BMW 1.5 liter TwinPower Turbo engine detailed
Now that the cat’s out of the bag with the BMW Sports Active Tourer or 1 Series GT, its engine is starting to take center stage. The 1.5 liter TwinPower Turbo reckons its worth its own press release.
That press release speaks of the three cylinder engine getting all the toys. Simply because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s missing out on any technology.
In fact, the only thing missing is (at least) one cylinder. The pistons and every component directly involved are now going through a plan to keep things simple.
Every cylinder has a .5 liter capacity. Moreover, BMW have even produced figures over what each of them can develop, depending on fuel used.
40-74 horsepower and 44-59 lb-ft of torque per cylinder is what you can expect for the petrol engines with some 27-60 horses and 55-81 lb-ft of twist coming out of the diesel units.
That means that final outputs will range between 120 and 222 horsepower with 133-177 lb-ft of twist for the petrols, while the diesels will span between 80HP and 180 horsepower, respectively 165-243 lb-ft of torque.
In order to produce these figures, BMW uses twin scroll turbocharging, an aluminum block, double Vanos variable camshaft control, Valvetronic variable valve timing and direct injection for petrol or common rail for the diesels.
There’s one last crucial thing about the 1.5 liter TwinPower Turbo engine family we should mention. BMW claim the sound they make is actually extraordinary.
A torsional vibration damper’s involvement, combined with the three cylinder’s natural tune, make for a decently smooth running engine and a raunchy noise.