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The 2011 3-series should get the option of turbocharged three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. In effect half of one of the new-generation six-cylinder units, a 1.5-litre, three-pot diesel should be good for 150bhp and 220lb ft of torque.

The petrol version should deliver 150bhp and 170lb ft but will be cheaper to build because it won’t need the emissions kit demanded of a Euro 6-compliant diesel engine.

These units should be less expensive to make than a fo...Read the full article

 AND basically it remains a big, heavy steel car that will be slightly less fun to drive than the current model. Someone make the jump to carbonFiber. JL

I'd have no objection to faired wheels on a BMW - its kind of eco-cool.

"BMW invents the 3-Series".  Yes, it's called the 1-Series.  When the transition was made from a compact 2-door car to that ugly chav-mobile the old 3, oh how I laughed.  I didn't realise they'd sell so many though.  But it was never really a 3-Series at all, they just used the name.  The current 1-Series is really the 3-Series.  The current 3-Series is bigger than the old 5-Series.  Confused?  Yes, so are BMW.

golfman:

"BMW invents the 3-Series".  Yes, it's called the 1-Series.  When the transition was made from a compact 2-door car to that ugly chav-mobile the old 3, oh how I laughed.  I didn't realise they'd sell so many though.  But it was never really a 3-Series at all, they just used the name.  The current 1-Series is really the 3-Series.  The current 3-Series is bigger than the old 5-Series.  Confused?  Yes, so are BMW.

 

 

Its not Just BMW that do this, the exact same thing could be said about Merc, the C-class is now bigger than the old E-Class. It is simply a matter of always trying to out do one another. New E-Class comes along, and the press say "its got a bigger boot and more leg room than the 5 Series.

 Thus the new 5 Series has to get bigger to better the Merc, and then another new E-class comes along and is bigger again! They both just go round and round in (ever bigger) circles! 

 The same applies to almost every manufacturer, look how big the 207 is compared the the 106, or the new mondeo compare to the first one. 

 An ill thought out and pointless attack on BMW, as is normal for these forums! 

Getting back to these intriguing 3 cylinder engines. Is this something BMW are actually working on, or has the author of this piece just halved the power and torque outputs of the latest 3.0 petrol and diesel twin turbo units ?

If it is something BMW are actively engineering now - I wonder how they will address the refinement and vibration issues presented by the 3 cylinder layout ?. At least their entry level engines will have an interesting thrum rather than the usual anodyne 4 cylinder drone.

If these 3 cylinder units become a reality - does that mark the end of the 4 cylinder engines ?. Currently BMW cover most of their powertrain bases with just two basic configurations - a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder and 3 litre 6 cylinder. Just look at what engine is actually in each model of 3 series :

318i - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder petrol

320i - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder petrol

325i - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder petrol

330i - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder petrol

335i - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder petrol twin turbo

316d - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder single turbo diesel

318d - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder single turbo diesel

320d - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder single turbo diesel

323d - 2.0 litre 4 cylinder twin turbo diesel

325d - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder single turbo diesel

330d - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder single turbo diesel

335d - 3.0 litre 6 cylinder twin turbo diesel

So - if they create a new series of 3 cylinder engines, I assume the 4 cylinder ones will die off, otherwise they will be adding needless complexity into their powertrain strategy.

Chips:

So - if they create a new series of 3 cylinder engines, I assume the 4 cylinder ones will die off, otherwise they will be adding needless complexity into their powertrain strategy.

You may find that the fours are upgraded with twin turbos (as per the 323d) and are used to replace the single turbo sixes. The twin turbo sixes will then continue to be upgraded to replace the V8s - as has happened already in the 740d, where the old model was a V8 and the new one is a twin turbo six.