How about a 3 cylinder BMW 3 Series
02-10-2012, 10:34 AM
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How about a 3 cylinder BMW 3 Series
- Three-cylinder engine for BMW 3 Series
- Within ‘next couple of years’
- Downsizing will go further, says BMW
The new BMW 3 Series could get three-cylinder engines in the next couple of years, according to BMW’s head of engine development, Peter Nefischer.
Nefischer told What Car? that BMW ‘is working on three-cylinder engines across the range, and they could make it to the 3 Series in the next couple of years'.
Engine technology has gone almost as far as possible with the current standard internal combustion engines, according to Nefischer, and that the next step is smaller units.
'Downsizing will go further, with smaller, more powerful engines,' he said. These smaller engines would be combined with turbochargers to give them the required power for a car as large as the 3 Series.
Any three-cylinder unit would be different to the one that will be used for the upcoming BMW i8 hybrid supercar, which is due to arrive in the UK in 2013. The new three-cylinder 3 Series models aren’t expected to offer an electric motor for extra power, because BMW plans to keep the majority of its hybrid projects to six-cylinder petrol models.
02-10-2012, 12:20 PM
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Re: How about a 3 cylinder BMW 3 Series
**Possibly** as the base model, followed by the turbo I4 (current 328), followed by the turbo 6 (335). It could also be a Europe-only market... We don't take kindly to tiny engines.
02-10-2012, 12:37 PM
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Re: How about a 3 cylinder BMW 3 Series
The 328's (and 528's) new turbo 4 cylinder outperforms the old 3.0 I6 by a fairly significant margin, plus gets far better fuel economy.
I imagine with a little more tweaking they could get a turbo 3 to offer performance at least as great as the old 3.0 I6 or near enough to it anyway.
I imagine with a little more tweaking they could get a turbo 3 to offer performance at least as great as the old 3.0 I6 or near enough to it anyway.
02-10-2012, 12:37 PM
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02-16-2012, 11:01 AM
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Re: How about a 3 cylinder BMW 3 Series
I thought of this thread when I read this article:
Dyno-Tested: 2012 BMW 328i
The turbo 4 in the 328i is putting down 240 horsepower and 257 lb-ft of torque in a very flat fashion, to the rear wheels.
So yeah, definitely more powerful than the N/A I6 it replaced.
Dyno-Tested: 2012 BMW 328i
The turbo 4 in the 328i is putting down 240 horsepower and 257 lb-ft of torque in a very flat fashion, to the rear wheels.
So yeah, definitely more powerful than the N/A I6 it replaced.
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