BMW engines will blow
Newswheel staff :: 15 May 2005 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Coupe, Saloon, BMW, BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW 7 Series, Europe & UK, US
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A range of turbo-charged powerplants for 2006
Could the end be nigh for BMW’s admirable policy to stick exclusively with naturally-aspirated petrol engines in the face of the super and turbo-charged opposition? Say it isn’t so!
After reports of a twin-turbo 3 Series comes news of a fleet of new turbo-charged BMWs. Sources close to the Bavarian outfit claim the 3-litre, 330bhp straight-six due to appear across the new 3 Series range will be joined in 2006 by twin-turbo V8 and V12 powerplants. A mind-boggling 16-cylinder variant is also under consideration for use both in an über, S-Class-crushing 7 Series and future Rolls Royce models. More speculatively, the sources also suggest development work is under way on a range of hydrogen-fuelled turbo engines.
Blowing the winds of change
Superficially, the widespread adoption of forced-induction petrol engines by BMW is a bit of a shocker. After all, the technical supremacy of the firm’s naturally-aspirated units is one of BMW’s most obvious competitive advantages. The good news, however, is that there’s every chance the turbo mills will also be class leaders. As the internal BMW document shown below demonstrates, these new engines have been a long time in the making. They also benefit from the know-how BMW has accrued in developing its stunning range of turbo-charged diesel engines.
This BMW document from July 2003 includes the upcoming 3-litre, twin-turbo petrol lump.
Joining these new engines is a new twin-clutch robot gearbox, to be known under BMW nomenclature as ZSG. Expected first on the twin-turbo 335i, the new ‘box will also appear on the upcoming M2 derivative of company’s entry-level 1 Series hatchback.
Posted 16 May 2005, by BMWFan
Ummm, surely the 260bhp 330i is powerful enough for a non-M 3 Series. I really hope BMW rethink doing turbo petrol engines.