BMW’s three cylinder engines have gathered more than a bit of attention lately. They are spoken of with great pride by the Bavarian car maker and yet the enthusiasts are less than thrilled.

To meet them halfway, the Internet is ready to provide us with a favorable argument. Here’s a couple of videos courtesy of BimmerToday and PaulTan which are meant to show us what the three cylinder turbo is about.

The critical aspects of noise and performance are what you should notice here. It is also important to stress that the F20 BMW 1 Series is the model used fr these tests.

Taking one of these cars for a drive should, in theory, be the sort of experience that drones away, offers no excitement and is just a tool.

It may not impress, and it may not thrill you but it gets you home in an economical manner, doesn’t harm the air and all that green stuff. But have a watch:

Decent performance at speeds generally used on the open road are beyond what the typical four cylinder could ever manage.

The noise isn’t bad either. Some people lovingly say it sounds like a six cylinder and others completely hate it because it has a diesel-like idle.

Each of them have a seed of truth onto which they can lay their exaggerating suppositions. Even without over-reacting, this engine seems to be much better than the holocaust we all thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe BMW’s naturally aspirated straight six cylinder engines are the powerplant you should want, but these newer creations are very impressive too.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

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It has taken decades for car makers to convince the American buyer that relatively smaller engined cars from Europe have more than enough performance.

They may not always come with a V8 but a six cylinder engine can be enough for most people. It took almost as much to talk them into turbochargers.

Is this enough to consider people will accept a mix between downsizing and turbocharging very soon? BMW certainly thinks so.

The Bavarian company will be sending its new 1.5 liter three cylinder engine over the Atlantic with some of their smaller cars.

Thanks to twin-turbocharging and a lot of engineering work, this engine will be ready to produce anywhere between 120 and 220 horsepower.

Neither of these figures will worry fellas driving muscle cars but in small BMWs it will certainly zip around quicker than most small cars while also being economical.

Decent selling points but how is this going to help out the way the Americans will be buying 1.5 liter engines? Well, according to BMW, it’s the simplicity.

If a car feels like it has decent grunt, buyers couldn’t care less if it’s a V12 or a one cylinder scooter. There is some logic in that, after all, not everybody knows what cares about what’s going on under the bonnet.

In order to further create some confusion, BMW claim that their half a six cylinder engine will actually behave like such an engine and make the same noise.

That might be some optimistic marketing stuff but we’re yet to see people lose interest in the i8 and it comes with this precise engine.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

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I hate spyshots, I really do. And it’s the same with videos. They go beyond teasing you. It’s like a naked woman is in front of you but some sort of weird censorship comes into play.

That may be acceptable in some videos but it’s beyond what I can take when it comes to cars. Even so, the car caught by spy photographers here is so tasty, I’m willing to go over my prejudice.

It’s the spiritual successor to the M3 Coupe, a car BMW will rebrand under the F30 generation as the M4.

The move ha made more than a few enthusiasts unhappy but honestly, it was something that had to be done in order to bring some order to the lineup.

It’s all made everything simpler and it’s given us a completely new thing to talk about, just listen to the sound of that engine:

There’s no screaming naturally aspirated V8 under that bonnet that revs up to Formula 1 speeds but there’s an obvious sound going on.

We’re guessing the Active Sound bit will not be installed on this M Division product.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff to list on the F30 BMW M4. It will be lighter, faster, more efficient and more agile than the outgoing generation.

Power will come from a turbocharged straight six cylinder engine and the option of a manual gearbox will still be there.

There are a few things we’re not so sure about. The F30 BMW M4 will use a twin or triple turbo setup (which might be interesting) and electric power steering (which might not).

The M Division claim to have re-calibrated it for the M cars but it’s still something we have to test out for ourselves.

Images

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post F30 BMW M4 Spied at the Ring appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Oh boy, I’m currently actually struggling to contain my enthusiasm for this new bit of news that has our favorite company at the core.

More and more reports are trickling in about how the Bavarians are actually going to make a followup version of the infamous 1 Series M Coupe.

The M Performance spec M235i is coming and it will be available in 2014 in the US but it seems that a higher up model is also in question.

Obviously, we’re talking about a spiritual successor to the 1 Series M Coupe. Let’s not forget that the E89 coupe had a 135i model before the actual cake came along.

The successor isn’t yet stuck with an announced release date. Frankly we don’t care. We also don’t care about the fact that it will very likely be called the 2 Series M coupe.

We don’t care because as the current version of the BMW 1 Series M Coupe keeps racking up impressive reviews and making appearances in our dreams, the next one just keeps on giving us hope.

Hopefully, the 3.0 liter straight six cylinder turbocharged engine will get even smoother and even more powerful.

We don’t ask for much but could the economy be better? Frankly we’re just nitpicking right now as it will likely develop some 350 horsepower or more which is light speed potential.

You can’t be the least bit serious about your driving and say that this BMW 1 Series M Coupe isn’t something your interested.

Which makes the follow-up model that much more interesting.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW 1 Series M Coupe to get a successor appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Good news for the United States. There’s plenty of added interest in the boosting the luxury market and as competition heats up more and more interesting cars will be headed for them.

Though all the Germans are going to hit their market with a vengeance, the Bavarians are the ones we’re interested in and we reckon they’re going to offer the most exciting stuff.

Dear Americans, the entire BMW M Performance lineup is on its way to your market with the first model to be there being a new one.

Well, more or less, since the 2 Series is actually going to be a coupe version of the already familiar BMW 1 series.

In order to make the deal sweeter for the Americans, the big engined version is going to helm the new attack. The M235i is powered by a turbocharged 3.0 liter six cylinder.

With the European version of that engine produces 320 horsepower and is capable of a maximum torque figure of 332 lb-ft.

Typical BMW smoothness is still there and the performance is just sublime when teamed to such a light and chuckable car.

Naturally, all the hardcore enthusiasts are looking forward to BMW once again going one up on their cars and creating a 2 Series M Coupe in the near future.

Frankly, that’s just an unsubstantiated rumor and great though it may sound it’s not very likely right now. If the M235i is scheduled for 2014, that follow-up 2 Series M Coupe wouldn’t turn up for another two-three years.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW M235i headed for US in 2014 appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW’s market success has a lot to do with the quality of the products they make but you really can’t know off their marketing department for doing a great job.

After all, few brands can brag about having as much of a market value as the blue and white roundel and a whole lot fewer brands can say show off these kinds of sales.

Summing all this stuff out sounds like a boring powerpoint presentation designed for black and gray business men. Which it is.

Thankfully, BMW know that we’d much rather stick to rather simpler ways of communicating so they’ve unveiled a new video for their X1 crossover.

We don’t really thrive on phrases like “year on year”, “similar period”, “growth” or anything like that. We do like the way BMW X1 “in action” sounds:

As you can see, the video was published by BMW USA and there are some major figures of this establishment featured. The point of the video rather hangs on getting US customers excited about the idea.

Over the Atlantic, the BMW X1 is going to be available starting next month in two kinds of engines and two options for the drivetrain.

You can have the 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine with rear or all wheel drive or the 3.0 liter turbocharged inline six with xDrive only.

The pricing for the newly unveiled crossover will start at somwhere around $31,545 for the 28i versions and some $39.345 for the xDrive35i.

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Marcus M.

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The post 2013 BMW X1 video unveiled appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

The Bavarians had been threatening us with it for a while now and they’ve finally gotten down to showcasing it; the F25 BMW X3 goes xDrive28i.

As it’s powered by the N20 engine, the X3 crossover becomes ever more interesting a proposition. And once you consider the pricing that’s slapped on to it that idea does not change.

For the 2013 modelyear, the F25 BMW X3 xDrive28i will have an MSRP of $37.995, destination and handling included which is actually quite remarkable.

That starting price is equal to the one the 2012 modelyear had in the F25 BMW X3 xDrive28i. The mai difference here is obviously in the engine.

Whereas the previous generation had an acclaimed naturally aspirated powerplant, a glorious 3.0 liter inline six cylinder engine, the new one goes to N20.

The N20 provides a little less horsepower at 245 (15 less) but considerably more torque than before at 260 (60 more). All of this happens as fuel economy is considerably improved.

Alongside the innate ability of the engine to be more efficient and less polluting, the 2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i is going to receive a few extra features to help the process along.

The same ECO PRO fuel saving system as the F30 3 Series will be available on the F25 X3 xDrive28i. Since we’re referring to the US pricing, that version isn’t yet EPA tested so we don’t know exactly how well it all meshes together.

For the EU testing cycle however, the new version of the X3 xDrive28i manages 7.5 lt/100km which can be translated into some 31.3 mpg US.

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Marcus M.

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The post F25 BMW X3 xDrive28i pricing announced appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW may be looking into giving old school brand enthusiasts yet another heart attack with their latest of announcements.

It would seem like the future of the BMW 3 Series, not sure when but it’s coming up next, would find us looking at a three cylinder engine underneath.

We’re not looking at some rumor or some spoof announcement like the sort we’re getting from Lamborghini, it’s the real deal.

The news comes from BMW’s engine development boss, Peter Nefischer. In an interview for Whatcar he leaked the information in a rather clear way. This wasn’t something accidental.

This probably means that BMW is well into the development of the new engine which will, apparently, be different from the three cylinder in the i8.

That said, the development part isn’t a surprise since the estimates for the new three cylinder powerplant finding way under the bonnet of the 3 Series come in at around two years time.

As we’ve gotten used to lately, in the pursuit of efficiency, the engines are downsized. In the pursuit of keeping performance levels high, forced induction will be employed.

The new three-pot BMW plans to stick in the 3 Series will be turbocharged, just like the rest of the engines under its bonnet.

Figures on fuel economy, pricing and such haven’t even been mentioned but what I suppose you should have in mind is the sort of stuff the BMW 316i offered not that long ago.

It would be very interesting to see what kind of turbocharging method BMW will use for their three cylinder engine since they will want to make it as smooth as possible.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW 3 Series to feature three cylinders appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

The Bavarians have been quick to put worries about the finances the F30 BMW 3 Series and quickly went back to the drawing board and started working on engines.

Though we’re not told much in particular about their recent creation, Frankenstein would be proud. It is the 2014 BMW M3’s likely powerplant, the tri-turbo force fed six cylinder engine.

No idea of what and how the system works, but we do know that the new powerplant is getting closer and closer to a production variation as the Bavarians have filed for a patent.

The patent doesn’t include the whole engine, since it’s not that revolutionary, but it does focus around the core of the situation, the new third turbocharger.

Whereas the first two, or rather, last two, are powered by traditional gas pressure, the newly patented one uses electricity to get up to speed.

Sounds like a waste of time and a way to overly complicate engines but BMW has reason in their lunacy. Using the third turbocharger, the one in electric drive form, BMW does away with the final aspects of lag.

I for one think that they were doing fine with their engines providing power as low as 1250-1500 rpm but people still miss the absolute smoothness of a naturally aspirated engine.

Since the patent was filled, it means that beyond this point BMW will no longer make any alterations to the design of the electric turbo.

From here on, the BMW electric turbo will either make it into production, with the F30 BMW M3 being the first car to have it fitted or it may end up as little more than shelf product for BMWs of the future.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW electric turbo gets patented appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Finally there’s an end to all the rumors, guesses and estimates on the faith of the M badged version of the BMW 1 Series.

The confirmation came from Dr. Kay Segler, BMW M GmbH’s Managing Director and it took place in an interview given to German online magazine “Auto-News”.

It would seem than that all those spyshots of the BMW 1 Series prototype seen around the Nurburgring lots and lots of times and which had been rumored to be an M version of the BMW 1 Series E82 Coupe.

As to be expected, this model will not be sporting the M1 badge as that belongs only on the original M car and nothing else. Most likely it’ll be the 135i M or something of sorts but Segler did say that the car will be hitting the market around the second quarter of 2011. The production will be quite limited to start with.

While Mr. Segler wasn’t very generous with details this is still a set of good news that will probably fuel M fanatics and fans of the E82 until the car is actually available. One of the biggest sources for debate concerning this BMW will be what engine is going to power it. Most would say (same people who rumor the 135i M name) that it will be an upgraded version of the BMW 135i’s 3 liter turbocharged straight six engine.

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Marcus M.

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The post M Version of the BMW 1 Series officially confirmed appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.