11,000rpm screamer for BMW 1-Series Tii?

Newswheel staff :: 10 April 2008 :: Filed under Coupe, BMW, BMW 1 Series

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High revving four-bangers to arrive in 2010

Forgive us the Rumsfeldism, but BMW’s planned shift away from large, multi-cylinder engines towards smaller, more efficient engines is a known known. It’s the details, as the Donmeister would say, that are a known unknown. But try this for size. BMW might be tooling up an uber-high reving four-pot lump for the 1 Series. How does 11,000rpm and 260 ponies grab you?

This latest rumour comes courtesy of BMWblog.com which cites two independent sources for the skinny. Apparently, the new engine with come in both naturally-aspirated and twin-turbo trim and power outputs ranging from 220hp to 260hp.

Intriguing as the idea sounds, it doesn’t quite add up. After all, Honda’s S2000 roadster manages 240-odd horses from a 2.0l four-cylinder engine at around 9,000rpm. So, there’s certainly something fishy about 220hp at 11,000rpm from a similary sized BMW lump. Likewise, in the year 2008, 260hp from a turbo four hardly demands such an exotic breaking crank speed.

Just to confuse the matter, it’s said the same sources also indicate a quad-turbo four-pot engine is also being considered. In any case, the weight of current opinion certainly suggests that the next 1 Series, codenamed F20, will be receiving some kind of high output four-cylinder petrol engine by 2010 - probably in a follow-up model to the recently confirmed Tii coupe. It’s inevitable given the inexorable rise of environmental concerns.

For the record:
The 1 Series Tii concept was originally shown at the Tokyo motor show in 2007. BMW has confirmed that “Tii” performance options for both the 1 and 3 Series will appear “in the very near future.” Full details have yet to be released, but it’s thought the first Tii models will major on chassis and styling tweaks rather than powertrain upgrades.

Linkage:
BMWblog