For those who’re reading this, I feel there’s an excellent probability you might have a minimum of one V12-engined automotive in your ‘Top 10’ list.
My dream collection wouldn’t be complete and not using a Lamborghini Miura SV, a Mercedes-Benz SL70 AMG and an Alpina B12 Coupé. I’d even have a Mercedes-AMG S65 as a day by day and a Ferrari Enzo to abuse heading in the right direction.
Though I feel probably the most achievable ‘dream’ V12 of mine is an older Aston Martin DBS, in black, with a manual gearbox – but I digress. V12s are aspirational engines, they usually’ve all the time been expensive because of this. But a minimum of there was variety back within the day.
Do you wish a brand new automotive with a V12 under the bonnet? Well, unless you’ve got several hundred thousand dollars to spend on a Ferrari 12Cilindri or Lamborghini Revuelto, it ain’t happening, chief.
So what do you do whenever you desire a V12, but you don’t wish to spend brick-and-mortar money on a automotive – and you wish it to be fun? Well, in case your name is Mantas Lekavičius, you are taking someone’s half-baked project and switch it right into a Bavarian muscle automotive that never existed: the E34 BMW 544i.
“I wanted an old automotive as a day by day, and that’s why I purchased this,” Mantas recalls. “I’d been on the lookout for E34s on Facebook Marketplace when some guy offered me this automotive. It was a clean example with no rust however it had chopped-up arches – he was planning overfenders – and unpainted panels. The V12 was already swapped in, however it was wired up like an old tractor with a MegaSquirt ECU, and nothing worked. I got it home with six cylinders!” Mantas laughs. “He just wanted an inexpensive drift automotive.”
Mantas makes a living as a BMW electronics specialist, so if someone must undo someone’s BMW-related wiring mess, he’s the person for the job.
The E38 750i’s M73B54 V12 engine isn’t the gutsiest from the factory, being a reasonably easy dual-camshaft unit producing just shy of 300hp. While the engine was out of the automotive, Mantas injected some latest life into it.
The V12 is now running a custom fuel rail with Ferrari injectors and a flex-fuel sensor for E85, in addition to twin VW VR6 coil packs in custom housings. A custom cold air intake setup with K&N filters and a custom intake manifold bridge help the V12 to breathe easily. Cooling is taken care of with an uprated radiator running twin Dodge Hellcat electric fans on top of the larger-diameter coolant system hoses. Even the alternator belt tensioner is bespoke, because the OEM item couldn’t handle the speed at which the V12 now builds revs. The MegaSquirt ECU is gone, as is every sign that the previous wiring job ever existed. A motorsport-grade loom has neatened up the engine bay to no end, while MaxxECU PRO management controls the V12 – with two additional wideband sensors for good measure.
This M73 now produces 365hp and 540Nm of torque – a roughly 20% gain in power with none major hardware additions. For an M73, I actually have to say that’s a healthy jump. It also sounds unlike any BMW I’ve ever heard, due to its custom exhaust system. Power is transmitted via a 5-speed gearbox and shortened driveshaft to an E32 750i rear end, including the subframe and big-case LSD.
The E34 sits on a set of E60 Bilstein coilovers, which have been adapted to suit. There are polyurethane bushes throughout, and E38 4-piston Brembo brakes for added stopping power.
Not wanting to construct on a half-assed attempt, Mantas proceeded to gut the shell entirely to rebuild the E34 from scratch. The bodywork was in desperate need of attention, so while the engine was out, he started working tidying the 5 Series up.
Bolt-on flares didn’t suit the spirit of the construct, so the cut wheel arches were as an alternative become custom metal flares. A bare metal respray within the automotive’s factory shade of red was so as too, however it’s the rare details that Mantas is especially pleased with.
The headlights aren’t tinted; they’re Hella yellow headlights – meaning that’s yellow glass, while behind the automotive are an über rare set of Hella smoked taillights. The boot spoiler is a modified E30 M-Tech item, and the bonnet is fibreglass to counter a number of the V12’s additional weight.
An AC Schnitzer-style front bumper addition gives the E34 a more defined chin and ties in with the three-piece splits custom created from a set of Alutec AC Schnitzer-style monoblocks with Radinox stainless-steel lips.
Inside Mantas’s E34 is a totally re-trimmed interior in saddle brown leather, with a period-correct Blaupunkt head unit now gutted and rewired for Bluetooth and higher audio quality. Mantas may be very proud to be from Kaunas, Lithuania, and he got his hands on a Nineties pack of ‘Kaunas’ cigarettes as a decoration – which just so happens to match the paint color.
“The major idea of the construct was a luxury sports automotive. I drive it lots, about 20,000 kilometres yearly – taking it heading in the right direction and top-speed runs on the weekend,” Mantas says, fondly. “Its v-max is 305km/h.”
“My favourite things in regards to the automotive are the brutality of the way in which it revs, the proven fact that max torque is available in at 2,500rpm, and that it seems like an old F1 V12. I can cruise comfortably in it wherever I would like to go, and I even take it on camping trips!”
This E34 is a remarkable automotive, and never simply because it’s a 5 Series with a V12 stuffed within the nose. It seems to do all the things well, and Mantas isn’t afraid to make use of it hard come rain, shine – or on this case, snow.
Lithuanian automotive culture may be very much off the radar. A door has opened here, and I can’t wait to point out you what’s inside over the summer. Keep your eyes peeled, folks.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
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This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
