The BMW 1M Coupe received a lot of unexpected attention recently, when the BMW M2 reached the market. Everyone is comparing the two and the dispute is still on, regarding which one is better. And while we have yet to see an M2 with an engine swap, the 1M seems to be quite popular among those looking to add some V10 greatness to their driving experience.
Take this special BMW 1M Coupe for example. It started life as a stock model with a manual gearbox and the brilliantly tuned N54 twin-turbo 3-liter straight six engine under the hood. However, along the way, its owner wanted a bit more power and less turbo lag, so that he could drift for days. And what better way to do that than with a good-old engine swap?
While some are more inclined to use LS engines for their drift machines, relying on their legendary reliability, others prefer the complicated inner workings of Bavarian-made engines. Therefore, this BMW received an S85 V10 5-liter mill coming straight from an E60 M5. In standard guise, this beast makes 507 PS easily but in this application, it’s good for 550 HP thanks to some work done to the intake and exhaust systems.
Since this is a drift car, the front axle has been modified as well and it seems as if it was also moved a bit forward, even though we don’t have any confirmation regarding this claim. Inside the cabin you’ll find a full roll cage and a seat. That’s about it, as everything that was considered useless or dead weight was thrown out and even the hood was changed with a carbon fiber one, for better weight distribution. This way, the car ended up weighing just a bit over 1 ton (2,200 lbs), perfect for its purpose.
