New M3 to be Turbo

[Blitz]

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081126/FREE/811269993

[Gunni]

And so BMW begins it´s take on the performance model of choice.


1000hp from the aftermarket will not be uncommon on BMW´s of today.

[Ant]

not all bad news

sure, perhaps the end of an era, but emissions targets will drive technology forwards, and smaller engines with a turbo are more energy efficient.

The Turbocharged car has come of age.

[GrindCulture]

Don't worry Blitz, by the time we're old enough to be able to afford to build big powered cars, these new turbo cars will be older and cheaper

[Rich_W]

I don't believe that M3 will ever go Turbo. Other M cars may do, but theres too much heritage in M3 engines to chuck that away. Sure they may lose sales to Audi or Merc because they lack the headline figures, but M3 doesnt attract those buyers anyway.

[Jhonno]

Sure they may lose sales to Audi or Merc because they lack the headline figures, but M3 doesnt attract those buyers anyway.

So why would they lose sales to them then?!

[anothere21323i]

I don't believe that M3 will ever go Turbo. Other M cars may do, but theres too much heritage in M3 engines to chuck that away. Sure they may lose sales to Audi or Merc because they lack the headline figures, but M3 doesnt attract those buyers anyway.

BMW, along with every other car manufacturer, would not let heritage get in the way of sales or losing the BHP battle that the big 3 German firms (BMW/Audi/Mercedes Benz) are currently locked in.

M3's have gone from being 2.3 litre 200 BHP 4 cylinder machines to 4 litre 420 BHP V8 beasts via a variety of 6s. It's called technological development and evolution - and a manufacturer like BMW can't stand still in this department - otherwise it would get it's arse handed to it on a plate!

People said that BMW would never do a diesel - and we now see that a 335d is a vastly superior car to a 335i (incidentally both twin turbos - another thing people did not expect from Munich).

So would a turbo'd M3 be better than the current model - of course it would, in the same way that an E92 335i is vastly superior to an E46 330i.

Oh and before we get into a diesel vs petrol p*ssing contest, I've had both 335i and 335d E92 M Sport Coupes (and currently own an E92 M3 Coupe), and I can tell you without doubt, the diesel is the best car in the German driving environment (ie prolonged 140mph plus on the Autobahn) - the only thing that's been able to pass me was a RuF 911 Turbo and a Ferrarri 550 Maranello

[Rich_W]

Sure they may lose sales to Audi or Merc because they lack the headline figures, but M3 doesnt attract those buyers anyway.

So why would they lose sales to them then?!

Yeah, that doesn't make much sense does it

I meant that there are a large section of the buyers of sports coupes/saloons that are only interested in which one is the fastest. Clarkson springs to mind hence why he prefers the C63 Merc. Those people are not the people I believe M (should) aim for. They aim for the people that like handling and feel of a car.

Does that make any more sense (probably not LOL)

[anothere21323i]

Yes it does - essentially what you're saying is that C63s are bought by chavs who want to brag about the fact that their car has fractionally more BHP than an M car when they're down the pub with their mates (innit)? Despite the fact that they have no idea about the fact that they have bought a car that is dynamically dogsh*t in comparison to a BMW of any iteration...

I totally agree!

My point was that given the precarious state of the automotive industry in Germany, BMW can't (and won't) afford to stand still on a point of principle.

Does that make sense?

[Rich_W]

Yes. I think that M though have enough knowledge of their history to keep at least the M3 NA. Escpecially if the plan on keeping Homologation in there somewhere.


Off on a tangeant slightly. Whats curious about this HP race, is that Ferrari have publicly acknowledged that they wont be trying to out do Bugatti#s Veyron in the future. That their aim is to make smaller, lighter, more green, faster cars. Using that technology in a different way. To achieve great driving experience. I hope thats the way it goes for BMW. And they dont get drawn into a race thats ultimately fairly pointless.

[anothere21323i]

True, but don't forget the economic and political situation in Germany at the moment - something BMW will be painfully aware of....

[capri_rob]

Funny how things go in circles - Think about the massive amount of Petrol Turbo cars that were available in the 80's - RS Turbo's, Cosworths, Quattro's etc etc - and then turbocharging as a means of extracting big power from petrol production cars at the manufacturing ( not aftermarket ) stage seemed to largely die out during the 90's as manufacturers found ways to get more reliable power without forced induction - now Turbo's are coming back !


Time will tell whether the power will be reliable though

[Speedtouch]

Funny how things go in circles - Think about the massive amount of Petrol Turbo cars that were available in the 80's - RS Turbo's, Cosworths, Quattro's etc etc - and then turbocharging as a means of extracting big power from petrol production cars at the manufacturing ( not aftermarket ) stage seemed to largely die out during the 90's as manufacturers found ways to get more reliable power without forced induction - now Turbo's are coming back !


Time will tell whether the power will be reliable though

I thought it was the insurance/joyriding/recession that killed them off back then?

[Jhonno]

It was..

[bss325i]

The Ford Escort RS turbo was once the most stolen car in England!

[Alex]

The Ford Escort RS turbo was once the most stolen car in England!

so was the vauxhall belmont/astra

[anothere21323i]

so was the vauxhall belmont/astra [/quote]

Can't imagine why - they were turds on wheels!

[e36boy]

The MK2 Astra GTE Was stolen alot.

[Alex]

so was the vauxhall belmont/astra

Can't imagine why - they were turds on wheels![/quote]
you could probably open them with a twig

[anothere21323i]

you could probably open them with a twig[/quote]

If you really wanted to.....

[Morat]

hmmm, have we noticed insurance premiums plummeting since cars became so hard to steal that most car thieves steal the keys from the house instead?