When it comes to hybrid cars, not a lot of tuners seem interested in taking a swing at doing some proper work on them. The reasons behind this reticence are rather obvious and range from the lack of technical solutions for electric motors to the whole reason why these hybrids are bought in the first place. Even so, as the world is changing and petrol and diesel cars are apparently on their back foot, the tuning industry will have to change. The guys from Manhart apparently are aware of the situation and are working on a couple of alternatives.
However, instead of going for the BMW i8, the most desired hybrid in BMW’s portfolio these days, the guys decided to take on the BMW X5 in xDrive40e guise. They published a teaser video on Youtube just the other day, teasing us with the brand new hybrid just sitting in their headquarters, probably waiting for someone to start working on it. Since this is a teaser, no additional info was provided but we can make some guesses until the end result is revealed.
Since the electric motor would be too tricky to upgrade, the changes will probably have to revolve around the petrol 2-liter 4-cylinder engine under the hood. The 245 HP it usually makes together with its 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque could be upgraded. As a matter of fact, Manhart has a tuning kit for this mill already taking things up to 294 PS and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque. With those new numbers, the tuned xDrive40e could have a total of around 400 HP and some 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. Those would be some serious numbers.
Furthermore, considering there’s an electric motor on board, its instant torque would easily fill up the acceleration gaps when needed, making turbo lag something of a distant memory, despite the upgraded power of the 2-liter engine under the hood. Sure, this is just day dreaming at the moment as the intricacies of the hybrid layout of the car might make all of this impossible but wouldn’t it be nice if it did happen?
