This V-12 Caprice looks production-ready--notice the blacked-out BMW logo. A BMW four-speed automatic transmission backs up the big V-12, which feeds power to the stock Caprice 10-bolt. The interior features a 160-mph speedometer, which our guide told us is not optimistic.
At first glance, this appears to be a clean '89 Caprice LS and little more. Frankly, we wondered what this mundane sedan was doing in the mule warehouse. Then our mystery tour guide fired up the engine, and we heard a distinctly foreign sound. This was no 305 small-block, and the smooth hum emanating from the single exhaust resonator sounded like more than eight cylinders. Under the hood we found a highly advanced V-12 powerplant.
Although most of our questions about this aberration went unanswered, our guide did offer this much: "Back in 1988 when this car was built, the fullsize Caprice platform was alive and well, and there was a consideration of whether there would be a new generation or not. We were looking into ways of achieving ultimate quietness and smoothness, and one avenue in that direction was to go with more cylinders to smooth the engine out without losing power."
Was it a Chevrolet experiment? No--a quick inspection of the intake manifold's plenum cover revealed a circular BMW logo that had been covered with black paint. Further research confirmed that this Caprice was indeed powered by a 300hp, 304ci BMW V-12.
But there was more to the story. As it turned out, Chevrolet was investigating drive-by-wire technology, which replaces the mechanical link between the throttle pedal and the engine with an electronic one. When the BMW 750iL sedan was introduced in 1988, it incorporated the first production drive-by-wire engine-management system. The trouble is, BMW won't sell a V-12 engine unless it's surrounded by a car. So when Chevy powertrain engineers sought to evaluate the revolutionary control system, they had to buy the $69,000 German luxury car. If this sounds crazy, know that similar scenarios play out every day as Detroit research and development engineers seek to evaluate the competition.
The Caprice is no longer with us, and Chevrolet has yet to offer an optional V-12. But the drive-by-wire system has become a reality on the C5 Corvette.
Heimild:
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