Mercedes Benz : Why Buy A New BMW M3 When This V10 3 Series Exists?

And it's now for sale for less than the cost of a new M3.

Automakers have been forced to downsize their engines in the wake of increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations. The BMW M5 went from a V10 down to a V8, and the M3 lost its V8 in favor of an inline-six. There are some cars that buck the rule, but we generally prefer the larger naturally aspirated engines that sound superior to their turbocharged counterparts. A modern BMW M3 produces a healthy 425 horsepower from a twin-turbo inline-six, but this pales in comparison to the BMW Hartge H50.

Hartge GmbH is a German tuner known for taking engines from larger BMWs and stuffing them into smaller cars. Some of Hartge's pasts projects include a 1 Series hatchback and Z4 with the S62 V8 from the E39 M5. The company also built an E46 M3 with the E39 M5's V8, which was known as the H50. When the E90 generation debuted in 2006, Hartge had to up the ante somehow, so it shoved in the 5.0-liter V10 engine from the E60 M5 to create a new H50. Only 10 cars are known to exist, and this is the only one in the United States. It also happens to be for sale.

The V10 engine has been tuned to produce 550 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque, which is enough to rocket the H50 up to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 200 mph. When it was new, the conversion cost $220,000 plus the price of a 325i. Now the car is being sold by Enthusiast Auto Group, a dealership that specializes in rare BMW cars, for a fraction of the price, currently listed at just under $60,000. It also only has 36,711 miles on its clock. Why buy a new M3, when you could be this rare beast instead?