japan automotive

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Wiesmann MF5 exiting production as BMW V10

Wiesmann MF5 Roadster – Click above for high-res image gallery

It's not easy to build a car without an engine. Shocking news, we know, but it has major ramifications for small boutique automakers that don't have the resources to design and manufacture powerplants of their own. One such company is Wiesmann, which has historically relied on engines from German automaker BMW.

As you may know, Wiesmann's top-level MF5 borrows the same V10 engine that BMW uses in its M5 and M6. As good a choice as any other, no? Problem is, those models are currently being phased out and production has just come to an end... and that includes those V10 engines we were just talking about.

And without an engine... well, you know the rest. It's not entirely clear what Wiesmann is going to do moving forward – and our trusty Google Translator is having a hard time deciphering exactly what our German source is trying to say – but it seems the specialty car company may either cancel its MF5 entirely or attempt to switch over to BMW's new twin-turbo V8. We'll see.

*Update: Wiesmann reports back the following: Yes we stop producing the MF5 with the V10 engine but we will not stop the MF5 model. We are currently in discussion which engine we will take. It will surely be BMW but the details have not been decided yet.

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