Anyone that knows of the TVR Sagaris knows it isn’t a very subtle, restrained vehicle. Built in Blackpool, England, TVR was a small sports car maker that went through several periods of financial turmoil. During its later years, it developed some truly unruly sports cars; outlandish designs, big horsepower, and snappy handling. The TVR Sagaris was, and still is, the epitome of those later cars. So no one really needed to add more power to a Sagaris and yet here we are, as one enthusiast stuffed a 5.0 liter BMW V10 under the hood.

Quarry Motorsports in England decided to create a bit of a mashup project by stuffing an S85 5.0 liter naturally-aspirated BMW V10 under the hood of a Sagaris. While S85 engines aren’t exactly known for their reliability, neither are TVR engines and the S85 packs quite a bit more power, more revs, and a better noise.

The V10 looks massive in the hoodless engine bay of the project Sagaris but, according Quarry Motorsports, the S85 engine is only 26 kg heavier than the old TVR straight-six. So not only is the weight increase minimal, the weight distribution and handling balance is barely affected. All while now packing 500 horsepower and 8,000 revs in a car that barely weighs 1,300 kg (2,866 lbs). For reference, the E60 M5 which was originally powered by the S85 V10 weighed over 4,000 lbs.

Interestingly, this is the second build in just a few months in which we’ve seen an S85 V10 paired with the seven-speed DCT from an E92 BMW M3. The S85’s original SMG gearbox was not only annoying to use but also unreliable. So Quarry used the M3’s DCT, which is far better to use and even more reliable. Plus, it makes the car quicker, due to its snappier shifts.

The TVR Sagaris was always a car with a ton of potential but it was never executed as well as it could have been. Its design is still great looking today, its chassis balance is outstanding, its seating position is excellent, and its rear-wheel drive nature means plenty of tail-out fun. This Sgarais, though, now gets a more exotic 5.0 liter free-breathing V10, 500 horsepower, and one of the best production engine noises of all time. Whoever ends up buying this car when it’s finished is going to have something truly special.