New York-based tuning company MLife Auto Care has set a new quarter-mile record for a G80 BMW M3, with a time of 8.56 seconds and an exit speed of 137 mph. Single-turbo conversions are popular in BMW territory, and the G8X platform proved to be a perfect fit for the idea of doubling the stock 473 horsepower (503 in competition spec).
It all comes down to the tunability of the S58’s 3.0-liter inline-six engine, which comes standard with two relatively small turbochargers. But you still need to know what you’re doing, and this New York-based shop has the experience to swap F90 M5 suspension, braking and drivetrain components into regular 5 Series models (or older M5s) and make the conversion work reliably .
But reliability doesn’t matter when you’re chasing records, and the G80 pushed 42 psi in testing alone. Look at the record of violence and try to tell our boss Rick it’s easy. He is not.
Despite the improvements, the run also broke the 0-60 mph record (time 1.6 seconds) and 60-130 mph time (3.4 seconds). Reaching 60 feet in 1.2 seconds is nothing to sneeze at either.
Modders tend to be very secretive about exactly what they’re running because every advantage is important, and although we tried to get the exact specs of this build, every YouTube video shot in the shop gave away the all-important mods.
What we can say for sure is that this car features a Precision turbocharger, a Pure Drivetrain Solutions Stage 3 transmission with a billet stator race converter, Mickey Thompson tires with lightweight drag wheels, and tunes from Paul Johnson Tunes , the shop previously held the F80 quarter-mile world record as well.
We also know that this particular car used to put out over 780 horsepower at the wheels. It may or may not have earned more in this video, but as drag racers know, power isn’t everything, and too much can easily derail a record attempt.
As for the large plume of smoke at the end of the record run, it turned out to be nothing more than an exploded coolant expansion tank. MLife Auto Care says the car could have gone faster if the driver hadn’t stopped at 1,000 feet, so we hope to see another run soon.
While the M3 has always been known for its handling prowess, the turbo era has brought a new dimension to the M3’s glory, and some tuners are pushing Lamborghini’s numbers. While yesterday’s purists may never forgive BMW for being turbocharged, and tomorrow’s purists may never forgive it for being electric, the times we’re in now are something to behold. We hope modders like this can push the combustion range further for as long as possible. MLife Auto Care appears to have risen to the challenge, saying it is now targeting a 7-second pass.
