Press Release
The BMW inline six-cylinder petrol engine with magnesium alloy crankcase and VALVETRONIC
The most innovative power unit of our time:
Everything questioned.
Everything answered.
An engine blessed for success.
The inline six-cylinder engine used up until now has been an extremely successful power unit – sporty, economical, smooth-running with an earthy exhaust sound. A total of 1.4 million have already been built. And weighing just 171 kg, the M54 is also one of the world’s lightest six-cylinder engines.Further development conceivable but inefficient.
Consequently, the previous engine would have been an ideal candidate for further evolutionary development, which had happened consistently and through which the BMW basic power unit had achieved its cult status and its pole position in the market.However, BMW customer demands on a new engine, ambitious objectives in regard to performance and the reduction of fuel consumption, as well as standards set by BMW engineers in innovative engine construction were reason enough for an entirely new concept – the R6. This decision is impressively underlined by the specifications of the redeveloped power unit. An upgrade of the existing unit according to state-of-the-art technical specifications would have resulted, inter alia, in the engine being 14 kg heavier. After several technical modifications to the M54, which consistently increased performance, bringing about a drop in fuel consumption at the same time, the demands of the future could only be fulfilled by implementing fundamentally new concepts offering a high technological potential. It then became evident that the new engine had to be radically modified, leaving only the principle of an inline six-cylinder arrangement unchanged.
A look at the specifications:
Conflicting objectives can only be solved using new technologies.
In view of the high standards set at BMW, new developments have to take a particularly giant leap into the future. Initially, the basic requirements placed on every BMW engine are increased output and higher torque on the crankshaft. However, at the same time, both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have to be lowered. Moreover, on a medium-term basis, BMW innovations pertaining to an individual component or aggregate become the technological benchmark of the entire company and its products, spanning all series, markets and client groups. The BMW innovation VALVETRONIC, for instance, is already featured on all BMW four-, eight- and twelve-cylinder power units. For this reason it was only natural to apply this technology to the six-cylinder engine. However, at the same time, the power unit had to retain its weight and size.
Optimum power density could only be realized through the utilization of new technologies and materials, incorporating a modified basic design and a myriad of innovations for systems, ancillary units and components.
Higher output, lower fuel consumption, maximum power density: Basic R6 power unit and variants for many new BMW models.
In its role as the new BMW basic power unit, the R6 distinctly surpasses the final version of its predecessor in every aspect, thus emphasizing BMW’s pole position in the development and production of sporty and particularly powerful engines.BMW’s medium-term corporate plans reveal that around half of all new BMW cars will in future be powered by a new R6. The innovative technologies utilized within the new family of R6 engines will secure BMW’s lead in the field of markedly sporty and technically innovative vehicles featuring a uniquely smooth-running, exclusive and efficient power unit.
BMW’s corporate objective is to build fascinating and highly emotional automobiles. In achieving this goal, the main focus of interest is on technology. Nevertheless, the high technological standard at BMW has to be constantly redefined, rendering innovations indispensable. Consequently, when designing the R6, priority was given to the ongoing development of typical BMW qualities such as dynamics, agility, efficiency and superiority, with balanced emphasis on all relevant parameters and with the purpose of reaching as large a target group as possible.
The new BMW 3.0 litre inline six-cylinder engine offers the highest specific output, the best power-to-weight ratio and the lowest specific fuel consumption in its class.
With 190 kW/258 bhp at 6,650 rpm, the R6 surpasses its predecessor by 20 kW/27 bhp. The maximum torque of 300 Nm, up until now a peak value at 3,500 rpm, is now consistently available between 2,500 and 4,000 rpm. Specific output is up by 12 percent from 57 kW per litre cubic capacity to 63 kW per litre. The weight of the engine has been reduced by 10 kg (–7%) to 161 kg. Due to increased output and weight reduction, the power-to-weight ratio exceeds the 1 kW/kg mark by an incredible18 percent. The R6 delivers 1.18 kW/kg (as opposed to 0.99 kW/kg in the case of its predecessor). Fuel consumption is down by 12 percent.
