This Tiny BMW-Swapped Fiat Has The Best Engine You'd Never Expect

Over its lifetime, it was powered by a rear-mounted, horizontally oriented, water-cooled, two-cylinder 594 cc, 652 cc, or 704 cc engine making under 30 horsepower. The Fiat 126 is, essentially, a motorbike engine in a tiny, light, rear-wheel drive car.

So, of course, a hero has stepped up with a killer BMW engine swap to make it better. Is there an S58 inline-six in there? Maybe a V8 somehow shoehorned in? Nope, it's better than that. This Fiat is rocking a modded BMW K-75 motorbike engine that revs out to 10,000 rpm. Hell yes.

Tom is our hero appearing on the Twin Engine Corsa YouTube channel, and he found the car while looking for an MX-5. It was sitting in a pub car park wearing "baby sick" yellow paint and with pink wheels and the owner took what's often described as a "silly offer" to buy it. Now, it's a grey, widebody, tiny, lightweight lunatic of a car. At its core, the BMW K-75 is a straight-four engine that makes 75 hp and revs out to 8,000 rpm. But Tom has added a Garrett turbocharger and some other modifications for more power and that wild-sounding 10,000 rpm.

Then, because he's that special breed of British lunatic, Tom has given the 126 an Italian five-speed sequential transmission designed for a race car. We say special breed of British lunatic, because the build is inspired by the vein of car enthusiasts that like to take the classic little Hillman Imp and drop modern motorcycle engines in them. Conversely, back in the day, people would put the original Hillman Imp engines into motorbikes, particularly for racing. It's a whole glorious thing.

Fiat 126 BMW Motorbike Swap2
The Fiat 126 is a good-looking little car to start with because it was styled by Segio Sartorelli in one of his great days. As well as the original Fiat 500, another one of Sartorelli's finest moments was the Type 34 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Tom ordered a set of flared bolt-on wheel wide arches used on Italian race cars for the 126, but he found the fiberglass too thin. So, he made templates from them, then made aluminum versions for his 126. The wheels are currently Superlite, but Tom is planning to get some suitably Italian replacements.

Making It Harder To Lose Control Of
Putting what is likely nearly 100 hp into a car designed to be cheap and live in a city without improving the handling would not be smart. Particularly as the engine is at the back and drives the rear wheels like a Porsche while weighing around 1,200 pounds. Tom's Fiat 126 now has independent suspension, rides on coilovers, and has small four-piston brakes on the front. Inside, wisely, there's a roll cage, Sparco racing seats, headsets with mics, and a racing wheel. Finally, there's a hydraulic handbrake like you'll see on a pro-drift car because, well, why not?

The engine-swapped Fiat 126 sounds as angry as it sounds good, and looks like a joy to drive as the transmission, while being sequential, appears to be remarkably smooth shifting. There's no padding inside anymore and the suspension is hard, but it doesn't look as brutal as you might expect. What it reminds us of is a smaller version of the Group B rally car that never got its time in the spotlight – the Metro 6R4. But, somehow, much cooler.