The trouble with classic car ownership is that the romanticized idea of wistfully cruising in the vintage ride of your dreams collides with the current standards we’re used to. Sure, the car may feel charmingly underpowered and wobbly, but after a while the feel for modern performance will overpower classic style. Rectifying these issues are workshops like MKO who are willing to take the best of both worlds and combine them, as is the case in its BMW CS/M5 Mashup.
Germany based MKO has plenty of great examples of its restoration work, but this BMW project pointed out on bimmerpost may be its finest work so far. The engineers have taken the body of a BMW E9 CS and mated it with the underpinnings of an E39 M5. Both are classics in their own right, the Cs brings a classic style to the M5’s beloved power and performance.
The original CS body is fitted over the M5’s chassis as well as the drivetrain. This includes the S62 BMW engine which is a 4.9 liter turbo V8, that, in its heyday, was capable of around 400 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque. The power is routed to a six-speed manual, resulting in a BMW CS with never-before-seen power.
Frankenbimmer retains the M5’s functioning electrics, too, with ABS and climate control, altering the interior slightly with a sat nav and airbag system.
Some purists might see this as an unnecessary sacrifice of two cars that carry their own prestige, but we say this blessed union has resulted in a unique BMW that warrants its own respect.
