What’s this about BMW Police cars failing all of a sudden?

There's a peculiar issue with police BMWs. Police cars sit for ages with the engine idling, before immediately being taken for a proper caning whilst giving pursuit to wrong 'uns (or going to buy donuts). In these circumstances, the engines were letting go. IIRC correctly, a dibble was killed when this happened at very high speed. Nobody else really uses them like this so your average BMWist doesn't have the problem.

The police offloaded a load of cars after holes had been drilled in the engine blocks to scrap them because they didn't want to pass the problem on.

Eeeww. Not a nice way to go. I read a weird article recently on how the police cars were not on MOT data bases and they turned a blind eye to clocking, but this is worse.

N57 engine… yep, a TC’s car caught fire.

You Tube channel Geoff Buys Cars did a video on this.

Spun a main bearing at high speed which cut oil supply drilling which also feeds another journal. Obliterated a rod which exited the block. The resulting hot oil caught fire.
I also suspect the engine could have caused drivetrain lock up when the engine seized with it then making back end to be lost.

johnnyroper said:

Spun a main bearing at high speed which cut oil supply drilling which also feeds another journal. Obliterated a rod which exited the block. The resulting hot oil caught fire.
I also suspect the engine could have caused drivetrain lock up when the engine seized with it then making back end to be lost.

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I am guessing there that the car was continued to be driven for a while after the bearing had spun. I suppose in the heat of a pursuit things like a knocking big end wouldn't always get noticed.

Almost certainly that the car would have been an auto, so in theory it shouldn't have been possible for the back wheels to become locked. Skidding on oil may have been possible though.

N57 engines are generally very reliable under normal use although like many modern cars the official service intervals are far too long.

One of those one in a million events no one could have predicted; sadly with tragic consequences. Poor bloke :-(