300-400 reliable bhp. What and how?

Question is, will 300 to 400 BHP be needed to shift a motor that weighs over two ton? Why do you need that kind of horsepower?
I'm running a modern Skoda VRS Challenge, it's got, according to the manufacturer figures, 245 BHP.
It is a full sized 5 seater with a massive boot and weighs a lot.
The car can move like a stabbed rat if I hit the loud pedal, it is bloody fast!
The same family VAG 2.0 turbo lump in an older generation Skoda/Golf/Polo is going to make one ridiculously fast car indeed.
They can still be tuned/chipped to give more and in an older & lighter bodyshell, the performance is going to be, probably, sub 5 second 0 to 60's with decent economy and reliability.
The point is, well the way I see it, is that there are always magic BHP numbers thrown about but BHP alone is not the answer to building a fast & reliable car. It's like saying that you would need 300 BHP to make a brick shaped car go fast but only 200 BHP to make a more streamlined one go just as quickly.
If you have the nous, that's the way i would go, modern engine + donor car and an older vehicle from the same stable to make the change over less problematic. Chipping modern engines seems the norm and doesn't require you to sell a kidney to pay for it.
You wouldn't need 300 BHP + either to go very fast, powerful engine in a bodyshell that weighs as much as a wet fart will do the job perfectly.
Just my thoughts.
Good luck!

audi V8/V6s would be infinitely cheaper than a Busso. If they can be made to fit bmw gearboxes you would be laughing

I second the OM605 and OM606 Mercedes engines which easily support big horsepower, with larger turbos and mechanical pumps.

Also consider the Volvo B230FK red block engines - they can withstand up to 500BHP with not much hassle. Strong units.

If a Barra wouldn't fit I'm not sure an AJ6/AJ16 would either. They're not small engines! 33.5" long from gearbox face to front of the pulley, 25" tall at the front (shallow end of the sump) and 27" tall at the back (deep end).

I measured my AJ6 if it helps:



Oh, and I've seen BMW GS6 gearboxes fitted to Alfa Bussos, but not sure if there's a kit, and not sure if it's the 37BZ or 53BZ. I expect the 37 would be fine for 300ish hp and is a bit easier to package. Both have the same bolt pattern, but not sure about flywheel and clutch.

What about a Nissan 350z engine, the later ones had 306bhp - VQ35HR 3.5L V6, sound great & come with a 6 speed manual. They get used for drifting so cant be too bad for reliabity/tunning

They turbo well, 300-400 out of those reliably should be fairly easy. But beware the rebuild costs - the head bolts are stretch, cost about £12 each and there are (from memory) 16 of the buggers.

This^^^^^

Everytime.

Any of the early variants will easily give what you need wiithout any mods at all.

By far the simplest engine out there. Indeed, i doubt there is an engine in current or recent production with less moving parts.

Aftermarket support is unrivalled, albeit US based.

Use a cable throttle variant with matching ECU and you can enable lean cruise functionality. With this switched on, and tinkered with, i get 24 mpg locally, 29 on a run. In a vehicle that weighs 1650kg.

As alluded to earlier, the 5.3 variants are the budget go to engine.

Another off the wall suggestion, the 6 from the Aussie Chrysler's is capable of making serious power and even more with forced induction.

Wasn't aware of these! Will have a look.