BMW 2002-Based Road-Legal Racer With 800bhp V10 Planned

The car you see here is more than just a retro-futuristic racing car dreamed up in Photoshop by a bored renderer. Believe it or not, this crazed, be-winged BMW 2002 street-legal racing car is actually due to go into production.

It’s the work of Gruppe5 2002, a venture formed by Gruppe5 Motorsport, Bill and Bob Riley, and Steve Dinan. It’s the last name you’re most likely to have heard of - he’s the chap responsible for founding BMW tuner Dinan Cars.

It’s Dinan who’ll be responsible for the engine of this bonkers creation. And it’ll be a cracker: a heavily-modified S85 BMW V10 which, in its pokiest trim, displaces 5.9 litres and outputs 798bhp at 8400rpm. It’ll require a teardown and rebuild every 60 hours, but if you’d prefer, there’s a slightly less high-maintenance 5.8-litre version that still manages 734bhp. An Xtrac sequential racing gearbox will send the power to the rear wheels exclusively.

Whichever engine you go for, the end result isn’t going to have a whole lot of 2002 left in it. To make this thing, Gruppe5 will tear the donor car right down to its steel tub. This remaining piece of 2002 will be acid dipped and coated to ward off the dreaded tin worm.

A new alloy frame and a roll cage will then be welded to the tub, with composite panels bonded to the new structure. This makes for a car that’s strong, but also light: completed Gruppe 5 2002s will weight just under a tonne.

The aforementioned panels will sprout various aero devices including chunky side skirts, a giant rear diffuser and a very tall front wing, providing up to 1088kg of downforce.

The chassis is set to feature a push-rod damper setup, while at each corner you’ll find a centre-locking 19-inch forged wheel with an Alcon monoblock brake caliper sat behind. The rims are supplied by BBS, and can be wrapped in either Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 or Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres. For proper race use, it’ll be possible to switch to a Forgeline 18s with Michelin slick and rain tyres.

A pretty serious spec, we’re sure you’ll agree. No prices have been given, but expect the figure to be something that can describe as ‘lots’.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the intention is to make 300 of these things - 200 with the 5.8-litre V10, and 100 with the 5.9. Ambitious stuff.

Gruppe 5 says production will kick off “this summer.”