We all knew it was coming, so it’s not breaking news. BMW will offer a 4-cylinder engine in their North-American product line-up for the first time in over 10 years.
The last model on sale in Canada with a 4-pot engine was the 318ti, which boasted a 16-valve, 1.9-litre inline-4 that developed 138 horsepower and 133 lb-ft of torque. Fuel consumption figures were 10.2/6.6 L/100 km city/highway with the 5-speed manual transmission. The engine also served as the base mill for the BMW Z3.
This time around, BMW means business. Equipped with a twin-scroll turbo (not to be confused with twin turbos) just like the N55 3.0-litre TwinPower inline-6, the new 4-cylinder will produce 240 horsepower at 5,000 rpm; that’s 1,500 rpm lower than the naturally-aspirated 3.0-litre six it will replace. Peak torque occurs at just 1,250 rpm, all 260 pound-feet of it.
In comparison, the outgoing inline-6 produces 215 to 260 horsepower.
Only one model has been officially announced for 4-cylinder duty, and that’s the pint-sized X1 crossover that will soon hit dealerships. We can easily guess that every model in BMW’s line-up that is currently equipped with the naturally-aspirated inline-6 will get the turbo four: 1-Series, 3-Series, Z4 and X3.
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| 2011 BMW X1 (Photo: BMW Canada) |
The last model on sale in Canada with a 4-pot engine was the 318ti, which boasted a 16-valve, 1.9-litre inline-4 that developed 138 horsepower and 133 lb-ft of torque. Fuel consumption figures were 10.2/6.6 L/100 km city/highway with the 5-speed manual transmission. The engine also served as the base mill for the BMW Z3.
This time around, BMW means business. Equipped with a twin-scroll turbo (not to be confused with twin turbos) just like the N55 3.0-litre TwinPower inline-6, the new 4-cylinder will produce 240 horsepower at 5,000 rpm; that’s 1,500 rpm lower than the naturally-aspirated 3.0-litre six it will replace. Peak torque occurs at just 1,250 rpm, all 260 pound-feet of it.
In comparison, the outgoing inline-6 produces 215 to 260 horsepower.
Only one model has been officially announced for 4-cylinder duty, and that’s the pint-sized X1 crossover that will soon hit dealerships. We can easily guess that every model in BMW’s line-up that is currently equipped with the naturally-aspirated inline-6 will get the turbo four: 1-Series, 3-Series, Z4 and X3.
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| 2011 BMW X1 (Photo: BMW Canada) |