Some Maniacal Russians Built a MiG Jet Fighter-Powered BMW E30

0 0 Editorial Team October 18, 2018 Edit this post

By James Gilboy,THE DRIVE

There are crazy engine swaps, such as a Dodge Viper's V-10 into a Chrysler PT Cruiser, then there's putting bits of a Cold War jet fighter into a BMW 3 Series.

Indeed, that's what one Igor Negoda did to his E30 Bimmer. Negoda pulled a TS-21 turbine engine from a Soviet-era MiG-23 fighter jet, where it served as the auxiliary power unit (APU), akin to both the starter motor and alternator on a car. According to a website that cites the powerplant's service manual, the TS-21 is capable of producing 83 horsepower at an output shaft speed of 2,400 rpm and is capable of revving up to 3,000 rpm. Peak torque according to comments left on the video is 400 newton-meters or 295 pound-feet.

While that may not be a lot of horsepower, it's far more torque than you'd find in any stock BMW 3 Series of the era, meaning the TS-21 does a handy job of propelling the BMW. In the video, Negoda uses a smartphone's GPS to measure his speed and achieves an apparent 54 kilometers per hour (34 miles per hour) in the alleys surrounding the workshop in which the car was built.

Negoda later takes the car out to a specious, yet secluded area for a more thorough test of the car's top speed, and measures 87 kph (54 mph). He celebrates his achievement with a colossal burnout nearly three and a half minutes in length, which burns the tires bald and leaves a smoldering patch of rubber on the road. Naturally, the only thing left to do was finish the job by gutting the tire's carcass on the ground.

If love makes the world go 'round, then this turbine-powered BMW will certainly help keep things spinning, because we absolutely adore cars as crazy as this. Hats off to you, Mr. Negoda.