BMW V10-equipped Lotus Elise: Marriage Made in Heaven

Canadian custom designer plans to sell these BMW V10 mashups through his company, Monivetti Automotive.

If you’re in the mood for a mid-engined BMW you have two choices. You can spend time waiting for an M1 to come on the market, or you can drop a big wad of cash on an I8 right now. If neither of those whets your appetite, then you can pull out a grinder and a welder and go shopping. Jalopnik has found someone willing to do just that and we can’t fault his choices for this magnificent meld of engineering to build a raw and uncompromising track monster. Without BMW making a suitable mid-engined car recently, a Lotus Elise makes sense and when the BMW engine choice is a BMW S85 naturally aspirated V10, it makes a “Hell yeah!” amount of sense.

A small lightweight mid-engined sports car sounds like the natural home for BMW’s F1 inspired V10. We already love it in the E60 M5 and the E63/64 M6 coupé. It was also in the E61 M5 Touring for Europe, but never made it’s way to the North American market. There’s everything to love about the BMW V10. Before we even get to performance, the sound is something worth commenting on. BMW six-cylinder engines are as smooth as butter wrapped in silk, but the V10’s inherent lack of natural balance means the harmonics make for a high-pitched scream that gives away its F1 DNA.

Fitting a BMW V10 into a Lotus Elise isn’t going to be easy, but Dustin Anthony has taken it seriously. He designed the chassis, adjusted the suspension geometry, and built a new body to fit the new measurements. He even designed and made the electrical system and claims to have been the only person building his BMW V10 powered Elise.

It also looks like this is just a test car and he’s looking at building them to sell through his shop, Monivetti Automotive. Given what he has achieved through the application of will and skill, we are full of anticipation to see the polished product. Less V8 swaps and more wild mid-engined cars with BMW V10 engines screaming away is exactly what the world needs.

Photos: Dustin Anthony/Jalopnik

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Ian Wright

Ian Wright has been a professional writer for two years and is a regular contributor to Corvette Forum, Jaguar Forum, and 6SpeedOnline, among other auto sites.

His obsession with cars started young and has left him stranded miles off-road in Land Rovers, being lost far from home in hot hatches, going sideways in rallycross cars, being propelled forward in supercars and, more sensibly, standing in fields staring at classic cars. His first job was as a mechanic and then trained as a driving instructor before going into media production.

The automotive itch never left though, and he realized writing about cars is his true calling. However, that doesn’t stop him from also hosting the Both Hand Drive podcast.

Ian can be reached at bothhanddrive@gmail.com