Buy this E39 BMW M5 … With a Supra Motor Under the Hood

By Manuel Carrillo III - November 7, 2013

Engine swaps are generally the domain of low-horsepower fourth to sixth-gen Honda Civics, or underpowered cars like the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ that get LS3s stuffed between the strut towers. LS3 swaps are like putting Stephen Hawking’s high-powered brain into a bantamweight fighter’s body.

It’s rare to see amply powered cars like the E39 BMW M5 get a tinkering by tuners with a Frankenstein complex, but that’s what we have here: a 2001 BMW M5 powered by a JDM-spec 2JZ-GTE from a Mark IV Toyota Supra. This is more like putting Megan Fox’s head on Mila Kunis’s body … it’s a swap between relative equals, but fascinating, nonetheless.

This E39’s current owner Ed Mui is planning a move overseas, and is looking to sell this car for $22,000. The M5 has about 98,000 miles on the clocks, while the Supra engine may only have 50,000 to 70,000 miles racked up.

Mui says the BMW has its share of paint chips dents and scratches, but hey, those add character, right? There’s also plenty of character in the 500 horsepower coming off the rear wheels.

For the laundry list of mods done to this E39 M5, check out the thread on Bimmerforums.