BMW Has Ruled Out Four-Cylinder M-Cars… For Now

The chief of BMW’s M Division has no time for four-cylinder M-cars, despite rivals Mercedes-AMG and Porsche getting busy with high-output four-pots
BMW Has Ruled Out Four-Cylinder M-Cars… For Now

BMW has shut the door on the idea of four-cylinder M-cars, saying the layout just doesn’t have the right qualities to satisfy buyers. We’re not going to disagree.

The company’s M Division has moved away from the scintillating, rev-chasing engines of the 2000s, which culminated in the utterly wonderful E90 series M3 and its 4.0-litre normally-aspirated V8 – not to mention the E60 M5, which basically had an F1 engine under the bonnet (okay, not really, but that’s how we’d see it if we owned one).

BMW Has Ruled Out Four-Cylinder M-Cars… For Now

But it’s stopping short of losing another two cylinders after the E90 M3’s N/A V8 was swapped for a lower-revving, more brutish turbocharged V6. Speaking to Australian media in Munich, M Division boss Frank van Meel said:

“We are really happy with our six-cylinder [engines] because for BMW and BMW M that is our heritage engine. We started with six-cylinder in the M1 so it has a long history. BMW is a six-cylinder inline company and, for us, it’s an iconic engine.

BMW Has Ruled Out Four-Cylinder M-Cars… For Now

“If you look at it with a four-cylinder, I don’t see characteristics that I would like on an M car, on a small displacement turbocharged four-cylinder engine. I wouldn’t do a four-cylinder standalone turbocharged with high performance, because you always have the characteristic that if you want high performance you lose the low-end torque and you lose the overall driveability you want to have from the car.”

So, while the subtext here is that modern M-cars are more laid-back and less frenetic than they were in what we might call their golden age, and that BMW has actively pursued that direction, the company still feels that dropping to four cylinders diminishes a sports car in ways that you can’t entirely overcome with clever tuning – as other German marques have found out…

The E30 M3 remains the only four-cylinder M-car ever mass-produced
The E30 M3 remains the only four-cylinder M-car ever mass-produced

Mr van Meel did say that, while there are no plans to make a four-cylinder M-badged model at any time in the company’s current plans, work is ongoing with the engineers at BMW i to develop lighter, more power-dense batteries that could pave the way for future changes in the illustrious M’s plans:

“Electrification would help because low-end torque is done with electric motors. On the other hand, you are putting a lot of weight into the car, so that answer is not so easy. To say ‘just do it’, you lose the motorsport topic of power-to-weight ratio which is very important with overall weight.

“So, at the time being, it’s a dilemma – but we are working on that with our project i colleagues to have a look at the next generation of battery cells, regarding weight, power, density and range to find the right tipping point to say ‘now it makes sense to go in that right direction…’ but today is not the right time.”

Source: CarAdvice

Comments

TimelessWorks

There’s a typo below the E90 picture - BMW never went down to V6 engines, but instead I6 ;)

09/21/2017 - 13:54 |
56 | 2

I know, but who is downvoting people who see the typo

09/21/2017 - 13:59 |
2 | 0

Wow. That’s a terrible mistake.

09/21/2017 - 16:55 |
6 | 2
Anonymous

V6? You mean inline 6.

09/21/2017 - 13:55 |
38 | 0
Anonymous

Matt Kimberley BMW M4/M3 has a straight 6 not a v6

09/21/2017 - 13:56 |
18 | 2
Anonymous

Honestly I’d rather have an inline-4 powered M3 than a hybrid M3, or God forbid, an electric M3.

09/21/2017 - 13:56 |
16 | 4
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Hybrid and Electric would be good. Hybrid and EV are like Turbos, they are used to make performance cars, but for some reason someone is trying to use them for economy

09/21/2017 - 14:19 |
6 | 12
Roadster / Tail Red

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I wouldn’t mind it being a hybrid. The i8 was a good hybrid made by BMW, and they have other hybrids across the range, so why not?

09/21/2017 - 14:23 |
0 | 0
TheMindGarage

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

There might be hybrid or electric M cars, but I don’t think they’d be badged as full-M cars. I’d love to see something like an M340e.

09/21/2017 - 14:37 |
2 | 0
Robert Homann

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Well, Mate Rimac won many races with his e-M3

09/21/2017 - 19:48 |
2 | 2
Nishant Dash

BMW: we’re going FWD
people butthurt
BMW: No 4 cylinder M cars
people rejoice
Whoever is head of bimma, u know us 😂

09/21/2017 - 14:02 |
158 | 0

he is good at undoing decisions.

09/21/2017 - 14:05 |
2 | 0

If this means the M140i remains a straight-six, that’s awesome! I’ve always have a sweet spot for that car given that it’s the only current 6-cylinder hot hatch you can buy.

09/21/2017 - 14:36 |
30 | 0
BoostAddict 1

This. I was talking with a couple of engineers about the I6 platform and they were talking about how it’s “rough and horribly inefficient” which of course all comes down to the individual engine. They claimed that BMW still uses it solely because it lets them keep the framerails narrower.

09/21/2017 - 14:10 |
0 | 0

That doesn’t make much sense since I6 are the most balanced of all engine layouts.

09/21/2017 - 14:25 |
6 | 0
Tomislav Celić

There won’ be 4 cyl, becouse until the time it takes for it to have a 4 cyl 500bhp for the M3 we will alredy master EV

09/21/2017 - 14:17 |
4 | 6

or, you know, just make a really big 4cyl

09/21/2017 - 22:41 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

“But it’s stopping short of losing another two cylinders after the E90 M3’s N/A V8 was swapped for a lower-revving, more brutish turbocharged V6.” Have BMW ever used a V6?

09/21/2017 - 14:24 |
8 | 0
TheMindGarage

M3? V6? That can’t be right…

09/21/2017 - 14:35 |
6 | 2
Unamd Prcent

“But it’s stopping short of losing another two cylinders after the E90 M3’s N/A V8 was swapped for a lower-revving, more brutish turbocharged V6.”
It is not a V6!!

09/21/2017 - 14:37 |
4 | 0

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