1
NEWS
All turbo for BMW M
Watershed for M as replacement M3 dumps atmo engine for turbo-powered futureBMW’s M division will say goodbye to high-revving naturally-aspirated engines later this year. Potentially forever!
M division insiders confirmed the news at this week’s SE Asian launch of the M6 Gran Coupe in Malaysia. The last naturally-aspirated engine to feature in one of the hot haus models, the 4.0-litre V8 featured in the E90 generation M3, will cease production this year.
The M3 replacement, to wear an M4 badge when launched in coupe form in 2014, will eschew the high-revving atmo engines it has used since launch in four-cylinder E30 guise back in the 1980s. Instead it will feature a six-cylinder engine rumoured to feature three turbos, at least one of which has an electric ‘helper’ motor to create a quasi-supercharging set-up.
BMW M Division engineer and M5/M6 project team member, Max Ahme told motoring.com.au it was unlikely the Bavarian brand’s in-house performance arm would return to ‘atmo’ engines any time soon.
“I don’t think so [return to atmo engines]. So we have to do something to reduce fuel consumption – this is a hard target. You cannot do this with a lot of cylinders and high revs – it’s not possible. You have to lower the revs and you have to have less cylinders. That is what all manufacturers are doing – downsizing. This is physics,” Ahme told motoring.com.au.
Ahme too believes that turbo Ms are here to stay. There are no plans to develop atmo M engines currently, he intimated.
“You cannot say forever. At the moment [it is turbo]. Maybe we have some electric devices [combined with naturally-aspirated engines] in the future – you cannot tell. It is a matter of the regulation, the market and the customers,” he stated.
Ahme was coy when asked about turbo fours for future M models – though it seems logical that M will return to its four-pot roots and build a high-performance version of the core engine that powers 3 Series models like the 328i.
“Not at the moment,” he stated, adding: “But maybe in the future. Though we cannot talk of the future.”
Snippets of information are emerging about the new M3/M4. motoring.com.au confirmed at the M6 launch that the new-generation midsize M model will feature the latest version of the Active M Differential, a first for the model.
It is also likely that the new car will come standard with BMW’s M Double Clutch Transmission for the first time. For purists, a manual option may be retained but that’s far from certain.
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Share this article
Written byMike Sinclair
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayRelated articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.