If you read this, I think there is a good chance that you have at least one V12 engine car in your ‘Top 10’ list.
My dream collection would not be complete without Lamborghini Miura SV, a Mercedes-Benz SL70 AMG and an Alpina B12 Coupé. I would also have a Mercedes-AMG S65 as a daily and a Ferrari Enzo to abuse it on the right track.
Although I think the most feasible ‘dream’ of mine is an older Aston Martin DBS, in black, with a manual gearbox – but I wander. V12’s are ambitious engines and they have always been expensive. But at least there used to be variation.
Do you want a new car with a V12 under the hood? Well, unless you have one hundred thousand dollars to spend on a Ferrari 12Cilindri or Lamborghini Revuelto, it doesn’t happen, chef.
So what do you do if you want a V12, but you don’t want to spend physical money on a car and you want it to be fun? Well, if you’re name Mantas LekavičiusYou take someone’s half -baked project and turn it into a Bavarian muscle car that never existed: the E34 BMW 544i.
“I wanted an old car every day, and that’s why I bought this,” Mantas remembers. “I was looking for E34s on Facebook market when a man offered me this car. It was a clean example without a rust, but it had bent bent-ups of overfenders and unpainted panels. The V12 was already reserved, but it was connected as an old tractor with a megasquirt ECU and nothing worked. I have it at home with six cylinders! “ Mantas laughs. “He just wanted a cheap drift car.”
Mantas earns a living as a BMW Electronics specialist, so if someone has to undo someone’s BMW-related wiring mess, he is the man for the job.
The M73B54 V12 engine of the E38 750i is not the factory, is a fairly simple dual camshaft unit that only produces 300 hp. While the engine was out of the car, Mantas injected some new life into it.
The V12 now has an adapted fuel rail with Ferrari injectors and a Flex-Fuel sensor for E85, as well as Twin VW VR6 sink packages in adapted housings. A modified cold air intake setup with K&N filters and an adapted inlet manifold bridge help the V12 easy to breathe. Cooling is provided with an upset radiator that runs Twin Dodge Hellcat Electric ventilators on top of the coolant hoses with a larger diameter. Even the alternative belt tensioner is tailor -made because the OEM item cannot handle the speed with which the V12 is now building revs. The Megasquirt ECU has disappeared, just like any sign that the previous wiring ever existed. A Motorsport-Grade Leaving has made the motor compartment no end, while Maxxecu Pro Management controls the V12 with two extra broadband sensors for a good measure.
This M73 now produces 365 hp and 540 Nm of torque – a profit of approximately 20% in power without important hardware additions. For an M73 I have to say that that is a healthy jump. It also sounds different than every BMW I have ever heard, thanks to the adjusted exhaust system. Power is transferred via a 5-speed gearbox and shortened drive shaft to an E32 750i-striking side, including the subframe and the large LSD.
The E34 is on a set of E60 Bilstein coilovers, which are adapted to fit. There are polyurethane bushes everywhere and E38 4 piston Brembo brakes for extra power power.
Because he did not want to build on a half-assured attempt, Mantas went into the scale completely to rebuild the E34. The bodywork urgently needed attention, so while the engine was out, he started to clean up the 5 series.
Bolt-on torches do not match the spirit of the build, so the cut wheel arches were converted into adapted metal torches instead. A bare metal res spray in the factory tint of the car was also fine, but it is the rare details that Mantas is particularly proud of.
The headlights are not tinted; They are Hella yellow headlights – which means that yellow glass is, while at the back of the car there is a rare set of Hella smoked rear lights. The start-up spoiler is an adapted E30 M-Tech item and the hood is fiber optic to prevent part of the extra weight of the V12.
An AC Schnitzer-style for bumper addiction indicates the E34 a more defined chin and binds to the three-part splits made of a set of Alutec AC Schnitzer-style mono blocks with radinox stainless steel lips.
Inside Mantas’ E34 is a completely re-ended interior in saddle brown leather, with a period-correct Blaupunkt head unit that has now been stripped and again wired for Bluetooth and better audio quality. Mantas is very proud to come from Kaunas, Lithuania, and he received a package ‘Kaunas’ cigarettes from the 1990s as a decoration – which happens to match the paint color.
“The most important idea of the Build was a luxury sports car. I ride a lot, around 20,000 kilometers on weekends at the right track and top speeds, “ Mantas says lovingly. “The V-Max is 305 km/h.”
“My favorite things about the car are the brutality of the way it excites, the fact that Max Torque comes to 2500 tpm and that it sounds like an old F1 V12. I can compete comfortably wherever I want, and I even take it on camping trips! “
This E34 is a remarkable car, and not just because it is a 5 -series with a V12 in the nose. It seems to do everything well, and Mantas is not afraid to use the hard Rain, Shine – or in this case snow.
The Lithuanian car culture is very much off the radar. A door is open here and I can’t wait to show you what’s in the summer. Keep your eyes open, people.
Mario Christou
Instagram: MCWPN” mariochristou.world
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