Chevrolet LT4 V8 in E92 M3: Bonkers Engine Swap
An enterprising Brit imported a Chevrolet LT4 V8 crate engine and installed it in an E92 M3 with magnificent results.
The E92 M3 does, of course, come with its own V8. It’s a naturally aspirated lump that, in its S65B44 guise, produces 444 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. If that’s not enough power for you, there’s a couple of options to improve it. Off the top of our heads though, we wouldn’t have come up with importing a factory supercharged Chevrolet LT4 V8 crate engine for UK owners. However, this video from aftermarket parts distributor and European drift team/YouTubers Driftworks shows just how well that swap can be done, and how effective it is.
Seriously, before we even talk about how much power and torque the LT4 generates, let’s just look at how Driftworks’ partner in crime from Dyno Torque has made the E92 look like it came with the Chevy lump from the factory. As you can imagine, this isn’t his first oddball swap. Not by a long shot. His own car is a 1200 horsepower LS3 swapped RX-7, and our favorite from his back-catalog is Driftworks’ BMW S85 V10 swapped E46 M3.
Now, about that LT4. As explained in the video, the LT4 is GM’s supercharged version of the successful LT1 that can be found in pretty much every truck they make and some rear-wheel-drive cars. The LT1 can be found in Corvettes, but LT4 engine goes into the performance higher Z06 models. It makes 650 horsepower and because Chevy really knows what they are doing with a V8, it makes it reliably and the engines tend to have long full lives. With the Eaton R1740 TVS supercharger, it’s also surprisingly efficient for a 6.t liter monster of an engine.
It also sounds like a beast. The supercharger whines over the top of the exhaust as the E92’s wheels spin under the 650 lb-ft of torque to make for a spine-tingling sound. The result looks surprisingly smooth as well as muscular and the E92 M3 seems to keep its BMW-ness despite now having an all-American heartbeat.
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