Racing Dynamics' K55 shows how adding a V12 and an M3 to the 318i results in big numbers. Joanne Marshall tests, Roberto Carrer shoots.
Among the high-performance coupes of the world, BMW's 318 Compact hardly stands tall. Sure, the cute little 318ti is a worthy heir to the hot-hatches of yore. Maybe it even evokes a few warm, fuzzy memories of the old 4-cylinder M3, what with sharing that car's rear suspension and all. And sure, in Europe you can still get a super-stripped 1.6-liter Compact in the same price bracket as VW's Golf. But while the Bobtail may be great as an Entry-Level Driving Machine, it's obviously never going to challenge more established BMW supercar hardware such as the present M3.
Or can it? Enter the gearheads at Racing Dynamics SpA, the only BMW tuner south of the Alps to have truly earned respect up in the Fatherland. These boys make a lot of lire selling bumpers, spoilers, and side skirts to the poseurs who want nothing more than a mean and macho body, but for serious hardware junkies the Racing Dynamics catalog is also the most titillating sales brochures you've ever taken to the smallest room in the house. There, in Living Color, are all the go-fast bits and pieces a BMW enthusiast could hope to capture.
Racing Dynamics' real specialty, you see, is horsepower: lots of it, and by fair means or foul. They provide engines in all states of tune, from a moderate sprinkling of extra nags (say 20) to stump-pulling figures achieved via the boring and stroking of already huge V12s. But in addition to everything else this crew also assembles complete automobiles, and their latest little wonder has to be seen to be believed.
The new K55 hunkers down on tres-cool 18-inch alloys dipped in the merest coating of Pirelli. The way those black hides snuggle up to the wheelwells tells you something's gone fishy with this particular stubby Compact, but nothing prepares you for seeing just how seriously fishy it is. As soon as Federico Pavoncelli (for the K55 is all his doing) yanks open the hood of this monster it answers all your questions.
You look, hitch your jaw back in place, and start counting. Twelve. Er...twelve? So you count again. Yes, there are indeed twelve cylinders shoehorned into this box, filling all the engine bay's nooks and crannies like an over-generous dollop of stuffing in a Christmas turkey. Cam covers, piping, intake manifold...everything is so voluminous that it's a miracle the firewall and inner fenders aren't bursting at the seams.
The V12 comes courtesy of the BMW 850Ci (more on which in a moment), so it's no surprise that the powertrain also hitches up to that car's 6-speed Getrag gearbox, albeit with a suitably modified dual-mass flywheel and reinforced clutch. What you don't expect, though, is the view at the other end of the Compact. That snub-nosed tailgate hides a late-model M3-from the firewall back, in fact, this car's underpinnings (limited-slip diff, inner body, and rear subframe included) are all camouflaged M3 parts, bolted on when possible and welded into place on a specially built jig where necessary. The entire structure has been further reinforced with massive rear strut bracing and longitudinal steel reinforcements in the floorpan to bolster the structural rigidity and, with that massive V12 lurking menacingly under the hood, it's a darn good thing.
Excessive Farce
So is this mega-Compact an engineering feat to out-tune Germany's finest tuners or a grin-inducing paean to wretched excess? Both, probably. There's no doubt about the seriousness of the K55's execution: Accepting the premise that the world really needs a 5.5-liter, V12-powered BMW Compact, it's as thorough and well conceived as can be imagined. The front strut mounts have been moved and reinforced to tailor the suspension's geometry to its newfound task; the ride height is adjustable all the way around; purpose-built 4-pot calipers were added to keep this beast in check.
On the other hand, you really do have to wonder.... Rather than being content with bludgeoning the 850Ci's stock 326-bhp engine into a 316 chassis and grinning like fools at the result, RD has bumped the Twelve's displacement from 5379cc to 5486, fit bigger valves and higher-lift cams, tweaked the engine management for more power, and fed the black smoke through a highly sophisticated Zytek exhaust system with four cats per bank. The result? Max power has been lifted to a ludicrous 427 bhp @ 5900 rpm and torque is now a massive 404 lbs.-ft. @ 4100-enough thrust to launch a Buick Electra into orbit, let alone a 3-door econohatch.
Needless to say, it's vital to remember that the 850's standard traction control went out the window when Racing Dynamics dumped that car's fly-by-wire accelerator in favor of a good ol'-fashioned cable. Fortunately, just as the suspension development has gone further than a simple uprating of springs, shocks, and antiroll bars, the brakes are now awesomely powerful as well, with discs that are big enough to act as wheel rims on lesser machinery. The RD-built front calipers clamp these grooved-and-vented rotors tightly and incorporate BMW's superb ABS system.
Instruments of Doom
You might also take a good look at where the front foglamps used to be-those slots are now intakes to ram home the air where it counts. They work, too, as hours and hours of thrashing around Pirelli's Vizzola test track proved.
Contrasted to this Utopia of engineering extravagance I can only conjure up a few words on the K55's interior, for the simple reason that this particular example's posh trim hadn't been fit yet. One thing that was already in place, however, was RD's dual digital instrument panel, with one set of readouts where it ought to be and the other slap-bang in front of the passenger (presumably so he can relate in accurate detail exactly when he first knew his time was nigh). The passenger's-side panel even includes a stopwatch for timing acceleration runs-just the thing for Junior to goad Dad with. Of course, all the businesslike info remains on the driver's side, such as water and oil temp, engine revs, and...lap times?
The Pirelli P7000s fit for our track test have gargantuan levels of grip, but RD's mastodontic V12 has even larger amounts of grunt. Never before have I worried so little about getting an engine on the cam. No question, the K55 can-indeed, the K55 will-be steered with the throttle. This car lives to be driven sideways, yet its lurid powerslides are so controllable that your passenger is often ducking down to avoid impairing your view of the road ahead. This thing brings a whole new meaning to the term throttle sensitivity; the merest breath on the pedal starts the V12 to snarling menacingly, and in an instant the short and tidy Compact squats, gathers itself up, and bolts forward with vicious momentum. If you're sensitive enough to keep this car hooked up on a dry stretch of road, 0-60 runs in less than 4.5 seconds are possible.
I'll admit it: My feelings about this over-the-top hybrid were mixed before I actually started driving. Sure the K55 is the Q-car to crown them all, barring perhaps a Mini with a 3.5-liter V8, but what's the point? Well, the point is fun, in particular fun of the maniacal-hooligan variety.
From inside the sound is addictive: Not loud but insistent, with a marvelous fluidity to its tone as the engine climbs the rev counter. There's a tingling roar of exhaust underscoring everything the K55 does, filling the stubby cockpit with a racing-car scream that tears away all the last vestiges of the Compact's grocery-pulling past. As you lift off for corners a flat, reverberating bellow courses through the air like the wake of a DTM racer, magnificent and moving.
But it's not just fire and brimstone contained in a tin can. The Compact is totally transformed in the K55, not just by the well-conceived structural modifications but by the sheer power overflowing from its 5.5-liter powerplant. The resulting car is compact-low, short, and nervous-yet it remains uncannily composed even when summoning up more thrust than its directional stability can take.
Nervous Torque
In the wet the K55 is positively twitchy, even in a straight line, and its mild initial understeer proves a blessing in disguise. But on dry ground the huge grip of the Pirellis gives you extraordinary confidence and the ability to hold unbelievable slip angles on a constant throttle. The diagonal pitching of lesser hatchbacks has been beaten down to an acceptable level and, with good balance and virtually nonexistent roll, the K55 settles early into bends and provides plenty of feedback about its grasp on the tarmac. Without doubt the tail is wayward, but when it does come the oversteer is progressive and simple to catch, despite this car's potential for violence. Restraint is called for, make no mistake, but the technique is hugely entertaining.
The steering's accuracy pays off big here, for it remains extraordinarily delicate even when the front tires are scrubbing away in understeer. At first the wheel comes across as overly sensitive and the weighting goes from overlight to heavy as you feed in steering angle, flick the tail out with the throttle, and wind on opposite lock. After a few laps of continually correcting your line through corners, however, your brain picks up the rhythm and the chassis starts making perfectly good sense.
Other plus points include fabulous brakes, a great gearchange, and a pedal setup that encourages smooth heeling-and-toeing. With that superb V12 installed up ahead, this Compact is a driving machine you can coax a lot out of-if you're willing to damn the torpedoes and utilize its awesome power and predictable sideways grip.
Of course, exploiting the engine comes a lot more naturally, so this blindingly fast package has a pretty steep learning curve. For certain Racing Dynamics has gone to town on this car, creating a tribute to excess; yet unlike so many other good things, you just can't seem to get enough of it!
Instruments of Doom 
