Very few cars have ever been sold with quad
turbochargers, the most notable of which come from Bugatti in the form of the
EB 110, Veryon, and Chiron. However, BMW has a quad-turbo engine in its
line-up, though instead of a gasoline unit it is a diesel powering the M550d,
750d, and X5 M50d xDrive.
In stock form, this quad-turbo straight-six diesel
engine pumps out 400 hp and 760 Nm of torque, but McChip DKR
recently got its hands on an X5 M50d and developed a tuning package. McChip’s Stage 1 software
optimization instantly boosts output to 470 hp and 850 Nm, while the
available Stage 2 software optimization results in a total of 515 hp and 865 Nm of torque. For those keeping score, that’s still short of the 567
hp delivered by the current X5 M’s twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8, although
it’s plenty for a diesel engine.
The tuning company says that the Stage 1 tune means
the X5 M50d can run through to 280 km/h, while the Stage 2 kit
results in a top speed of 285 km/h. Those are some very impressive
figures, particularly when you consider that the SUV is driven by diesel and
not gasoline.
McChip DKR hasn’t published acceleration figures for
its X5 M50d, but in standard guise, the SUV hits 100 km/h in 5.2
seconds and is electronically limited to 250 km/h. It goes without
saying that the tuned versions will, in all likelihood, be able to clock sub-5
second acceleration runs.
