Having been owned by the BMW Group between 1994 and 2000, Land Rover is no stranger to engines sourced from the Bavarian brand. However, this 110 is much older since it was built about a decade before the German automaker purchased the British marque from the ill-fated Rover Group. If you’re unfamiliar with the 110, it’s the name used up until late 1990 by what we all know today as the Defender.
This five-door example of the reputable off-roader has received a BMW engine transplant by fitting an M57. A straight-six mill, the diesel comes from an old 5 Series and now lives in a 39-year-old Land Rover currently in the midst of a full restoration. It’s not every day we see a car being driven around with a completely exposed engine, let alone one that uses a newer powertrain from a different brand. The car looks like a diamond in the rough but at least it’s drivable now.
The diesel and gearbox come from a 5 Series (E60), which was offered with various configurations of the M57. There were 2.5- and 3.0-liter versions with power varying from 174 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) in the 525d to 282 hp and 428 lb-ft (580 Nm) in the later iteration of the 535d. The engine transplant was done without many obstacles that had to be overcome.
We’ll let the video do the rest of the talking but it’s important to mention the classic Defender was officially offered with a BMW engine at one point. Land Rover South Africa sold the SUV with the M52 gasoline mill during the late 1990s, a 2.8-liter inline-six with 192 hp and 207 lb-ft (280 Nm). Both Defender 90s and 110s were available with the BMW engine, which used parts from the M51 diesel that propelled the Range Rover 2.5 DSE.
In 2023, BMW’s N63 is used in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport to replace Jaguar Land Rover’s own supercharged V8.
Source: Tomato Chaz / YouTube
