Top five rehomed race engines

Four doors, four seats and 194mph

THE HYBRID MERCEDES powertrain that’s been the class of the Formula 1 field since 2014 will make its way into the ultimate road car, courtesy of the forthcoming AMG Project One. Here, we take a look at five cars (OK, one’s a van) that have had a serious heart transplant.

BMW E36 V8 JUDD 5

Don’t believe everything you read online, as this internet-famous BMW E36 hillclimb special actually sources it power from a Formula 3000 Judd KV V8 – not a Formula 1 unit. Enlarged to 3.4 litres, what started life as a humble 320i now produces 560bhp, revs to over 10,000rpm, and is owned by Klaus Wohlfarth – the person behind KW suspension. He bought it after the E36’s creator Georg Plasa died in 2011 after crashing his BMW 134 special (the successor to this car) at Coppa Carotti. That wild machine used a Lmp-derived V8 for good measure.

PEUGEOT 306 4 COSWORTH KF

It’s unlikely that Andy Burton’s

Peugeot 306 was the inspiration for the PSA Group to buy Opel and Vauxhall. But in a sign of the parts sharing to come, the 2.5-litre Cosworth KF V6 engine that powered the 1995/96 Opel Calibra DTM car found its way into his 306 rally machine. The mid-mounted unit weighs just 89kg but produces around 500bhp, which is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed paddleshift gearbox. You won’t see the car on any special stages, as it was mothballed at the end of the 2011 season.

FORD TRANSIT 3 SUPERVAN 1

Granted, the third iteration of the Ford Supervan received a Cosworth HB 3.5-litre Formula 1 V8, but it’s the 1971 model that gets the nod for this list. It was genesis. The brainchild of Terry Drury, underneath sits a chassis from a GT40 and a five-litre V8 that’s good for over 430bhp. In a vague effort to keep that power in check, brakes were borrowed from Can-am machinery and wider arches were needed to accommodate fatter rubber. It could reputedly hit 150mph.

ALFA ROMEO 2 164 PROCAR

To replace the short-lived BMW M1 Procar series, Bernie Ecclestone devised a plan that each F1 engine supplier should drop their powerplant into a saloon. Ingeniously, it was to be called ‘Formula S’. Alfa Romeo responded emphatically – a 600bhp V10 and a chassis draped in a carbonfibre and Kevlar body that resembled a 164. A 2.1-second sprint from 0 to 60mph and a top speed of 215mph was the result. Unfortunately, the idea would lose traction when Alfa’s fellow manufacturers failed to show similar interest.

RENAULT ESPACE F1 1

Our number one was a zany birthday present. In 1995 Renault decided to gift the Espace people carrier a new heart for its 10th birthday. Overseen by Matra, it received a 3.5-litre V10 as used in the double title-winning 1993 Williams FW15C. A spritely 778bhp dropped the 62mph sprint from a leisurely 13 seconds down to just 2.8s. Flat out, 194mph would be showing on the speedometer. Being based on a humble family wagon meant that the Espace F1 could still accommodate four occupants. Championshipwinning pedigree and space for the school run…