Stop What You're Doing: Someone Has Put An 8.3-Litre Viper V10 In A BMW Z4

Forget your sissy LS swaps and strap on a pair. There’s a BMW Z4 for sale right now in Germany whose heart has been transplanted for an 8.3-litre V10 from a Dodge Viper.

Yes, really. A Viper V10 has been shoe-horned beneath the just-long-enough bonnet of BMW’s baby roadster. Its mildly insane owners put the unholy marriage at about 540bhp and around 550lb ft, with 90 per cent of that torque claimed to be on the table from 1500rpm. RIP rear tyres.

Even better, the eBay advert for the car claims (in German) that the weight distribution with two people on board is almost exactly 50:50.

The builders have lifted six-piston brakes from an Audi R8 and fitted two bucket seats with six-point harnesses. There’s a Stahlus roll cage, plus unique one-off stainless steel manifolds and a radiator, oil pan and prop shaft in aluminium. Then there are bespoke drive shafts made with ‘special steel’ and a bunch of other unique parts made just for this car.

The seller says the setup could now be supercharged, but seems dubious about the legality of such a move in Germany. After all, it’s going to need all sorts of race-spec upgrades if it goes to 700bhp.

It’s on the market for €49,500 (£42,000) but close offers will be considered. Always liked the Z4 but wished it had bigger testes? You know what to do.

Update: as of 13 January 2017, this thing is actually still for sale, for the slightly reduced price of €48,700. Feeling brave?

Source: TuningBlog.eu (in German)