Every Non-BMW Car Powered By The B58 Engine

The B58 engine is a modern-day legend revered by enthusiasts and tuners alike. It was introduced as a replacement for the N55 engine back in 2015, and quickly gained a reputation for its smooth, potent power delivery, great tuning potential, fantastic reliability, and huge versatility. It's a 3.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged straight-six with a closed-deck aluminum engine block design and other robust internal components to ensure extremely high rigidity to support its higher compression ratio of 11.0:1 (versus 10.2:1 for the N55).

The BMW B58 engine initially debuted on the F30-generation BMW 340i sedan, but soon found its way into many other cars in subsequent years. Naturally, you'd expect it to feature beneath the hoods of BMW's driving machines, but because it's an engine everybody is currently raving about, its application isn't limited to just BMW models. In fact, the B58 engine currently powers up to four non-BMW cars, upholding the Bavarian giant's long held reputation for supplying some of its most significant engines to other automakers.

For the well-informed, Toyota dropping the B58 engine in the fifth-generation Supra wouldn't come as a surprise considering the car itself was co-developed by Toyota and BMW and uses many of the same components as the BMW Z4 – the relationship is similar to Toyota's joint development project with Subaru for the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86. Upon its return in 2020, Toyota initially offered a 335-hp version of the B58 engine (dubbed B58B30C). But since the 2021 model year, the automaker has paired the sports car with the 382-hp B58B30O1 model in the States.

Launch GR Supra models could be had only with an eight-speed automatic transmission (this actually remained the case until the 2023 model year when a six-speed manual was offered as a no-cost option), with that combination achieving 0-60 mph acceleration in as little as 3.7 seconds, according to a Car and Driver testing. 382-hp GR Supra variants with the six-speed manual need 3.9 seconds to get to 60 mph.

The Ineos Grenadier is a modern midsize SUV that seeks to fulfill the unique and exact calling of classic off-roaders like the Land Rover Defender or the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Its tough-looking build indeed conveys the uncompromising spirit of those popular 4x4 vehicles, and you could go even further and argue the fact it was built in partnership with Magna Steyr, an Austrian automobile manufacturer famously responsible for developing Mercedes-Benz's popular "4Matic" all-wheel drive (AWD) system (as well as assembling the GR Supra and BMW Z4), could help prop up its reputation.

But being an ardent Defender fan himself, founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe knew more than anyone that reinterpreting the tough, utilitarian spirit of the Land Rover Defender involves more than just building a Defender lookalike. He needed a reliable engine with clever tuning. And so in 2019, Ineos formed a powertrain partnership with BMW, and the result was the B58 engine making its way to the newly introduced SUV, albeit in a detuned state. We're talking 282 hp versus 335 horsepower in standard state of tune. If that number seems familiar, it's because the Ineos Grenadier uses the same B58B30C version found on the 2020 Toyota GR Supra.

[Featured image by Alexander Migl via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

Another B58-powered non-BMW car with British roots, the Morgan Plus Six arrived on the scene back in 2019 as a replacement for the Morgan Plus 8, which left dealers' lots in 2018. That model had been powered by the famous BMW N62 V8 since 2012, and so Morgan chose to stick with BMW for the Plus 6. Once again, the B58 engine of choice was the B58B30C, which has featured on all the models listed so far.

It generates 335 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, with that output making its way to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. With that combination, the B58 engine proves to be highly efficient and ultra-responsive, returning 38 mpg of fuel economy. It also posts a 0-62 mph acceleration of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 166 mph, although its aerodynamic design and lightweight construction (the Plus Six weighs just 2,456 pounds [1,114 kg]) also play a part here.

The Boldmen CR4 roadster is the most expensive car to ever feature the BMW B58 engine. It's a limited edition model that has been in production since 2021, with a production run of just 30 units. While on the surface the two models still look very different due to the extensive changes made by Boldmen, the CR4 is based heavily on the third-generation BMW Z4 and borrows its B58 powertrain from the latter (the very same 382-hp B58B30O1 version). Despite their relatively humble origins, each Boldmen model costs at least $218,000 (€184,900).

To justify that price tag, Boldmen tuned the B58 engine to make 408 hp. It also redesigned the exhaust system and added carbon fiber body panels to keep weight as low as 3,296 pounds (down from 3,457 pounds for the 2021 BMW Z4 M40i). The eight-speed automatic transmission, though, is the same one in the Z4. With everything in place as intended, the Boldmen CR4 could sprint to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph.