Purists, look away.

We are not exaggerating when we tell you that this was a BMW 2 Series Coupe with the 220d specification. The original four-pot engine was removed to make way for a larger diesel with more turbochargers. The unofficial M2 50d is equipped with an inline six, tri-turbo diesel motor borrowed from an older M50d.

Gary Martins, a former BMW Master Technie, built this impressive vehicle. He now runs his own business called Grease Monkey Motors. It’s enough to say that he is a huge BMW fan and knows his way around the company. M enthusiasts might find the oil-burning M2 a bit outrageous, but M Performance Diesels has a history of making diesels that are more efficient than petrol, so it may not be too crazy.

The larger engine was installed without any modifications to the body. The 3.0-liter diesel engine now produces 583 horsepower (435 Kilowatts) as well as 1,070 Newton-meters (789 pounds-feet). This is quite a difference from the original 381 horsepower (284 kW) or 740 Nm (546 Lb-ft).

The 220d donor car was replaced by a more aggressive-looking coupe using the front bumper from the HTML2 Competition. To replicate the appearance of an M2, a quad exhaust was added. The carbon fiber M Performance rear wings emphasize that it is no longer a 2 Series Coupe. Gary Martins explains that the rear fenders needed to be wider to accommodate the larger wheels. The rear bumper and frontfenders are straight from an M2.

The diesel engine is hidden inside a custom-built carbon fiber roof and trunk lid. After the engine upgrade, the engines have been fitted with chunky front brakes from the (F10), and M4 rear brakes that provide the required stopping power. The tri-turbodiesel works now with a transmission that is derived from a 330d, but has been modified to take the additional torque.

As a 330d also borrowed its differential and shortened the prop shaft, the list of changes is endless. Gary Martins mentioned that the driveshaft is from an HTML135i. The interior features M3-sourced front seats, and a roll cage that replaces the rear bench. The M2 50d is still a rear-wheel drive machine unlike official M50d-badged cars that have xDrive, as shown in the tail-happy sequences.

You can use it as a daily driver, but you can also use it as a track car or drag racing vehicle with minor modifications. The M2 high-performance diesel engine will be tested in the early September edition of Simola Hillclimb in Knysna (South Africa).