BMW to Develop New Family Engine that Include 3 Cylinder Units
Last week we told you about BMW’s plans to develop a new family of 3 cylinder engines to reside in both BMW and MINI engine bays. This week BMW has taken the wraps off of that and a much larger project to develop an entire modular engine platform that will include the 3 banger. Automotive News is reporting that the engines will span the MINI, BMW and Rolls Royce brands by 2020. We believe the first part of this will show up in 2013 in the 3rd generation MINI and a new (as yet unnamed) front wheel drive BMW.
What does this mean for MINI? BMW now has the plans in place to put a 100% BMW engine under the hood of every MINI sold. It’s a bold plan in that BMW has never built engines on this scale before. However if there’s one thing BMW knows how to do, it’s build award winning engines.
<p>Getting more of the design and development under the home umbrella is good news. I have to believe that the power plant partnership with PSA was a hard lesson learned–but at least, it seems, they learned it.</p>
<p>Public awards and accolades over the PSA engine largely rooted in sexy (but riskier) innovations and overall aesthetics and excessive trust in factory test results evidently blinded BMW to the underlying design deficiencies and the unanticipated, continuing costs associated with frequent warranty repairs and disgruntled customers. Sadly, it seems to be almost the norm these days for subcontracted work where high tech hardware is involved. Bring on the BMW branded I-3 turbo for MINI.</p>
<p>A 3 cylinder MINI with better performance and fuel economy, count me in.</p>
<p>Before a 3 <i>cylinder</i> engine, I was hoping a MINI would get the the 3 <i>liter</i>, 6 cylinder twin-turbo. Behind the front seats. Driving all 4 wheels.</p>
<p>They didn’t explain what modular meant. I hope it doesn’t lead to them being heavier or more sexy (but riskier) than needed. Sadly that seems to be the norm these days. I hope Gary can take it.</p>
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<p>Getting more of the design and development under the home umbrella is good news. I have to believe that the power plant partnership with PSA was a hard lesson learned–but at least, it seems, they learned it.</p>
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<p>The Prince engines are 100% designed and developed by BMW. They were manufactured in conjunction with PSA – PSA handling the block but really nothing more.</p>
<p>Good news… should make for more mini MINI models. (ouch, that’s awkwardly written…)</p>
<p>How about a 2 cylinder 2 stroke that is air cooled in a stripped down shell of a micro car? No, I am not being a wise guy. I am serious.</p>
<p>“They didn’t explain what modular meant”</p>
<p>I believe modular means that it is meant to be used in multiple different platforms without major modification. Just the way a modular home is built with sections that are just put together dependent on the final platform. It would save money and production costs I am sure.</p>
<p>Correct me if I am wrong here, anyone?</p>
<p>Gabe, was this the teaser that you were referring to in the Proper Brand article?</p>
<p>I’m curious to see what BMW/MINIs answer to Fiat’s Multi-Air technology might be. One would think that something like it will have to show up in a 3 cylinder that is more powerful, more efficient, and lighter weight.</p>
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<p>Gabe, was this the teaser that you were referring to in the Proper Brand article?</p>
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<p>Nope.</p>
<blockquote><b>Gabe </b> The Prince engines are 100% designed and developed by BMW. They were manufactured in conjunction with PSA – PSA handling the block but really nothing more.</blockquote>
<p>So then you’re saying we can’t blame the French? Cuz that engine was really, really bad.</p>
<p>Stop with PSA, it is well known they only did manufacturing, never designed nor developped…</p>
<p>Plus do you know it is the same engineers that developped the famous 3.0 liter 231hp ?</p>
<p>Just you need to remind the so many breaks of 1.6 liter Chrysler engines, repaired under warranty, or not… R56 engines are as solid if not better…</p>
<p>This actually sounds like a really exciting idea…the ability to bolt on more power in the form of modular power banks/blocks/head units…kinda like LEGO if you need a visual…If they plan on using a single unit in all three brands (MINI/BMW/RR) that is what I imagine.
For the Tuner in me, it means I can increase the output and size of the motor by just adding another cylinder turning the 3 banger back into a 4 banger…
Or better yet, if they come in banks of 3…turn the MINI into an inline 6!</p>
<p>Packaging constraints, at the very least, will prevent the end user converting their I3 to an I6 in the same car. But at the design and manufacture stage, modular is good practice as BMW can basically “cut the engine sausage” to length – I3, I4, I6 all using same basic architecture. It would also allow design of the entire family of engines to be concurrent by closely working parallel development teams. Part tooling and casting would also be related and thus theoretically less expensive to source. Lots of pros to this approach from a design and manufacturing perspective.</p>
<p>@ r.burns – the 3.0 I6’s merits have no bearing on the Prince. Owners that are less than impressed with their turbo Prince ‘s repair record will not be made to “feel better” by pointing to the engine in the 328i and saying “see how great this motor is?” If anything, the big design failures of the Prince (throttle body, timing chain) are more damning given the expertise usually shown by BMW engineers.</p>
<p>@goat
Give a guy enough time and money and he can shoehorn anything into anything…Have you seen the yellow Cooper with the Blown Drag Motor popping out of the bonnet??? I know a dude who threw a Ford V8 into the back of a Morris, tubbed the rear and kept the outside realitively unchanged…It was a marvel of engenering but it was done…and it ran…
it’s amazing what a plasma torch can do ;)</p>
<p>@sideways.eh – ok true enough… And for this hoser-iffic mini I’d elect an LS1 as the ultimate rear seat delete kit and driving the rear wheels, with supercharger to pay homage to the Tritec… :)</p>
<p>@goat – LS1 is a good choice</p>
<p>Modular engine families share a lot of design specs… Like the I6 is just two I3s in a row (not really, but cylinder spacing is the same, they share connecting rods, pistons etc), a V6 is a V8 with two cylinders removed. The idea is to do serveral engine designs simultaneously that share as much of the design paradigm as possible to get the maximum use of each engineering and manufacturing development dollar.</p>
<p>It’s a pretty standard practice now, because development dollars are so hard to come by….</p>
<p>And Gabe, it doesn’t matter how many times you write it, the crapping on PSA will never end. Personally, I think the Prince engines are really sweet! I just wish that BMW/MINI had dealt with the cold start clatter differently. But the efficiency of the engines cannot be denied. They have very good tech inside them.</p>
<p>Matt</p>
<p>How is an error in a subcontractor’s fabrication of a timing change spun into a condemnation of an engine design? Such baloney.</p>
<p>Well the timing chain and the pressure pump are just solved with the new 184hp.</p>
<p>And be sure it is now repared for free whenever the guaranty is over.</p>
<p>It was not like this six months ago, but for now there are no more problems, the R53 had such unsolved problems in comparison…</p>
<p>And be sure it is now repared for free whenever the guaranty is over.</p>
<p>Total crap. You have to BEG a dealer to fix the problem. As they say, they are not compensated by BMW unless they go through a battery of endless tests. BMW Toronto is a prime example.</p>
<p>Endless quality problems in R56, my R53 S and JCW were bulletproof.</p>
<p>No you are wrong today, you were right yesterday, but not today !</p>
<p>But does this mean the 3 cylinder engines for BMW and MINI is off to the shelves?</p>
<p>And they’re working on a 2 cilinder for the mini and the other unknown FWD car. With adjustable compression ratio by connecting a oval sleeve on the shared crankpin to an outside control through the heart of the crankshaft.</p>