Car meets are a great place to meet new people and discover impressive custom builds such as this E30. The biggest engine ever fitted by BMW to the second-generation 3 Series was a 2.7-liter straight-six, but this car packs a mighty V8 punch. It’s the well-known M62 engine in the M62B44 version with a 4.4-liter displacement.
It was a short-lived configuration of the M62 since BMW only installed it between 1996 and 1999 in three cars. We’re talking about the 5 Series (E39) for the 540i and the 7 Series (E38) for the 740i/740iL. Of course, the original 8 Series (E31) was also blessed with this powertrain for the 840Ci. It made about 280 horsepower back in the day, but we’re being told it has been upgraded for this E30.
It delivers somewhere in the region of 340 hp, thus having more than 100 hp over the flagship version of the E30, the iconic M3 Sport Evo. As great as the engine sounds, some would argue the number of pops and bangs is a bit too much. Regardless, it was one of the best-sounding cars that day. That says a lot considering it was in great company, sharing the road with naturally aspirated supercars like the Audi R8 and its V10 engine as well as the V12-powered Lamborghini Aventador.
The E30 Enjoyed Some Great Company At The Dutch Car Meet
The V8-swapped E30 wasn’t the only BMW to take part in the Magictour event in The Netherlands. We can also see an M235i decked out with an M livery, M6 F13, M3 E46, and the latest M4 Coupe. At one point, a Z4 M40i makes an appearance on camera, but it’s the old 3 Series that initially caught our attention.
Other details about the build have not been disclosed, but the car is apparently called Project Brutus. It has a roll cage and Recaro bucket seats, not to mention beefier fenders to fit the wider wheels. Those who want to see more of the car can access the dedicated page on Facebook.
