With the new Z4 officially introduced, Munich has also revealed that there are no plans to introduce an M version of the new two-seater. So with that announcement, it’s official then that the most powerful Z4 out of the Munich gates is 306hp which might increase to 333hp if the BMW Motorsport kit is introduced for the model. That’s where it stops then, till now.
To help cure the broken hearts of Z4M fans, Manhart Racing has a solution. The tuner, who has 25 years of rebuilding BMW engines, has effectively shoehorned the naturally aspirated V10 engine from the M5 and M6 into the comparatively small and narrow body of the Z4. This proved to be a harrowing challenge but it was eventually overcome and the engine now sits just above the car’s front axle. The car weighs in at 1,450kg.
Straight out of the factory, the engine provides 507hp, but in Manhart’s Z4, power now stands at 550hp achieved by, among other things, reworking the ECU. Performance figures stand at a 0-100km/h dash of 3.9 seconds and a top speed way above 250km/h as the speed limiter has been removed.
Other modifications include an AC Schnitzer stainless steel exhaust system with four muffler tips, an original M5 E60 6-speed manual transmission which includes Fichtel & Sachs clutch and a M5 E60 differential. All that power is helped to the tarmac by 8.5Jx19 ET35 235/35ZR19 front tyres and 10Jx19 ET20 285/30ZR19 rear tyres.
Source: Manhart Racing via WorldCarFans
Press Release
Manhart Racing – BMW Z4 V10
HEART TRANSPLANT – 550 HP in Z4
The M version of the BMW Z4 is famously known by nature for being anything but underpowered, since the chassis of the sports convertible already has a heck of a lot of work with the 343 HP and the forward thrust in the lower gears could last forever.
As is generally known however, the sport oriented motorist can never have enough power at his command. Sufficient cause for Günther Manhart, who by now has over 25 years experience in rebuilding BMW engines – a first for Europe – to transplant a brand new, much stronger heart into the Z4. The transplantation of the ten cylinder engine from the current M5 generation into the narrow engine bay of the roadster was anything but a walk in the park and it earned the Manhart Racing engineers quite a few grey hairs. Nevertheless: everything fitted in the end and now the fire of a 5.0 litre V10 engine with an impressive output of 550 HP blazes above the front axle of the Z4. A catalytic converter, a modified DME electronic control unit and the removal of the factory-set V-Max restriction up to 250 km/h are part of the rebuild. Consistent to the M5 V10 engine Manhart Racing has treated the Z4 to an original M5 E60 6 gear manual transmission which includes a Fichtel & Sachs clutch and a M5 E60 differential. An AC Schnitzer stainless steel exhaust system with four muffler tips which was fitted with HJS racing catalytic converters caters for a perfect V10 sound at the rear.
The Manhart Z4 M V10 goes like hell and thanks to the perfectly tuned Bilstein B16 PSS10 coilovers, the virtually unrestrained power of 550 HP can be brought under control to the tarmac. Black BBS Challenge wheels rotate in the wheel arches of the Manhart Z4 M V10 with 8.5Jx19 ET35 235/35ZR19 front tyres and 10Jx19 ET20 285/30ZR19 back tyres.
Conclusion: 550 HP ten cylinders, an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, kerb weight 1450kg, 2.6kg per HP… who could guess that these impressive figures belong to a Z4? Hardly anyone, however Manhart Racing turns dreams into reality and does this with 25 years experience.
