The days of suspense created around the architecture chosen by BMW for the engine of the next BMW M3 are… But is it really?
The president of the American BMW had already confirmed our suspicion: The new M3 will have an inline six-cylinder block. However, it did little more. But to our delight, the Bavarian brand has blurted out two images that allay most of the doubts surrounding the mighty heart of the upcoming M3.
Doubts because it was almost certain that BMW could not re-equip the M3 with the previous V8. Due to environmental restrictions, among other reasons, such as the positioning of the M3 against the M5 range, which in the new generation also lost two cylinders.
Thus, the German brand had to abandon the V8 engine that equipped the previous generation of the BMW M3 in favor of a more efficient six-in-line, but no less efficient for that, thanks to the adoption of at least two turbos.
Because in the specialty forums, among them Razão Automóvel, it has been betting for a long time that BMW would debut in this M3 the Turbo Hybrid technology – If you don't know about the technology, click here. Therefore, the hypothesis of a third turbo is not to be discarded, that taking advantage of the intake duct of one of the turbos would also do its job. Or there will only be two, and one of them will be the Turbo Hybrid.
Therefore, the BMW M3 goes from a 4.0 liter V8 to an inline 6 cylinder with a capacity that is expected to be around 3.0 liters. But if you think this is bad, it isn't. BMW's new weapon is expected to deliver a maximum power of close to 450 hp and substantially increase maximum torque values. Thus, becoming the most muscular M3 ever and at the same time returning to the origins of the model and the brand. Remember that the inline six is BMW's most beloved engine architecture. The video below shows the new M3 in tests on the Nurburgring circuit, check it out:
Text: Tiago Luís