Editing Land Rover Defender (section)

===BMW M52 engine===
Land Rover South Africa offered a unique Defender during the period the group was owned by BMW. Between 1997 and 2001, the Defender 90 and 110 were offered with a BMW petrol engine alongside the normal Tdi engine.<ref name="ddroppa">{{cite news|last1=Droppa|first1=Denis|title=Landy lifted by BM boost|newspaper=[[The Star (South Africa)|The Star]]|date=1997-03-06|url=http://www.z3roadster.it/bizzone/defender2.8i/4.jpg|access-date=2016-08-16|archive-date=2016-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816151525/http://www.z3roadster.it/bizzone/defender2.8i/4.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> The engine was the [[BMW M52]] 2793 cc, straight-six, 24-valve engine as found in the BMW 328i, 528i, 728i, and the Z3.<ref name="ddroppa"/> Power and torque output for this engine was {{convert|143|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}} at 5,300 rpm and {{convert|280|Nm|lbft|0|abbr=on}} at 3,950 rpm.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Land Rover South Africa|title=2.8i Supplementary Hand Book|url=http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/23915-2-8i-(BMW-M52)-Supplemental-Reference|website=SA 4x4 Community|access-date=2016-08-16|page=10}}</ref> This option was offered due to a demand for a petrol-driven alternative to the diesel engine after production of the V8 Defender had ended.  The vehicles were built at Rosslyn outside Pretoria.<ref name="Market">{{cite web |title=Land Rover Defender 2.8i takes the 4x4 market to a higher level |url=http://www.landrover.co.za/HOTNEWS/market.htm |website=Land Rover South Africa |access-date=16 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980523211302/http://www.landrover.co.za/HOTNEWS/market.htm |archive-date=23 May 1998}}</ref> Total production for the 2.8i was 1395, which included 656 Defender 90s and 739 Defender 110s.<ref>{{cite web |title=More info on 2.8i Defender |url=http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/266189-More-info-on-2-8i-Defender?p=3443868#post3443868 |website=SA 4x4 Community Forum |access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> This is an estimate based on sales figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). Early models were not speed-restricted, but later models were limited to {{convert|160|kph|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="ddroppa"/> [[File:Land Rover Defender 2.8i engine.jpg|thumb|left|The South African Defender BMW-engined 2.8i (1997–2001)]]

The development of the Defender 2.8i began in February 1996 as a joint project between Land Rover and BMW, following the recent unification of the two companies.<ref name="Market"/> Some of BMW's top engineers including Frank Isenberg, head of BMW Driver Training and the F87 [[BMW M2|M2]] project, were part of the development team.<ref name="roadandtrack.com">{{cite news|first1=Máté|last1=Petrány|first2=Frank|last2=Isenberg|title=The BMW M2's Top Engineer Has this Amazing 'Red Mamba' Land Rover Defender|url=http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/car-accessories/features/a31958/engineers-cars-the-red-mamba/|date=2016-12-16|website=Road & Track|publisher=Hearst Communications, Inc.|access-date=2016-12-18}}</ref> The project was initially top secret and in 2 to 3 weeks' time they had converted a Defender 110 that originally had a 3.5-litre V8 into the first 2.8i.<ref name="roadandtrack.com"/> To produce a 90 2.8i prototype a Defender 90 with a V8 chassis was required, but the local 3.5-litre version had ended production, so Land Rover UK sent a North American specification 1995 Defender 90 soft top model to South Africa which engineers turned into the first Defender 90 2.8i prototype.<ref name="roadandtrack.com4">{{cite news|last1=Petrány|first1=Máté|last2=Isenberg|first2=Frank|date=2016-12-16|title=The BMW M2's Top Engineer Has this Amazing 'Red Mamba' Land Rover Defender|url=http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/car-accessories/features/a31958/engineers-cars-the-red-mamba/|access-date=2016-12-18|website=Road & Track|publisher=Hearst Communications, Inc.}}</ref><ref name="GreenLandy">{{cite web|date=2005-01-25|title=GreenLandy|url=http://www.greenlandy.co.za/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110121526/http://www.greenlandy.co.za/|archive-date=2008-01-10|access-date=2016-08-16|website=GreenLandy}}</ref> They nicknamed it "Green Mamba" due to its Coniston Green colour.<ref name="roadandtrack.com4" /><ref name="GreenLandy" /> To make the 2.8i Defenders ready for production, the prototypes were subjected to extensive testing.<ref name="roadandtrack.com" /> According to Land Rover South Africa, there were six prototype vehicles that were tested off-road and on-road for over 500,000 kms total.<ref name="Market" /> The new BMW M52 Defender performed better than the V8 Defender it replaced in nearly every test.<ref name="GreenLandy"/>

To adapt the BMW M52 engine to the Defender chassis, the engineers were able to utilize some of the parts from the recently developed BMW M51 diesel-powered Range Rover 2.5 DSE. They used the clutch housing, clutch, flywheel, and slave cylinder from that vehicle to connect the engine to the R380 gearbox, but they had to produce a new clutch housing adaptor (bell housing) for the petrol M52 engine in the Defender. The unique clutch housing adaptor was necessary because the petrol M52 engine is tilted 10 degrees compared to the diesel M51 engine and it needed to be longer to match the input shaft of the R380 gearbox borrowed from the 300Tdi Defender. Due to the large diameter gearbox input shaft, the standard BMW pilot bearing could not be fitted, so a unique pilot bushing made of [[Oilite|Oilite bronze]] was developed. It had an inside diameter of 7/8-inch with an outside diameter of 32 mm. A mixture of non-metric and metric specifications are common on Land Rovers. Other unique parts that were developed for the 2.8i were the air intake ducts both before and after the Donaldson FPG RadialSeal™ air cleaner,<ref>{{cite web|title=FPG & FPG Alexin™|url=https://www.donaldson.com/en/engine/filters/products/air-intake/cleaners/fpg.html|website=Donaldson Filtration Solutions|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref> engine mounts, radiator cowl, cooling hoses, fuel lines, clutch lines, air conditioning system, engine wiring, tachometer gauge, exhaust system, and a specially tuned Siemens MS41.0 DME with a Lucas 10AS alarm in place of the Drive Away Protection system (EWS) used on BMWs.<ref name="LAND ROVER / MG ROVER Catalogue">{{cite web|title=Land Rover / MG Rover Catalogue|url=http://www.allbrit.de/NAV.cfm?PAGE=338364&SPRACHE=EN|website=Allbrit|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref> To compensate for lower torque output in the low range of the power band compared to the V8 and diesel engines, engineers fitted the 2.8i with a 1.667:1 gear ratio LT230 transfer box. This allowed power to be more readily available and made the vehicle particularly well suited for traversing a wide range of difficult terrain such as sand dunes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cruywagen|first1=Patrick|title=South African BMW 2.8 Defender|url=http://www.landroveraddict.com/land-rover-defender/182/south-african-bmw-2-8-defender|access-date=2016-10-06|publisher=Land Rover Monthly|date=2016-09-27|archive-date=2016-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009112635/http://www.landroveraddict.com/land-rover-defender/182/south-african-bmw-2-8-defender|url-status=dead}}</ref> The high gear ratio also helped the 2.8i sprint from 0–100 km/h in 9.3 seconds, making it the fastest production Defender ever made.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Land Rover Defender 90 County 2.8i|magazine=Car|date=July 1998|pages=95–98|url=http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/266189-More-info-on-2-8i-Defender?p=3442471#post3442471}}</ref>

The exhaust system for both the 90 and 110 M52 Defender consists of two exhaust manifolds followed by two catalytic converters.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Defender M52 South Africa Parts Catalogue|date=February 1997|publisher=Land Rover South Africa|edition=STC9041FA}}</ref> There is not a version of the exhaust system without catalytic converters.<ref name=":0" /> The two pipes enter the rear silencer and a single pipe exits to the rear to complete the exhaust system.<ref name=":0" /> There are no oxygen sensors present.<ref name=":1" />

There were some major changes made to the 2.8i for the 2000 model year. It received a variety of updates including new instrumentation with new gauges with improved illumination and switches, an updated chassis, and new electrical systems similar to the Td5. It also received an updated cooling system with an aluminium radiator to help solve overheating issues experienced with the older brass radiator,<ref>{{cite web|title=Defender 2.8 (wrong) cowling|url=https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/103576-2-8-(wrong)-cowling|website=SA 4x4 Community Forum|access-date=2018-08-02}}</ref> and an updated fuel system consisting of nylon fuel lines in favour of steel lines that have a tendency to rust, as well as a new fuel tank, pump, and filter with quick-connect fittings.<ref name="LAND ROVER / MG ROVER Catalogue"/>

BMW South Africa created wiring diagrams for the Defender 2.8i.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=Defender Official Defender 2.8i Electrical Troubleshooting Manual|url=https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/210247-Official-Defender-2-8i-Electrical-Troubleshooting-Manual|access-date=2023-02-21|website=www.4x4community.co.za|language=en}}</ref> The document splits diagrams into two categories as Pre MY99 and MY99. Pre MY99 is for 1999 and older Defenders and MY99 is for 2000 and newer Defenders.