In the early ‘60s, Carroll Shelby took an ordinary AC Ace roadster, yanked its plebian engine out, and slung a burly V8 motor in its place. While it certainly wasn’t the first V8-engine conversion, it’s undeniably one of the most famous.
And the craft isn’t exactly disappearing. This is an E82 BMW 1M. It came fresh from the factory with a rip-roaring turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six, good for around 320 horsepower. But somebody must have thought those figures insufficient.
Because now they fitted it with the mountain-of-power 4.0-liter V8 from the lauded previous-generation BMW M3. It’s remarkable that it even fit in there. Though engineering feats aside, it sounds absolutely mighty…supercar mighty.
The swapped M3 engine now lends itself to around 414 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque in this 135i: no change in torque figures but a prodigious 100 horsepower jump overall. Nothing like having the meanest sounding car on your block. The old M3 could zip from 0-60mph in just 4.4 seconds. Expect this BMW to cut that short by a few tenths. VIDEO
