BMW Now Has a 250 HP Version of the B48. Will We See It in a MINI?

The B48, MINI’s new 2.0L in the F5X models is part of a larger family of four cylinders that feature various states of tune. The idea is to create one engine and upgrade or downgrade various parts of it to achieve different outputs for different products. The baseline for this engine is 189 HP as seen in the current Cooper S. Many have looked at that figure and wondered why didn’t MINI try to get more out of the B48? For years we’ve heard rumors that BMW has plans for outputs ranging from 189 all the way to 300. So the real question is when and what will get those higher outputs.
The second iteration of the B48 (technically the B48B20O0) came with the BMW Active Tourer and the MINI JCW and had an output of 231 hp and 236 lb·ft. Today we’re seeing the third iteration debuting in the facelift F30 3 Series. This new version has 249 hp and an unchanged torque output of 258 lb·ft.
In addition to this rumors have pointed to a forth iteration of the B48 with around 300 hp. This engine has reportedly been developed for high output BMWs (potentially M Performance products) and potentially even all wheel drive JCW Clubman and/or Countryman. However we can’t help but wonder if this new 250 hp B48 wouldn’t make more sense for MINI given its market and price positioning. Granted while we’d love to see more power, we wouldn’t be shocked to see MINI cap out at around 250 hp for this generation of petrol powered cars.
4 Comments
<p>This make sense. The B48 needed to go up to at least the current 328 power plants level of power to work as it’s replacement. Now if that engine can find a home in a MINI even better. If it could find its way into the Clubman (which it may need to as it’s certain to be heavier than the current Hardtop model) I would be greatly interested in it as my next vehicle purchase.</p>
<p>250 hp, in my opinion BMW did nothing but rerate the hp figures on this motor. Just about all the magazine guys that test drive this 2.0 engine figure that it is at least 265hp, as to get the 0-60 times that a 3350 lb. Series 2 gets, it’s got to be a lot more than 230 hp that they advertise. What I wonder, if one puts the tune on the JCW engine, will that get it close to 311 hp that DINAN gets with their tune of this engine? So, I wouldn’t think that it would be all that difficult to move the JCW up to a nice 265 hp figure. Whatever BMW/MINI has for this 2.0 engine, it definitely is a good base to start with.</p>
<p>Hi. My Spanish MINI JCW F56 motor when searching for its VIN on BMW Archive says is called B48A20. Maybe the B48B20 is for USA?</p>
<p>What are the differences between the B46 on the F56S and this new B48 BMW engine othe than just computerized tunes?</p>