The HP war is officially over!!!!

The HP wars may be over… but now the weight wars will begin. BMW needs to stick with the straight 6’s… the engines are perfect.

everyone is is switching to lower displacement engines vw/mercedes and their related companies will be the last ones to switch. the fines are going to be huge for not having efficient engines for the upcoming change. mercedes/lambo/ and other large engine manufacturers are going to pass most off the bill onto the customers for wanting a premier brand.

Times might be good to pick up the current generations for future collectables. The M5 with the 10 cylinder should pick up a pretty penny in 2050.

K cool, whatever. I can’t afford one anyway. You have to pass up a lot of good cars to even get into a base 1 Series, so they can keep it. I’ll probably stop at the Audi dealer and check out one of those sweet A3 2.0Ts, or a G37 on the other end of the price spectrum on my way to the BMW dealer to look at that turbo 4 1 Series wonder mobile. kthxbai

On an unrelated note, I so desperately wish Audi would import the RS6 Avant over here, to put BMW owners in their place by means of a King Kong 576hp WAGON! LOL I love it.

Doesn’t make sense. The current 135i has the 300 HP TT engine now. Why make a 1 variant with a 4 and them stick the M tag on it??

Probably a suspension, wheel and body upgrade, and a weight reduction of some sort due to the 2 less cylinders and some more aluminum and magnesium in the suspension and body is all I imagine. 135i would most likely be kaput.

V6? The inline six is what makes your sh!t special, naturally balanced smoothness. Put the tranny at the back axle (like vette, GT-R and ferrari), packaging problem solved, balance improved, driveline tunnel narrowed.

Bleh. I like the V-8 the M3 has now.

whyyyy not bring back the S54 from e36 and e46 M3’s just engineered with for a turbo or s-c application ??? that was a great motor? 8000 rpm !?? just lower the compression a little bit and strengthen internals / modify bore/stroke ?? Just like toyota should really bring back an updated 2JZ-GTTE !! Great motors should never die, just evolve, at least until we no longer use internal combustion…

They should partner up with General Motors and use the Ecotec, then the car may actually be worth something. Well, that and a complete quality and depecibility overhaul to make a BMW last more than 60 thousand miles and not be a total piece of trash the whole time.

General Motors. An American Revolution

If the 1-series was actually a SMALL car that would help a lot. But manufacturing the previous generation 3-series as an “entry level” vehicle says a lot about how bloated the new 3-series is.

I think they really need to reconsider making a V6, it’s against their heritage and habit, and it will add to the cost of development. Instead they should tweak the I6 from the 335i to get 400+ HP out of it. I believe it to be easy with minor upgrades to the turbos and some of the hardware.

Regardless, glad to see that everybody is turning to forced induction, and going the turbo route instead of superchargers which are more wasteful (but don’t have the problem of boost threshold and lag). These issues can be corrected by good turbo design or twin turbo, just like BMW did with the 335…

Note to BMW: Don’t make V6s, I-6s are your passion, specialty, whatever.
Note to Need more oil for GM: A BMW with an Ecotec is not a good idea, plus why would BMW partner up with BMW? You’ve been smoking pot?

Anyways a turbo six M3 is better than a V8 M3, nickktop, I agree they need to use that S54 engine. Also, is the current 135i enough? I mean just make that 135 tii concept, a la Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Oh gowd, correction again: BMW partner up with GM.

We need this motor in the next cobalt and spark, they would be great with a BMW 300 hp inline-four ! Then when the frame rusts apart at 80,000 miles, you can sell the engine and use the proceeds to put half down and buy a new cobalt !!

Long Live BMW !! Pay Taxes for GM.. It’s your duty !

aexcorp: Superchargers wasteful? I beg to differ. I love my supercharged car… no waiting for boost, no worries about power falling off on the top end. I’ve got gobs of power available the instant I step on the gas without needing excessively complicated (and expensive) technologies like variable valve timing, dual scroll turbos, twin turbos, etc. Just look at what GM has done with the supercharged V8 found in the ZR-1 and CTS-V. Compact, simple, efficient… it doesn’t get much better.

A BMW with an Ecotec is not a good idea, plus why would BMW partner up with GM?

They already do. Every Automatic equipped BMW out there is a GM automatic. They sell their transmissions to Volvo, RollsRoyce, and BMW. It’s the only reliable thing you can find on any of these cars. If it were me, I wouldn’t want my quality parts used on a POS vehicle, but GM makes a healthy profit from the diversity.

GM. An American Revolution.

nickkop,
S54 couldn’t be modified any more in bore/stroke, that was the reason BMW stopped it’s development.

RaineMan, the reason it’s a bit wasteful is that it takes it power directly from the engine’s output. That’s fine as in general it extracts much more thanks to the supercharger to begin with, but still, I like the elegance of a turbo, using otherwise wasted energy.

But ya, like you say, supercharging is definitely an easier option in terms of hardware. Still, as a daily driver of a turbo car, I can vouch that “waiting for boost” is really not an issue to me but it might be because the turbo on my Saab isn’t massive and so has relatively low inertia.

In fact, speaking of waiting for thrust, I find that even good automatic boxes are much worst at making you feel like you’re waiting for power to get to the wheels after you touch the throttle than a modern manual turbo car.

BMW 2002, the icon was 4 cylinder light efficient car. And this car made BMW what it is today. As a matter of fact the most sold BMW in Europe is 2.0L diesel. Perhaps there is a wisdom in light car with potent engine that can seat 4 and handles well.

BMW really needs to get their crap in order. They have totally lost sight of what makes a BMW a true BMW. A V6 in the next gen m3? They need to stick to their inline 6’s which are absolutely superb engines.

NMOFGM: I’m honestly confused. Is your utter stupidity and incompetence an act, or are you seriously just a total idiot? Every BMW I have ever owned has gone well beyond the 200,000 mile mark, with my 7-series currently about to hit 240,000 without the slightest bit of problems. Sure GM supplied transmissions to BMW (as well as numerous other car companies), but an ecotec powered BMW? Thats just absurd and insulting. If that were at all possible, why then is it that GM has in fact been considering purchasing BMW engines to use in your precious autos of the American Revolution? Please enlighten me. Go do some research (sadly this involves something called reading) and then get back… until then, please put your foot back in your mouth

Honestly the idea of a LNF powered 1-series isn’t that bad of an idea. The LNF can easily hit 300hp when tuned, and produce well over 300lb/ft of torque as well. GM actually got one right for a change.

Now I know that BMW would never source a GM engine… but they could certainly copy it and have something nice on their hands.

axecorp: your little Saab turbo may spool up by 2000… but I guarantee you it runs out of breath by 5000. My Eaton M62 screams its heart out at 16psi all the way to 7000. I’ve beaten a number of turboed cars on the track and on the street because their tiny turbos can’t pull up high.

Ya, the Saab runs out of steam around 6000 rpm, but it’s ok cause it’s close to its redline (500 rpm higher). It’s cool though, it’s by no means a track car anyways, and as far as performance and driving pleasure it still scores high (except for front wheel drive…).

What car do you have by the way, your supercharger is used in a bunch of different cars?

Okay, aexcorp, my saab is a 2008 9-5 aero sportcombi manual

I like the fact that they’re moving back to the 6 for the M3. A good I-6 or V6 with a good turbo system on it will make tons of torque and hp. I mean just look at the engine in the 135i and 335i, torque from 1400-5000rpm is pretty good if you ask me, so why not raise that torque and make a car that’s gonna be fast as stink? A 1-series M might be good, but I wanna see a bit more on what it’s gonna be like. It had better weigh less than a prius.

Aexcorp… I have a 2006 Cobalt SS. Chevy’s disrespected bastard child econobox… with a bad attitude.

The only BMW with a GM tranny is the 325i. The rest of the family, Rolls included, uses ZF. Don’t know if it was an honest mistake on the kid’s part, or one of his delusions. Volvo, last I checked, uses Aisin-Warner.

I-6 > *. I’d love for U.S. automakers to realize this and start building amazing twin-turbo inline 6 engines to replace the gas-guzzling V-8’s of today.

As much as I love the S54 engine, and owning one for that matter, it weighs more than the V8 in the M3, so one can expect to rule out any possibility of BMW reviving the S54. It defeats the purpose of being lightweight, not to mention the fuel economy. BMW’s future offerings sound very interesting and this is timely if their release dates coincide with the global economic recovery.

Bad News! Farewell high rewing NA engine:-(

…NMOFGM wanders into the German headlines too?….”put a ecotec in a BMW”? well thats laughable.

Should have just kept the inline 6 to begin with.

@RaineMan:

Nice, it’s a pretty rare car in my area, I’ve only seen a couple, but they do sound pretty decent as far as American non-muscle cars go. What surprises me about SS is how high you have to rev it to get much out of it according to the specs, I figured it would have tons of low rpm torque.

I need to figure out where to go to take my car to a track at some point. I know it’s not cheap but I’d love to try it out. Right now, the streets are my track, but it comes with hefty fines and constant fear of the cops, or just being stuck in traffic…

V-6???? V-6???? BMW said V-6???? are you kidding me, is this some kind of joke, I-6 have always been BMWs signature, whats next??? is BMW not going to make their cars 50-50 weight dist anymore??

droppin’ pounds, like they always should have, screw the horsepower wars, its always been about the weight, they just didnt get it.

I totally trust BMW and especially the M division, when it comes to engines. They have the best motors in the car industry. So it doesn’t mater if it’s gonna be a straight or a V 6.

Aexcorp… don’t believe the specs. GM has done a nice job of under-rating the Cobalt SS. The 2005-2007 models with the supercharged engine dyno between 200 & 210 to the wheels in stock form. Like any other four you are going to have to rev it to get things moving, but even stock WOT in first results in nothing but tire smoke from 4000RPM onward.

I’ve got GM’s “Stage II” kit, a ported/polished exhaust manifold, GM’s “performance” exhaust, and a 2.9″ pulley (16PSI)… I put down 240 to the wheels running GM’s canned tune, which leaves a lot to be desired. I’d change it but I like having my warranty right now.

As it stands first gear is pretty much a loss after 3000.. once you hit about 8lbs of boost the front tires are gone. I can easily bark 2nd and chirp 3rd on the way to a low 14-second quarter mile at 100+. Not bad at all for a $21k econobox with warrantied bolt-ons. This car really shines on the street, I’ve suprised a fair number of S2000 and Mustang drivers who think they are hot stuff. Not to mention I get 25MPG around town and 35MPG cruising on the highway at 70mph.

The interior might be chintzy, and the car may look like a Cavalier warmed over… but it all adds to the effect. I ditched the “boy racer” wing in favor of a bare trunk and ended up with a quick and economical car that noone ever expects.

i always liked the M3 with the 6 anyways…going back to theirs good roots of the I6…+ turbo….AWESOME!!!

@ NMOFGM – You’re a joke, please leave. BMW’s last forever, but I guess you haven’t been living long enough to actually know what you’re talking about. Don’t worry, you will hit puberty in another couple years, infant.