Here’s a unique car that is up for sale in the Burlington, KY, area. The owner/seller could just as well call it a 550i; it’s a 5-series with a 5-liter V12 engine under the hood.
1995 BMW E34 5 series V12 6spd conversion – $7999 (Burlington, KY)
Car has approximately 105-115k miles on it – the stock M70 V12 motor is in the neighborhood of just under 200k.
Original V8 to V12 conversion carried out at Korman Autoworks in North Carolina. That motor was later removed for use in another E34 project and replaced by the current stock M70 in 2007 by Koala Motorsport in Cleveland. Tranny is the V12 specific 6spd that was found in the 850 and was designed to go behind this motor.
Suspension bits include (Dinan package):
Adjustable Koni shocks
H&R springs in rear, Dinan springs in front (have the H&R fronts new in box)
Adjustable Dinan sway bars front & rearDinan Stage 3 brake conversion is basically the BMW Nurburgring package. Handles and stops very well. The ride is firm, but not harsh.
Nice, very clean sounding stereo system.
Front M5 sport seats in the correct parchment color.
Very nice condition inside and out. A few rock chips on the front end. Is mechanically sound. Runs and drives well. Leaks a little oil, burns a little oil.
Originally a Florida car, then spent some time in Texas until 2007. Winters here have been spent in the garage. Has never seen snow/ salt; there are no rust issues.
There’s a good build writeup in the Feb 05 issue of Performance BMW magazine.
Here’s a link to some online pics and description from a site where it was listed when it was for sale with the Hartge motor (2006/ 2007 timeframe):
http://www.carpictures.com/BMW/530i-with-6-0L-V12-1995-06L5F583110595Note that the 500hp Hartge motor is gone, the current v12 is a stock M70.
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source: http://www.carpictures.com/BMW/530i-with-6-0L-V12-1995-06L5F583110595
Outstanding, one of a kind, 1995 BMW E34… …completed and sorted by Korman Autoworks in Greensboro, NC. In addition to the heavy modifications under the hood the car has a custom drive shaft, Dinan Stage 4 suspension, Dinan Stage 3 brake conversion, BMW 750 power steering pump, BMW 850 shift tower, relocated brake booster and master cylinder etc….
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Want to sell before winter. Let me know if you’re interested, have questions, want more pics, etc. Thanks!
That sounds like a lot of car for $8,000, provided it’s well-sorted. The ad refers to a 500HP Hartge motor that’s no longer with the car, which is too bad. The linked article had a photo of the car with that motor. Looks like Hartge modified the original M70 to bump the displacement from 5.0L to 6.0L; no clues as to whether that was on the bore or stroke, but either way… 500HP from a normally-aspirated engine is impressive.
Posted: 06 Dec 2006
Archived Listing (for informational purposes only)
Specs & Details
Exterior: black
Interior: tan
Engine: 12
Trans: manual
Miles: 82,0381995 BMW 530i with Hartge 6.0L V12 (560i) This actual car is featured in the February 2005 issue of Performance BMW! A one of a kind no expense spared automobile. 1995 BMW E34 560i Hartge V12 Outstanding, one of a kind, 1995 BMW E34 with nearly 500bhp on tap thanks to a Hartge modified BMW V-12 6.0L engine. This car is not just a pretty 530i with a monster motor stuffed under the hood, but a pristine automobile professionally completed and sorted by Korman Autoworks in Greensboro, NC. In addition to the heavy modifications under the hood the car has a custom drive shaft, Dinan Stage 4 suspension, Dinan Stage 3 brake conversion, BMW 750 power steering pump, BMW 850 shift tower, relocated brake booster and master cylinder etc.. Let’s just say the vehicle is modified and done correctly with an open checkbook. Just over 13,000 miles have been driven with the new V12 engine configuration without trouble. We actually have a signed copy of a hand written letter from Ray Korman to the car owner describing the awesome performance of this machine. A line from the letter reads, “I have built street turbo motors over 400HP but never anything with the incredible response of this motor throughout the whole rev-range. Heck, I’ve never driven a full race car with this much performance – and that includes an M1 ProCar!” – Ray Korman, Aug 15th 2002.
Our humble opinion: I’m only going to say this once – this car is fast, really fast, like, I’m scared to drive it fast. Like, you’ll never in your life drive anything this fast. Like, you better have a good attorney fast. Like, the only thing faster has wings and jet engines or perhaps sits on a launch pad fast! Enough about the performance, let’s talk about the condition of the vehicle. Pampered does not begin to describe this E34. Since purchased new it’s had nothing but the best. A collector in Houston, TX currently owns the car, but the vehicle is in the warehouse at the moment until we find it a new home. Owner has had the privilege of parking several special BMWs in his shop and knows how to care for them properly. Obviously, with so much money tied up in an automobile like this it was not a daily driver, received an overabundance of maintenance, and was kept sparkling clean. Car is in exceptional condition.
Even with the stock M70B50 it should be able to scoot; that engine was rated at 300HP and 330 ft. lbs. of torque at the crankshaft. Not a lot more than the M60B40 that an e34 540i was equipped with, but the V12 is a much smoother engine than the V8. Many people are frightened by the BMW V12 motor, which is somewhat understandable since it is a bit out of the ordinary, but the only real difficulty with that motor is access; it makes an already tight engine room even tighter. Other than that, it’s pretty much just another BMW engine, except it’s got two of most everything, air filters, AFMs, distributors, distributor caps, coils, engine management computers… Diagnostics is a little more difficult with the two ECMs, but that shouldn’t be a show-stopper. All of that is made moot by the silky smoothness of the V12. I’ve seen people balance a nickel on its edge on the intake manifold of an idling M70B50, something that would be impossible on most any other BMW engine.
No, I don’t think I’d be a serious buyer for this car even if I was in the US, but that doesn’t change the fact that it looks like a seriously nice automobile, and will undoubtedly make its new owner quite happy. The only thing I’d change is those wheels; totally wrong offset for the car. The wheels the car was wearing in the magazine article would make this car look the way it should.
