Probably one of the most mental things we’ve seen in recent memory
So apparently, Italian BMW tuner (yes, you read that right) Racing Dynamics SpA once stuffed one of the biggest motors (the M70B50 V12) from one of the biggest Bimmers (the 850Ci) into one of the littlest (the E36 318ti or Compact). Madness ensues.
Images courtesy of TuningHistory
Count ’em and weep:
Of course, hot rodding the Baby Bimmer is nothing new; in fact, one of our own even wrote about it here. Dig.
Motoring Con Brio 
Good thing it is in Italy. I’d just kill myself with that … “Thing”!
Randy said this on September 3, 2013 at 12:18 am
Ah, the glory days… before the BMW tuners hit the 2000s and went the way of gaudy, new-money aesthetics…
ZF said this on September 3, 2013 at 1:23 am
2nd. Let the performance do the talking, not the tacked on crap.
brennerl said this on September 3, 2013 at 8:51 am
Tacked on crap sells. It’s nice to be able to pay the bills. Doesn’t get people talking like an enormous engine in a tiny car, though.
Cactus said this on September 3, 2013 at 10:36 am
Granted, tacked on crap certainly draws attention. Depending on the type of attention and when, that can be good and bad. I’d argue that a car with crap tacked on to match that owner’s taste may turn more people off than a stock or performance enhanced car without the tacked on crap. I haven’t met a lot of enthusiasts who would be turned off by a clean V12 swap into a E36 Compact.
brennerl said this on September 3, 2013 at 11:20 am
Lovely ride. As ZF above says…I Love the fact that the external look of the car has been kept reasonably untouched – only the rims and lowered stance give any clue. No tacky ‘DTM’ style add ons and carbon fibre nonsense. Just brutal performance. Nice.
ardles said this on September 3, 2013 at 2:57 am
Well, the front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper are pretty tacky add-ons, if you ask me. The Shrek Ear mirrors are a little silly, too. This is an interesting engineering exercise, but little more than that. I always considered RD to be on the low end of BMW tuners.
ZeGerman said this on September 4, 2013 at 12:40 am
Interesting thoughts ZG – I was not aware that the body kit was an addition as well….but having looked at the photos again, yes, I agree. A bit tacky 🙂
ardles said this on September 5, 2013 at 7:09 am
A bit tacky, though certainly more subtle than a lot of aftermarket tuners. Alpina stripes aren’t for everybody.
Cactus said this on September 5, 2013 at 7:32 am
I agree. I had a B11 Alpina for a while (second hand!) and although I adored it the two things that let it down for me were the stripe kit (a no cost delete option) and the front spoiler (so deep you could not park against a curb). But what a car…I hanker after the B12 version….one day 🙂
ardles said this on September 8, 2013 at 5:39 am
I could highlight how this engine swap clearly upset the “balance” of the car, but seriously, I’m pretty sure no one reading this cares (including me).
brennerl said this on September 3, 2013 at 8:49 am
There is an official BMW M3 Compact E36
http://drpianale.wordpress.com/1996/03/19/bmw-m3-compact-e36/
Dr. Pianale said this on September 5, 2013 at 7:34 am
1 M’s big daddy? and a straight 6cil NA on four pipes with bucket seats at that… LOVE IT!
Jorge Azcoitia said this on September 9, 2013 at 11:02 am
Yes, good link, thanks!
motoringconbrio said this on September 9, 2013 at 11:10 am
Reblogged this on Classic & Vintage Audi and commented:
I imagine this to be the BMW equivalent of putting an S8 motor in the A3 platform. How fun!!!!!
Avantge said this on September 5, 2013 at 10:39 pm
That’s a beautiful beast and thanks for mentioning my little contribution to the Con Brio community! I need to concoct another one sooner than later.
Kyality said this on September 8, 2013 at 8:39 am