If You Can’t Afford a BMW 1M, Just Build Something Better

At one point I really wanted an RX8, almost to the point of doing whatever it took to get the money for one. Well, after a promotion, I managed to get one and was sorely disappointed by it. Well, an Egyptian man decided to put the words “I’ll do anything” into action in an extreme way.

In Egypt, as with many developing countries, vehicles are very expensive and even more so when considering a luxury ride like a BMW 1M. With a $150,000 price tag in Egypt – more than triple its U.S. price – this wise fellow decided that the 1M was not in the cards for him now. Instead of giving up altogether, he decided to build something better than his dream car.

He began his quest with a stock BMW 120d, which once boasted a 161-horsepower 2.0-liter diesel engine, and completely stripped it down. He then pulled an S65 V-8 monster from an M3, which pumps out 414 horsepower, and dropped it in his 120d. Well, “dropping” the engine in included some motor mount and ECU modifications.

This young man then installed the M3’s suspension onto the 120d, added 1M body panels, slapped 19-inch wheels on it, and last, had a custom exhaust and driveshaft fitted to it. In the end “hatembmw,” as he goes by on a popular BMW forum, invested about $45,000 to modify his 120d into a monster that would likely annihilate a 335-horsepower M1. As detailed as this process is, this entire project took him just eight weeks to complete – three to four weeks on mechanical stuff and four weeks on the body.

All we can do is tip my hat to hatembmw… Good show, my friend, good show indeed. Enjoy the videos, we know we certainly did.

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