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Enthusiasts will recall that BMW put a V8 in the M3 E46 for the uber-rare GTR special edition powered by the P60B40 engine. This purpose-built drift car also happens to have a V8 but it’s of American origins. Underneath the hood, it boasts a supercharged “LT5” engine you’d normally find in a Corvette. While the M3 GTR had 382 horsepower on tap, this heavily modified vehicle has roughly double the output.
Built by the Italian aftermarket shop Garage 52, the M3 E46 drift car has over 750 horsepower. The V8 has both direct and indirect injection. Eight injectors work the usual way by sending gasoline into the engine while another eight injectors vaporize fuel in the intake manifold. Yes, the engine has 16 injectors.
The car’s owner originally went to a different shop to build his dream car but to no avail as the project came to a halt. He then decided to take it to Garage 52 and they managed to fully rebuild it into a drift car with a supercharged V8 engine. It produces a whopping 1,000 Newton-meters (738 pound-feet) of torque and is linked to a four-speed transmission adapted from a NASCAR race car with a Winters differential.
When needed, the engine can produce as much as 1,000 hp at the press of a button mounted inside the stripped-out cabin. Garage 52 is still calibrating the V8 with its side exhaust system but says it’s capable of pushing out four-digit power. You can imagine it took a lot of work to fit the “LT5” inside, requiring new engine supports without altering the chassis or moving the gearbox. Because that V8 is so big, there’s a cutout in the hood to achieve the necessary clearance.
Open the trunk lid and you won’t find a cargo compartment anymore since there’s now a pair of large fans for heat extraction. It also has a fuel racing tank with three pumps while the single-seat interior hosts a full roll cage, a hydraulic handbrake, and a fire extinguisher.
Garage 52 will follow up on this introductory video with the M3 E46 drift car at the track for initial testing.
Source: Garage 52 / YouTube