A Fluid Tribute: The S70/2

08 Sep A Fluid Tribute: The S70/2

One of the best things about working at Fluid is the variety. After working on so many different makes and models of car, we’ve seen all manner of vehicles, and once you add the never-ending catalog of aftermarket performance parts, we’ve probably seen hundreds (if not thousands) of different combinations of vehicles and go-fast parts. Being around all this, seeing what parts perform and what parts fall short, gives us a unique point of view. And being a place that prides itself on success and durability, we here at Fluid like to give credit where credit is due; if a part deserves to end up in a car we’re working on, we’ll definitely tell you that we believe it’s the best part for the task at hand. Also, if you haven’t noticed by now, we’re big fans of BMW. Putting together our knowledge of what’s good and our love for a certain German car manufacturer, we’ve decided to honor what is quite possibly the best engine that BMW’s ever put out — the S70/2, the heart and soul of the McLaren F1.

The S70/2 almost never existed. Originally, McLaren wanted Honda to build the F1’s engine after Gordon Murray, the man behind the McLaren F1’s design, fell in love with his daily driver, a Honda NSX. However, Honda passed on the notion of creating an engine for this new car, and eventually the behemoths of Bavaria, BMW’s M division, were given the honors. Murray wanted a naturally aspirated engine in order to cut down on the excessive complication (for building, maintaining and driving) of a forced induction system. Originally, he had envisioned a 550 hp powerplant for the F1, but when BMW had finished the engine, it was pushing an additional 14%. And, as we all know, as long as the wheels aren’t spinning uselessly, there’s always room for a bit more power.

And speaking of power, this baby puts out a total of 627 hp at 7400 rpm and 480 lb-ft of torque at 5600 rpm. When you look at some of the most modern supercars (Mercedes’ high-powered AMG vehicles come to mind), those numbers may not seem terribly impressive, but this engine has some serious staying power. A better approximation of the usefulness of an engine’s power comes from a pounds-per-horsepower rating, since many modern cars tend to be weighed down with AWD systems and additional technology (magnetorheological suspension, stability control systems, Alacantara-lined power seats, etc.). The McLaren F1’s staggering 3.6 lb/hp, better than even the Bugatti Veyron, is bested only by the American-made SSC Ultimate Aero TT, which comes in at just over 2 lb/hp. It’s this number that helps the McLaren F1 (and its still-revered S70/2 powerplant) retain its title of Fastest Naturally Aspirated Production Car, a title it has held since the early 1990’s.

The technology that ended up in the S70/2 is rather impressive. Since the F1 was built not only for street driving but also track driving, a dry sump oil system was utilized to keep oil flowing under hard cornering. This also had the added benefit of moving the oil pan, allowing for the engine to be mounted lower on the vehicle, keeping the center of gravity closer to the asphalt. Since the body contained such a large amount of carbon fiber, heat was an issue. To combat the obviously massive amounts of heat generated by the S70/2, McLaren decided to use one of the best heat-reflecting materials out there — gold. About one ounce of pure gold was turned into gold foil and lined the engine bay to maximize heat dissipation and prevent premature failure of the carbon fiber. To add to the fancy-metal collection in the F1, the cam covers, oil sump, dry sump and cam carriers are all made out of magnesium castings, and each cylinder bore is coated with nikasil.

For an engine that’s almost twenty years old and putting out numbers that are still impressive by today’s standards, you would assume that a tank of gas wouldn’t last very long; as a matter of fact, you’d probably be able to watch the needle move from F to E in real time. However, this simply isn’t the case. According to Wikipedia, the foremost expert when it comes to scientific fact, the engine can range anywhere from 9 mpg, all the way up to an impressive 23 mpg in optimal conditions. Even if that means driving down a mountain with the engine turned off, the fact that the world’s fastest N/A production car can hit double-digit gas mileage is just another reason to pour over this engine.

The fact of the matter is this: BMW has created an engine that has outlasted the last 20 years’ worth of supercar innovation. Granted, most supercar manufacturers have reached out to blowers and snails in their efforts to find more power, but all the science that went into the S70/2 has stood the test of time, and it doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon. For this reason, we believe the S70/2 to be one of the greatest engines of all time, and it deserves to have its time in the spotlight once more.