Listening To This Modified BMW M3 V10 Will Be The Best Thing You Will Do Today

Engine swaps are not exactly rare in the BMW community. We’ve seen plenty of I6, V8, and even V10 installations, and we know how much purists love a Bimmer with a Chevy LS small block under the hood. The one featured in this entire video is a BMW, and it’s especially neat considering the size of the mill versus the car it ended up with.

The E46 M3 is not a slow car by any means. It has a 3.2-liter inline-six engine – the last evolution of the S50 motor – producing 338 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. In the past, it was available with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic manual transmission by Getrag. It’s as respected now as it was coveted when new, but with so many more powerful engines floating around, why not add a few more hp (and cylinders) for track day fun?

That’s what the owner featured in this video did with his black M3. The straight six is ​​gone, replaced by a 5.0-liter V10 sourced from the E60 M5. Remember, that’s BMW’s first and only version of the V10 to date and in this program, it delivers 500 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque in factory form. Arguably the best part of the equation is that the unit is mated to the E92’s dual clutch transmission.

A few minor mods, including a new engine map, result in an output of around 520 hp for this particular M3. After a brief introduction, the black coupe is taken for a lap around the Nurburgring. And dare I say it, from the very beginning, it’s an absolutely crazy ride. In addition to being incredibly fast – we can see it outrunning some of the world’s leading performance cars with ease – it also sounds absolutely incredible.

This isn’t the first BMW V10 project we’ve seen. Not to forget the range-your-own M5 wagon, boasting a 10-stroke engine and a manual gearbox. And in November 2022 there was a good M3 (E30) with an improved 625-hp version of the M5’s V10.