By Justin Berkowitz
March 27, 2008 -
I've been kvetching about the overcylinderization of BMWs M cars for a while now. The first M3 had an inline four. The next two gens holstered straight sixes. And now the M3 has a high-revving V8. BMW's mighty M5 went from two generations of straight sixes to a V8 to a high-revving V10. All this horsepower excuses BMW from having to lighten its cars and focus on improving dynamics. It seems that BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer is thinking along the same lines. Speaking to the German magazine Auto Motor Und Sport, Reithofer said he wants to trim down to fewer cylinder engines in the M cars and the rest of the BMW range. In particular, he said that BMW's diesel V8 (which is rather popular over in Europe) would be replaced with a twin turbocharged I6. And he indicated that the M range would also probably be downsized as well. Turbocharging, not displacement and cylinders, would be the path to improvements in M cars' horsepower and weight distribution. (Not to mention CO2 emissions.) Hey, if it works for the Nissan GT-R…
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POWERED
March 27th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
A 335i with an exhaust and ECU reflash is faster than a V8 powered M3. The potential is there and BMW will surely do a better job at tuning the car for those levels than some aftermarket tuner with no prior BMW experience. I doubt we’ll see lighter cars because they are still dealing with the base cars… which are heavier and larger than ever.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I don’t think any of us think that the new M3 is the Mustang II.
Rather it is a marked departure from the previous cars.
The new car is heavy - no it is really heavy. 3650lbs. To give that number perspective the Corvette Z06 weighs 3132lbs.
Colin Chapman supposedly said, “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”
I think anyone who has driven a Lotus or a Miata can tell you the joy of “adding lightness”.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
This is great news. The 8 cylinder may have been a nice car, but to me it’s not an M3. The problem with the 3 series is that it has been getting larger and larger (which is natural, but not desirable).
I hope the trend is back towards handling and lightness, and away from ever more HP and luxury.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
@Carshark:
It’s not that the 335i is sandbagged. There are three things to consider:
1. The 300 hp, 300 lb ft of torque that BMW quotes is a lie. The reality is probably closer to 330 horsepower at the crank, possibly more.
2. When the 335i went on sale, the M3 was still the naturally aspirated 333 hp model. They wanted to protect the M’s sales and residual values.
3. You can’t just look at peak hp numbers from other manufacturers. BMW’s torque and horsepower curves are FLAT from 1500 rpm on upward.
The competition’s 6 cylinder engines just don’t compare when you lay chart over chart. Consider the Infiniti G37. Check out the first graph posted, which shows the G37’s dyno results:
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/0705_2008_infiniti_g37_dyno_charts/index.html
March 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Herr Reithofer has discovered that driving enthusiasts prefer lighter cars? Really?
Given some more thought he may even conclude that iDrive, run-flats, SMG, active and electric steering as well as a whole host of other BMWs useless electric gizmos suck.
A turbo charged M? It’s not traditional but as long as there is no lag and the engine still revs to 8K I really don’t care.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Carshark:
The 328i and the 335i are probably a little sandbagged. Aftar all, that 3.0L N54 we had before the turbo-I6 came out made 255hp. The 328i is just running a detuned version of that. I’m sure the 335i could be tuned to make A LOT more than 300hp. Rumor has it 300hp is a low estimate anyway. But I’m not sure how much more you can get out of a boosted engine without ruining the smooth torque curve. No one wants to be throttle steering around a corner when the turbos spin up. Hello throttle-induced oversteer!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I don’t see BMW using turbo engines in the M cars. Since the beginning, M cars have always been strictly N/A. The head of the M division has also said he wants to keep the engines in M cars strictly N/A.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Does anyone else think the 335i is a bit…sandbagged? I mean, Lexus, Infiniti and Cadillac all get 300 hp out of their V-6s without twin turbos. Sure, they’re about .5L bigger, but if they had direct injection, the BMW engines would get more than 230 hp.
It’s faster than any previous M3, dynamically superior to any of its competitors. Why are we complaining?
The same ol’ “It’s not what I think it should be, so they must be doing it wrong” twaddle.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I’m no (recent) BMW fan, but many of you aren’t giving the new M3 enough credit. It’s hugely impressive. And we’re not here to judge the drivers, who only speak Powerpoint, but the car itself. It’s faster than any previous M3, dynamically superior to any of its competitors. Why are we complaining? How many 400+HP cars can you get these days with a manual for less than $80k? Other than the Corvette, GT500, and RS4 I can’t think of any.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Great to hear that BMW is going to get back to creating cars for drivers rather than poseurs.
The original M3 was so much better than anything since.