[GTO]

Mpower, what FE compromise? If you want a FE BMW, buy a diesel! The 320d turbo-charged diesel can give some C segment sedans a run for their money, if driven with a very light foot. No one does diesels like the Germans; these 4 cylinder turbo-charged units can be tuned for FE if that's their current obsession.

But a 3 cylinder petrol BMW is a big no no!

[fre2bpowerless]

BMW is killing their brand by getting FWD's and now this 3 cylinder news, they should keep these for MINI.

For the next gen BMW would consider not launching any petrols at all in our market seeing how the 320i is doing. A 330d or 335d instead of the 330i sounds nice. And they do have a fuel efficient version of the 320d selling in the UK, its called ED edition stands for Efficient Dynamics.

[vb-saan]

3 cylinder and BMW! Does not gel at all. Hope that these are for 3rd party supply - to the likes of PSA Peugeot Citroën.

But I do remember reading that they will be moving from in-line 6 to smaller 4-pot turbo petrols. Not sure if that is a good move as well!

[Abhi_Automobile]

Mpower, what FE compromise? If you want a FE BMW, buy a diesel! The 320d turbo-charged diesel can give some C segment sedans a run for their money, if driven with a very light foot. No one does diesels like the Germans; these 4 cylinder turbo-charged units can be tuned for FE if that's their current obsession.

But a 3 cylinder petrol BMW is a big no no!

Absolutely! In fact, just to add to it:- I have never been able to understand the concept of trying to squeeze every drop of petrol from a gasoline engine. If one wants lower running cost, he should buy a diesel. In case of lower rung cars, get a CNG fitted or something like that.

Does it practically matter if your car gives a mileage of 12 or 14 with a gasoline engine? This obsession is completely insane.

>> Back to the topic: Nobody buys a gasoline Beemer to save fuel. It is for those who want to have fun. Anyhow BMW with 3 cylinder is such a psychological mental block. I would never buy a car like that. Remember, for BMW (or equivalent brands), reputation is everything. Once, it is tarnished, game is over. Hell, even Hyundai makes competent cars.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

BMW has announced the introduction of a 2.0-litre, 4-cyl turbocharged engine for the Z4 range, ahead of the car’s official launch at the New York motor show. The BMW Z4sDrive28i engine develops 236bhp and provides “increased torque, improved performance and reduced fuel consumption and emission levels compared with the existing 6-cylinder, BMW Z4 sDrive30”, according to BMW. The engine uses high precision injectors as well as a turbocharger powered via two exhaust ducts and employs BMW’s double VANOS system. The new BMW Z4sDrive28i will be launched globally towards the end of the year.

Source - BMW Z4 to get 4cylinder engine | Autocar India

First a 3-pot engine concept and now a 4 cylinder for a roadster like the Z4. 1 question BMW, WHY ?????? IMHO a beautiful roadster like the z4 needs at least a 6-cylinder engine like it has in the 3.5i guise with 306bhp. I also fail to understand 1 more thing, what is with the sudden obsession with fuel efficiency ??? From the article it seems they took this step purely for improved efficiency ! But with the Z4 ????

[myavu]

@ PlatzdaTurbo Insane, I would say. But then that is the new manthra.

Even F1 which once roared with as many cylinders are moving for a 4 cylinder unit from 2013. True un-f1-ish

They call it green. They call it efficient. Last but not they call it affordable.

Imagine one day 7 Series start running with 3 pots

Cheers!

Vinu

[Mpower]

Also note the 3 pot is basically the 4 pot with 1 cylinder removed and so it results in massive cost savings.

Originally Posted by GTO

Mpower, what FE compromise? If you want a FE BMW, buy a diesel! The 320d turbo-charged diesel can give some C segment sedans a run for their money, if driven with a very light foot. No one does diesels like the Germans; these 4 cylinder turbo-charged units can be tuned for FE if that's their current obsession.

But a 3 cylinder petrol BMW is a big no no!

Agreed. I was gonna say there are no diesels in the US, but then again petrol is relatively cheap here so FE is not so crucial. Hopefully this will be only for Minis.

[fre2bpowerless]

The N20 going in the Z4 makes sense in some ways but its just not right, 2011's turning out to be a bad year for BMW lovers. The 3 cyl, FWD 1 serie and now this. Arghh, what's next?!

[aah78]

Actually, that might not be such a bad thing.

While the in-line 6-cylinder engine has been BMW's forte since forever, a newer 4-cylinder engine may be seen as a lighter and better handling alternative.

Even though the engine might be missing two cylinders, it doesn't skimp on horsepower and as emission restrictions grow tighter manufacturers are bound to go the smaller route.

[I believe they have some European legislation that requires them to reduce emissions across range. Hence, the Aston Martin Cygnet, and the BMW smaller FWD cars]

Point to note is that the EVO and the WRX STi's have been running around, since introduction, with tiny 2 litre 4-cylinder turbo charged engines producing massive horsepower.

[Sutripta]

And to think that BMW introduced their 6 pots because they felt that 4 pots were not good enough/ smooth enough for the ultimate driving machine. When the rest of the world were downsizing because of the oil crisis.

If this (and other changes) actually are implemented, BMWs will start resembling horses designed by a committee. And will be a sad day.

Sutripta

[S350L-E240]

Have spoken to someone at BMW on this matter few months back, and the answer was about the strict emission norms which will soon make even other car makers follow a similar direction in development of 3 Cyl engines, it's not just about fuel efficiency, its that and a lot other legislative regulations which will come in force in the EU and perhaps in the rest of the world in years to come.

Yes the engine will mostly be restricted to lower end models or a lower end variant of a higher end model (3) but BMW is doing all it can to tune it to still offer a good driving experience so lets wait and watch, and of course we always will have the 4's and inline 6 models to choose from but from a corporate point of view and in view of being able to cope with emission norms I suppose this was important to do for BMW and be rest assured all else will follow, did we ever think of a 4 Cylinder S-Class? It has been on sale since few months, and if S-Class can be sold with 4 Cylinders I do not think a 1 or 3 with 3 sounds so bad on paper?

Coming to lower end variants on 3 and Z4, well the E90 did have or still has a 316i (1.6L Motor) and the Z4 E85 also had a 4 cylinder model (2.0) so I guess they always need to have the lower end variants to generate volumes as they are ultimately in the business of selling cars? Also they cater to a lot of clients who want a good looking car but are least concerned with how fast it is?

Regards,

[volkman10]

BMW Announces Three-Cylinder Gas and Diesel Engines.

The automaker revealed plans for gasoline and diesel versions of a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-three engine that could reportedly be used in future Mini and BMW cars.

Yet despite the reduce cylinder count, BMW says the new engine provides lots of low-end torque, a “vivacious” engine note, and smoothness to rival its larger engines. Special balance shafts and dampers are used to help quell the vibrations that are typical of three-cylinder engines

The new 1.5-liter is part of BMW’s TwinPower engine range, which is based on individual cylinders displacing 500 cc
BMW expects each cylinder in the gasoline TwinPower engines to produce 40-74 hp and 44-59 lb-ft of torque — meaning a three-cylinder should be rated for 120-222 hp. Diesel TwinPower engines, meanwhile, are expected to offer 27-60 hp and 55-81 lb-ft, for totals of about 81-120 hp in a three-cylinder configuration.

The first application will be the next generation of the Mini Cooper. The car’s small size and low weight make it an ideal platform for a small 1.5-liter turbo-three engine. After that, the mills could be used in European versions of the 1 Series and 3 Series, as well as in a future front-wheel-drive BMW.



http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ne...ngine-revealed

[vb-saan]

First drive review report of the BMW 1-series three-cylinder prototype - from Autocar UK:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/...nder-prototype