BMW & PSA Making Engines Together (Again)
As we indicated on BimmerFile a few days ago (we sat on it for a while as per a request from a source) BMW would be utilizing engines similar to the four cylinder turbo specifically utilized in the John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S. Today it was all made official:
(Official Press Release) Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. will use the four-cylinder engines it has jointly developed with French carmaker PSA in BMW brand cars, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said in a pre-release of his interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He said the future generation of the BMW 1 Series will be fitted with these four-cylinder engines.
The report said BMW had previously intended to use these engines only in the MINI brand cars.
Reithofer also disclosed the new generation of the BMW 7-Series, which will be launched this year, will be fitted with a new hybrid engine.
As most already know these BMW / PSA engines are engineered in Munich by BMW engineers not PSA. PSA engineers only adapt the PSA cars to meet the needs of the BMW designed engines. PSA is responsible for purchasing, logistics & production. BMW staff then use this information and apply them into the now BMW / MINI engine plant in Hams Hall (UK).
It is worth noting that the main engine components are manufactured in the PSA plant, and by suppliers. Of course all the processes, material & parts have to comply to BMW Group quality standards and final assembly for engines to be utilized in BMWs will be in the Hams Hall plant
This is not the first time a BMW engine (destined for a BMW product) will not be produced within BMW plant. Magna in Graz, Austria currently produces some I4 & I6 diesel engines for BMW. Not only engines are these produced there, but were also (co)developed with Magna.
The following is an excerpt from an older press release that states the original information and relationship between BMW and PSA in relation to the current MINI engines.
Leadership of the engine engineering and development was BMW Group responsibility involving a high degree of commitment from PSA Peugeot Citroën engineers. The core of the engine engineering team is based at BMW Group Research Center (FIZ) in Münich and gathers a staff of fifty members out of which fifteen are PSA Peugeot Citroën engineers.
The production and manufacturing aspect is the responsibility of PSA Peugeot Citroën. The main engine components are machined exclusively at Française de Mécanique in Douvrin (Pas-de-Calais,in Northern France). PSA Peugeot Citroën is responsible for identifying and selecting suppliers. Engines for BMW Group needs are assembled in Hams Hall plant.
The role of the Hams Hall plant is to assemble the engines required by the BMW Group for future variants of Mini. The proximity of Hams Hall to plant Oxford enables the “just in sequence†delivery process to be managed extremely accurately and flexibly, reducing stock levels and minimizing the lead time. The assembly of the engines in Hams allows the BMW Group to ensure that they can be produced to meet the exact requirements of Mini brand products.
I like the hydrogen 7, I saw it in person and it looks great with two gas lids!
More things change, the more they stay the same! There was an article in one of the motor mags (Motor Trend or Car and Driver) about how the new 35 MPG Cafe regulations would be downsizing engine offerings. Lots of plans have changed in the US already, and this sounds earily similar. FWIW, Porsche announced that it would put hybrid powertrains in the Ceyanne and the new, ugly 4 door 911 varient….
Small,, boosted engines will just continue to develope and with all the stuff you COULD put in a motor, we’ll get better performance and efficiency with smaller packages. We’ve got dual scroll turbos, direct injection and variable valve timing in one engine, variable valve lift in another. And Porsche (and others) are using variable geometry turbs for broader power bands. If we rolled that all together, then there’s be some serious power, with minimal or no lag, and very wide torque curves to be had for sure.
Matt
That headline would be creepy if they were making Coventry Climax.
Maybe the next generation 1 Series will offer a 300 HP 35 MPG M1, in 4 cylinder turbo form, to drop into our MINIs or steal parts from?
Maybe when the MINI turbocharged engine is in a BMW, they will finally find the cause of the cold engine noise and fix it.
I am not impressed by what I am reading. Why would BMW, with its outstanding engines in the 1 series want to change all that? This is not to say that Peugeot does not make a good engine (they actually do), but why change something as good as the engines that come in the 1 series.
Does this mean that they will be producing an In-line or V6cyl motor together (BMW / PSA) or just the 4cyl which will be ported over from the MINI?
I was thinking of potentially going with a 1 series in years to come, but reading this, would I really want to?
I guess this is good news for us Prince engine owners. At least our little gems won’t be left orphan come 2012.
>I am not impressed by what I am reading. Why would BMW, with its outstanding engines in the 1 series want to change all that?
Impending CO2 legislation in Europe is requiring cleaner engines. BMW already uses a 1.8L pretrol engine but it only puts out 160bhp and isn’t as efficient as the 1.6L JCW engine (which does around 210bhp with over 200ft lb of torque). This is a natural progression and I would think a welcome one for potential 1 Series owners who want performance without sacrificing economy. However it goes without saying that this version of the 1 Series will not be making it’s way to the US or likely even Canada.
>This is not to say that Peugeot does not make a good engine (they actually do), but why change something as good as the engines that come in the 1 series.
People are finding it harder to justify the expense of petrol in European countries gas and BMW can’t afford to pay the fines that will be levied against it in the EU if there aren’t more efficient engines available and ultimately sold in high numbers.
BMW must have solved the cold start clatter to go mainstream with the Prince.
Speaking of the devil, MINIUSA seems to still be pretty tight lipped about this problem. Whatever came out of the exposure of this issue when it came out here in MF a few months back?
There must be cost savings for bmw, as well as pump-wise.
wait: what’s a Prince cost? could it go in a bmw 2oo2?
I heard a replacement turbo prince engine can run up to $10K.
MINI has already convinced me that my next car needs to be the 135 . . . but if the Prince will follow me there instead of the 135 N54 I-6, BMW has convinced me that my next car will be something else altogether
I have to say I’m at a loss in trying to understand that mentality. The 1.6l has won two consecutive engine of the year awards and is both efficient and powerful. Furthermore the addition of this engine in the 1 series range in Europe doesn’t mean BMW is taking away your chance to buy a 135i. They’re just giving some markets a new choice.
Gabe,
that would be fine — so long as it’s merely adding another option rather than taking away from other options (I wasn’t sure from the statement that “future generation will be fitted with these 4-cylinder engines” if that meant an end to the N54 I-6 option or just an additional option . . . and I posted a question about that on bimmerfile).
Nothing against the 1.6l necessariy, but I’ve come to really like the idea of the N54 in the 1-series package and would have been disappointed if that were not to be available in the next gen.
Thanks for clarifying.
I also missed your comment above noting that this will not be coming to the US (from the press release I would’ve thought this was a brand-wide change).
Ah gotcha. BMW officially doesn’t believe I4 engines will sell in NA so they don’t import them.
That said I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 2.0L twin turbo high output engine in a US bound BMW at some point relatively soon.
Gabe, I agree the Prince engine is an engineering marvel in both, paper and on the road, but MINI needs to address the issue of the cold start clatter in a satisfactory manner.
Reading all this makes me wonder what the roof is for performance on the Prince. A twin scroll 4 popper in a performance version of the 135i would be VERY tempting–it’s what a number of folks have been begging for–it would hit a small (but vocal) niche of enthusiasts, provided its not underpowered. I took a hard look at the 135i, and while I think its a great car, I’m still sticking with my MINI for now–but if BMW does with the 135i what many of us are hoping for, I may just have to get one…
I have no proof, but my uneducated guess is BMW has something up their sleeves with regard to the Prince we haven’t seen yet.