It has already been confirmed that the Z4 will be the first North American BMW to get their new 4-cylinder engine, but it certainly won’t be the last. BMW plans to put 6-cylinder, 4-cylinder and yes, even 3-cylinder engines in various models and trim levels. The purpose of the downsizing? Fuel efficiency, as always. BMW’s new efficientdynamics engines are expected to increase efficiency without sacrificing power. In fact there are power gains as BMW’s Theodor Melcher points out:
“(Downsizing) has nothing to do with the spirit of renunciation that many drivers associate with those engines. You can do things with a three now that you needed a six for in the past.”
With that said, the new engines will need a little help from high-pressure direct fuel-injection and turbochargers to make them capable of the power that we all expect from a BMW. Displacement will be between 400c and 500c.
The 3-cylinders will range in size of 1.2 litres to 1.5 litres. 4-cylinders will be in the 1.6 to 2.0 litre range, while the 6-cylinders will range from 2.4 litres to that lovely 3.0 litre that we all know and love. BMW hopes to get 50 to 70 horsepower per cylinder which means the 3.0 litre six could get as much as 400 horsepower. BMW is still sticking around with diesels which are also expected to be in the 3, 4 and 6 cylinder range. Their horsepower output per cylinder will be between 30 and 65. Both diesel and gas engines will get around 75 pound feet of torque per cylinder.
Don’t think the 3-cylinders will be limited to just Minis, however. Melcher didn’t deny the possibility of the 3’s making their way into rear wheel drive BMW’s. Okay, so the 1-series and the 3-series maybe, but apparently the 5 and 7-series could see the 3 cylinder in their engine bays as well. Now that’s just crazy talk.
But what about their amazing V8 and V12 engines? Will they get the axe?
“They will always be a part of BMW,” says Melcher, so don’t worry. In fact, demand for a V12 would probably be low which would essentially mean that BMW could hand build the engine a la Nissan GT-R. And as Nissan has proved, hand built engines are not a bad thing.
Expect to see the first of the new engines (the 4-cylinder which will make 240 horses and 230 pound feet of torque) in the Z4 by the end of this year. In the meantime you can check out the (somewhat cheesy) video above which details how BMW makes and installs the engines in its cars.
[Car and Driver]
I’m all for better fuel efficiency, but considering how these cars will inevitably be driven, I’m sure the difference in fuel consumption will be negligable. It doesn’t matter if you can make a brilliant and powerful 4-cylinder because you won’t be returning good fuel efficiency when you push it anyway.
Fuel efficiency is all about how you drive and not necessarily what you drive.
True, but even if there’s a slight gain (no matter how aggressively you are driving) it’s probably worth it.