BMW brand will be turbocharging its smallest engines. We knew this of course, but this is the first confirmation by a BMW official of this fact. Jim O’Donnell, big boss of BMW in North America told Business Week that the engines will be 4-cylinder, turbocharged, offer stronger acceleration than the current 6-cylinder (NG6) and spew out better emission figures. Sounds impossible but Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have been doing it for years already. That Bavaria was going to join the party was not a matter of if, but when. Ok, we still don’t know when, but at least we know it’s no longer IF. We also don’t know if these engines will be just one engine size or different sizes, and if they will use single turbos or two. Lots of ifs still, but we can live with these. By twin-turbocharging their 2-litre diesel engine in the 123D, BMW signaled their intention for smaller petrol powerplants as well. Remember, they first used these new generation turbos in their oil-sippers, then petrol. O’Donnell also could not confirm if this Euro-bound engine will cross the Atlantic or not, only to say it depends on the new US Federal government and how they view America’s energy future. How sad is that?
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