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BMW i40i Racecar Has M3 V8 Power and Wild Widebody Kit, Spits Flames

With the first-gen BMW 1 Series (friends call it the E87) now starting to age, more and more of these rear-wheel-drive hatchbacks are starting to become extreme go-fast projects.
BMW i40i Track Toy with M3 V8 Power 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
We've already shown you a 150i, which packs an E60 BMW M5 V10 and has recently gone down the forced induction road, but we are now here to discuss a 1er that comes with a more balanced approach.

Make no mistake, though, this... 140i is probably the fiercer car of the two, but the balance we mentioned above comes thanks to the fact that we're dealing with a track toy here.

It all starts in the engine compartment, which is now occupied by an E90/E92 M3's 4.2-liter engine. The V8 has kept its naturally aspirated form, but packs a few mods, such as K&N air filters, a straight pipe exhaust, as well as the expected ECU remap. The result of the tuning work? The unit has gone from its factory output of 420 to a nicely rounded 450 hp.

The unit now works with a sequential gearbox, the kind of lightning-fast setup you'd expect to find on a racecar.

The tracks are wider, with the 140i packing a monstrous widebody kit, whose extravagance is matched by the Pikes Peak-sized rear wing. With the racecar using various carbon fiber and composite panels, the weight has dropped to 2,425 lbs (1,100 kg), so this thing absolutely flies on the track.

In the process, that V8 under the hood likes to spit flames from time to time and the piece of footage below will give you a good taste of this project's mightiness.

As we mentioned in the intro, extreme 1er modding seems to have become a trend. And while the machine we have here seems to be the best we've seen so far, we'll keep you posted when we come across a new animal.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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