BMW M (Motorsport) Division built M73 V12 swap powered E36/7 Z3 roadster - 326 horsepower and 363 pound feet of torque

pretty cool, but seems like a waste to me if it only has 326hp..

Originally Posted by fast4door

pretty cool, but seems like a waste to me if it only has 326hp..

Torque...

now lets see one with turbos

A very unique swap.. Lets assume the M73 was considered a more "wild" swap than even the S62 back when they drew up plans for this exercise. Or possibly the S62 still wasn't ready if they did this prior to 1998? To it's credit, the a The M73 won the "Above 4 L" category of the International engine of the year awards for 1999.

Originally Posted by fast4door

pretty cool, but seems like a waste to me if it only has 326hp..

I agree considering the high powered swaps we see today.. It would be fun to beat this thing up for a couple hours though

-TZ

By today's standards, this would be a big unbalanced waste of time at well under 400hp/400flbs, but back in the 90's, it was probably baller status. Anyway, Dharma & Greg is on, so I gotta go...

BMW is clearly foreshadowing swapping an S65B40 into the Z4.....in my dreams at least

Originally Posted by flipm3

BMW is clearly foreshadowing swapping an S65B40 into the Z4.....in my dreams at least

Dropping these images now, you could be right. Im sure they have already done it. This is not the first time BMW has done one off swaps like this. In the case of a v8/Z4 it may come to production....... in my dreams at least

I just don't understand why we don't have an M Z4 already. They are putting the badge on everything.

They want to race with the V8 in the Z4 as well. Just $#@!ing do it already.

M5 v8 is waay better swap

Originally Posted by 600whp S4

M5 v8 is waay better swap

Sure, but this is still cool.

Probably sounds awesome with the roof down. Cool car...not about being the fastest; more about driving experience at this point. Although I bet this thing hauls total ass.

From Carscoop:

After breaking the photo story on the BMW M division's one-off, V12-powered Z3 prototypeearlier this week, we can now share with you some interesting details surrounding its creation, though as you will soon find out, we may need the help of our German speaking readers.We'll get straight to the point and let you know what Matthew Russell, Product and Technology Communications Manager for BMW North America, told Carscoop about the Z3 M V12 after he did some digging of his own:
"The car was built in 1999 and was the proof that all engine sizes of the time fit in the roadster," said Russell. "It was shown only once: in August 1999 to the German car magazine Autozeitung."
As we rightly assumed, the ultimate M model of the Z3 roadster series borrowed BMW's M73 5.4-liter V12 engine from the E38 750i/iL sedans and E38 850Ci coupe of the mid-1990s to early 2000s.
The 12-cylinder engine was rated at 322hp (326PS) at 5,000 rpm and 490Nm (361 lb·ft) at 3,900 rpm, and was linked to a 6-speed manual gearbox driving the rear wheels.
According to the 1999 article from Autozeitung, the Z3 M V12 was capable of accelerating from standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in 5.5 seconds, to 1,000m (0.62 miles) in 24.4 seconds, and reach a top speed of 263 km/h (163mph).
By comparison, the production Z3 M Roadster model sported an M3-sourced 3.2-liter naturally aspirated straight-six delivering 321hp (325PS) and 353 Nm (261 lb·ft) in EU specification.
We also learn that the Z3 M Roadster V12 was fitted with 17-inch wheels in 225/45 tires up front and 245/40 at the back and that it tipped the scales at a hefty 1,400kg (3,086 pounds).
As mentioned in the beginning of our story, we’d appreciate it if any of our German-speaking readers could provide a translation of the main points mentioned in the magazine article.

Heh I guessed the engine correctly

Needs a turbo.

Sorry for double post.

beast