Hartge H50 V8: The badass BMW E46 Cruiserweight that fought in the Heavyweight Division.
Ask any boxer looking to move up a weight division and they will tell you that the downside to gaining more mass is that it can slow you down. Adding more bulk can therefore be at the cost of achieving higher speed. However, there is always an exception to every rule and that trade off did not materialise with the Hartge H50 V8.
Developed by Herbert Hartge of Herbert Hartge GmbH & Co. KG, the H50 was an example of how this legendary BMW tuner was able to push the limit of the BMW E46. A little known fact is that all H50’s were actually built by Manhart Performance – another German tuner who specialises in high performance BMW modification and tuning programmes.
By dropping a 5.0 V8 from the BMW M5 into the E46’s engine bay this upped the power to an M5 equivalent of 394hp, but the conversion didn’t stop there. Add a 6 shift M5 gearbox with shorter ratios, limited slip differential, M5 brake callipers with bigger vented discs, 19in Hartge alloys, ECU mapping, alongside a revised exhaust system and a whole host of bodywork and interior upgrades and you have a 3 series which tops out at 186mph. Yes, the speed limiter had to revised. Those numbers would be an achievement today, however this was a car that was developed over 20 years ago in the early 2000’s! A supercar in 3 series guise.
Because of the extremely limited numbers of cars built, Hartge was very likely able to be the type of tuner that could add a level of bespoke capability to each car if it was required. Some H50’s were reported to have been running with 444hp and exact production figures are unknown. Safe to say, you’ll probably never see one on the road and if you do, you may have to rub your eyes in disbelief.
Photos: Herbert Hartge GmbH & Co. KG via autoevolution
You may be thinking that all of this performance came at the cost of reliability, but as we have read in many reports and road tests – the H50 proved to be bulletproof. It was designed to be driven hard, fast and probably with smoke billowing from the rear tyres. Hartge’s attention to detail along with their use of high performance BMW components and their ability to focus on a very limited production volume meant that Hartge produced extreme driving machines that were over engineered for what they were required to do. Herbert Hartge reportedly challenged road testers to break his test car, but no one could.
A few years later in 2006 the H50 was revamped running a 5.0 V8, coupled this time with a supercharger. The result was 550hp and a top speed of 200mph. Yes you did read that right. A BMW E46 that could punch a hole in the horizon. And if you think that top speed was just marketing talk, it was verified at the Nardo test circuit.
Fast forward to more recent times and unfortunately Hartge is no longer operating. Herbert Hartge GmbH & Co. KG wrapped up its business operations in 2019. So in some ways, it makes Hartge’s driving machines even more desirable, with very likely just a handful of H50 V8’s left. It was certainly the most ferocious BMW E46 on the road and you probably needed to be really good friends with your local tyre shop if you owned one. But maybe that’s also the point. The H50 V8 existed as a example of what happens when you challenge convention and push the envelope – this is what tuners do best and Hartge and Manhart fulfilled this role perfectly. It excited, entertained and scared the living daylights out of us at the same time.
Does it represent the greatest BMW E46 ever made? Its a question that naturally draws comparisons to the BMW E46 M3 and the Alpina B3. Or was it even competing in the same class? Some may argue that it was not only the best BMW E46 ever built, but that it was punching well above its weight in a completely different category – a category within which the H50 V8 won a very well deserved title as a heavyweight champion.