BMW nerds know the significance of the P65 V8, but if you don’t, let me give you the rundown. The racing engine was a heavily modified version of BMW’s 4.0-liter naturally aspirated S65, and it was used in the BMW Z4 GT3 and E92 BMW M3 GT2. For racing duty, the P65 was stroked to 4.4 liters, given a dry sump oil system, upgraded cams, and much, much more. It also sounded absolutely epic. So you can imagine how big my eyes became when I learned that a tuning shop was stuffing one under the hood of a 2011 BMW 1 Series M.
Evolve Automotive—the same UK-based tuner that makes Eventuri carbon fiber air intakes—already had an S65 engine in its 1 Series M to replace the original 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six. However, the P65 engine is the ultimate version of that V8 and brings genuine motorsport DNA to the M division’s smallest car.
Admittedly, some of that motorsport DNA was lost on its way into the little 1M. For road-car use, Evolve had to swap its dry-sump oil system for a more conventional wet-sump, replace the cams, and remove the ultra-cool carbon fiber intake plenum for an Eventuri one. The ECU also needed to be modified. However, most of the engine’s motorsport internals remain. How much of its original 500 horsepower and 382 lb-ft of torque stuck around is yet to be seen. Fingers crossed it can still rev close to 9,500 rpm with the different cams, as it sounds sensational near its redline in motorsport guise. Evolve only gives a brief sample of the final project’s exhaust but it’s at idle, so there’s no way to know how it will sound at full chat.
We likely won’t see this car used in anger much, if at all, as it’s eventually going to be a show car at SEMA in November. Before it heads to Las Vegas, though, it’s going to Connecticut, where FCP Euro will work on its suspension. We’ll hopefully get to see it hit the track after it’s done with its tour of the U.S., as an M car with a racing engine needs to be used properly. While this isn’t the world’s first-ever P65 swap as that video title claims (there are a few P65 swaps documented on various forums) it might be the first P65 swapped into a 1 Series M, which is enough to get me very excited.
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