OK, the BMW M3 is a pretty damn impressive car, so why monkey with it? Give me one good reason, you might ask. OK, how about I give you 655 reasons? Because that’s the horsepower figure for the Manhart Racing tuned BMW M3 E92 Compressor. 655 HP! That’s a whole lot for a car that small (comparatively speaking).

The Manhart Racing presser calls head man Günter Manhart “the undisputed motor pope.” Look I’m not going to argue with the PR department, or Günter for that matter, but “the undisputed motor pope” has got to be the funniest phrase that has crossed my desk all week long, work-wise.

So what did the “the undisputed motor pope” bestow upon the M3? Manhart offers a 3 stage power package for the current M3, and the range topped seems to offer a whopping 655 HP. Which is about what a NASCAR stocker puts out. I’ll let you ponder that for a bit.

Manhart Racing’s stage one level of tuning gets you a small compressor that runs at a pressure of 0.35 bar, which gives you 515 HP. Which is pretty darn good right off the bat. If you go up to stage two (or stage II Manhart Racing terms it) the supercharging output is enlarged to 0.50 bar, resulting in 585 HP.

Stage III, which is all that really matters, if you think about it. It’s sort of like steeling from Tony Soprano. Who in their right mind is only going to rob the guy for $24.96? No, might as well go all the way. Likewise, why get just the garden variety Manhart Racing stage one level of tuning that only gives you 515 HP, when you can go with stage III and get 655 HP?

Manhart gets you there via a large compressor from ASA resulting in a supercharging pressure of 0.67 bar. There is also a specially developed exhaust system with 70 millimeter pipe diameter and two 200 cell race catalytic converters as part of the stage III package. Oh, and did I mention that the complete exhaust is made from titanium? No, that’s because I don’t have to, because Manhart’s presser says ” … and the whole thing is made from TITANIUM.” Yes, all caps. Why do I need to tell you when you can hear them screaming all the way from Geilenkirchen?

The bottom line is that Stage III gets you from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds, and tops out at just over 350km/h. ee-YOW!

Chassis-wise, Manhart gives you Bilstein PSS10 threaded suspension, BBS challenge rims in black wrapped in 245/30ZR20 at the front and 295/25ZR20 Continentals out the back end. Whoaing it up is done by 365mm brake discs from the BMW M5 E60 on the front axle with floating calipers. And on the rear axle there’s the M3 E92 with 345mm discs are used on the rear axle.

And on the inside there’s a full Alcantara/leather combination, performance seats with heating and an exclusive performance steering wheel with LED display.

Photos: Manhart Racing

Related posts:

1. Manhart Racing – BMW M3 E92 5.0 V10 SMG
2. Manhart Racing BMW Z4 M V10
3. Manhart BMW M3 V10 Touring

German tuners Manhart Racing got tired of BMW not offering the M3 as a Touring model (wagon,) so they decided to create one themselves. They took the standard 3-series wagon (not available in the States,) and added their own body work, consisting of a front apron, front side panels, side skirts, and the “powerdome” hood from the M3 sedan, then designed their own M3-style rear apron and widened the rear wheel-arches.

Naturally, the standard 4.0-liter, 420 horsepower V8 engine wasn’t good enough, so they upgraded it to the 5.0-liter powerplant from the M5 that produces 500 hp. Still not satisfied, Manhart tuned the ECU and exhaust so the V10 would produce an impressive 550 hp. That power is kept in check by a 7-speed SMG gearbox, also taken from the M5.

These improvements allow the Manhart M3 Wagon to travel from 0 to 62 mph in only 4.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 201 mph – seriously impressive for a wagon, and easily defeats standard BMW M3 and M5 models.

Suspension improvements include an adjustable Bilstein system, and bigger RAD Monza forged wheels. The car comes to a stop thanks to a big Stoptech braking system with six-piston calipers in front, four-piston in the rear.

The interior wasn’t left untouched of course. Buyers of the Manhart BMW M3 Touring get heated BMW performance seats, leather-covered rear seats to match the front, full leather interior with Alcantara roof and door lining, and a performance steering wheel.

Manhart says a completed car will cost €120,000, or about $178,000 at the time of this writing. Owners of current BMW 3-series wagons can also choose to have their car upgraded instead of buying the whole thing. Not cheap, but you’ll have one of the fastest wagons on the planet.

Related posts:

1. Manhart Racing – BMW M3 E92 5.0 V10 SMG
2. Manhart Racing BMW M3 E92 Compressor
3. Manhart Racing BMW Z4 M V10

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 Manhart 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.

Related posts:

1. Manhart Racing BMW M3 E92 Compressor
2. Manhart Racing BMW Z4 M V10
3. Manhart BMW M3 V10 Touring

“These crazy bastards dropped a V10 into the Z4. Nice.” That’s what head Automoblog dude Christopher said to me in an email moments ago. Yeah, nice AND crazy all at the same time. Our kind of people these folks from Manhart. I (and I’m assuming Chris) love people that do things like this; V12s into Miatas, mid-engine Mini Cooper conversions, that sort of thing.

Of course, putting an aircraft engine in a 50s vintage car is one thing, doing an engine swap in a modern car, with all the electronics and whatnot, is a bigger deal.

OK, let me get the negative stuff out of the way first: I don’t like the styling of the Z4 very much. It’s another bungled design job from BMW, one of many of late. Yes, I know the things are a blast to drive, great chassis and all that, but the body just doesn’t cut it.

Anyway, on to what Manhart has done.

They start with the “basic” M version of the BMW Z4, which is already pretty damn good. As the Z4 M sits, it’s already dealing with 343 HP, but the folks from Manhart feel it could use more. So why not stuff a V10 in there?

“As is generally known however, the sport oriented motorist can never have enough power at his command.” or so states Günther Manhart, and we’re not going to argue with ironclad logic like that.

The new mill in question is the ten-cylinder engine from the current M5. Good a place as any to start. Shoehorning it into the narrow confines of the Z4′s engine bay was not all that easy, but the engineers from Manhart Racing got it done. And the resulting new motor, a 5.0 liter V10 now puts out an impressive 550 HP. In addition to just getting the engine in there, Manhart also worked over the DME electronic control unit and had the good “sense” to do away with the factory-set V-Max restriction of 250 km/h as part of the rebuild.

Downstream from the new mill there’s an original M5 E60 6 gear manual transmission from the original donor. In between the plant and the tranny there’s a Fichtel & Sachs clutch and out back there’s the M5 E60 differential. Breathing, or at least exhaling, is handled via an AC Schnitzer stainless steel exhaust system, the four muffler tips are a nice touch as is the HJS racing catalytic converters.

Chassis-wise, we’ve got Bilstein B16 PSS10 coilovers and black BBS Challenge wheels with 8.5Jx19 ET35 235/35ZR19 tires out front and 10Jx19 ET20 285/30ZR19s out back.

The bottom line turns out to be 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, a ready to go weight of 1450kg, and 2.6kg per pony.

OK, so maybe I can get over the looks.

Here’s Manhart’s Presser:

PRESS RELEASE Manhart Racing – BMW Z4 V10

HEART TRANSPLANT – 550 HP in Z4

The M version of the BMW Z4 is famously known by nature for being anything but underpowered, since the chassis of the sports convertible already has a heck of a lot of work with the 343 HP and the forward thrust in the lower gears could last forever.

As is generally known however, the sport oriented motorist can never have enough power at his command. Sufficient cause for Günther Manhart, who by now has over 25 years experience in rebuilding BMW engines – a first for Europe – to transplant a brand new, much stronger heart into the Z4. The transplantation of the ten cylinder engine from the current M5 generation into the narrow engine bay of the roadster was anything but a walk in the park and it earned the Manhart Racing engineers quite a few grey hairs. Nevertheless: everything fitted in the end and now the fire of a 5.0 litre V10 engine with an impressive output of 550 HP blazes above the front axle of the Z4. A catalytic converter, a modified DME electronic control unit and the removal of the factory-set V-Max restriction up to 250 km/h are part of the rebuild. Consistent to the M5 V10 engine Manhart Racing has treated the Z4 to an original M5 E60 6 gear manual transmission which includes a Fichtel & Sachs clutch and a M5 E60 differential. An AC Schnitzer stainless steel exhaust system with four muffler tips which was fitted with HJS racing catalytic converters caters for a perfect V10 sound at the rear.

The Manhart Z4 M V10 goes like hell and thanks to the perfectly tuned Bilstein B16 PSS10 coilovers, the virtually unrestrained power of 550 HP can be brought under control to the tarmac. Black BBS Challenge wheels rotate in the wheel arches of the Manhart Z4 M V10 with 8.5Jx19 ET35 235/35ZR19 front tyres and 10Jx19 ET20 285/30ZR19 back tyres.

Conclusion: 550 HP ten cylinders, an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, kerb weight 1450kg, 2.6kg per HP… who could guess that these impressive figures belong to a Z4? Hardly anyone, however Manhart Racing turns dreams into reality and does this with 25 years experience.

Related posts:

1. Manhart Racing – BMW M3 E92 5.0 V10 SMG
2. Manhart Racing BMW M3 E92 Compressor
3. Manhart BMW M3 V10 Touring