When one thinks about the E63 M6 there’s one thing that automatically pops up in his or her mind: the S85 V10 engine. That brilliant piece of automotive history is nothing more or less than a 5-liter bucket of joy for anyone lucky enough to drive it. Its 8,000+ RPM redline and the sound it used to make made it as one of the best engines BMW ever developed. Unfortunately, as time went by, it became obsolete as it was deemed to be way too polluting for this day and age but it is still stuck in the back of our heads as one of the best of all time.

Its successor definitely wasn’t received just as well when it came out. The S63 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 of the F10 M5 didn’t lack punch or torque but lacked character, something fans of the most powerful letter in the world never seemed to get over. Though, it delivered outrageous amounts of torque and power and some even claim that the Germans drastically understated the real specs of the car, to make it seem a bit more civilized. However, I’m pretty much certain that if a BMW fan had to pick, the choice would 9 times out of 10 go for the S85 engine.

Which is why the video below is quite bewildering, to put it short. In it, we get to see a BMW E63 M6 turned into a drift car. Nothing peculiar in that but once you take a look at the engine bay, you might notice something’s a bit off. That’s right, the S85 engine was replaced with its successor, the S63. We don’t get an explanation as to why that happened but you are free to guess and let us know. It does seem rather counter intuitive to use a turbocharged engine instead of a naturally aspirated one, especially since the latter category would be more reliable.

On the other hand, forced induction engines do have considerably more torque which allows them to shred tires easier on the drift track. Not that the S85 couldn’t do that though, but every bit of help does make a difference when competing at a professional level. In the end, it would be really interesting to get the owner/driver’s take on why this move was made but until then, let’s check out some tire shredding action in the video below.