusion: With a basic weight of 1.550 kg, 550 HP is a real announcement for the sports car armada from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. If you look more closely at the Manhart M3 V10, you have to - quite rightly - ask yourself why the engineers in Munich did not already come up with the idea themselves!
All further details including prices and delivery information can be obtained directly from:
Manhart Racing GmbH & Co .KG
Am Kreuz 18-20
52511 Geilenkirchen
Germany
Tel.: +49 24 51/ 79 15
Fax: +49 24 51/ 55 47
www.manhart-racing.de
info@manhart-racing.de
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