Press Release
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Page 1: Efficient Dynamics (I)
Page 2: Efficient Dynamics (II)
Page 3: Turbocharged Power
Page 4: Fuel Economy
Page 5: Automatic Transmission
Page 6: Alternator Control
Page 7: Engine Construction
Page 8: Specifications
BMW Presents the Future of the Turbocharged Power Unit.
A new top-of-the-range power unit with Twin-Turbo Technology and direct gasoline injection will form the pinnacle of BMW's wide range of straight-six power units in future. Developing maximum output of 225 kW/306 hp and peak torque of 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft, this new engine offers the highest standard of spontaneous and superior power and performance any customer can expect.
The first straight-six with twin turbochargers, High Precision Fuel Injection and an all-aluminium crankcase offers a level of responsiveness never seen before on a turbocharged engine as well as supreme power and torque extending all the way to high engine speeds. A further benefit of this new turbocharged power unit is the running smoothness typical of a BMW straight-six.
Particular efficiency in achieving this supreme power is ensured by BMW's High Precision Fuel Injection, the second generation of direct gasoline injecttion making a significant contribution to the enhanced economy of the Twin-Turbo power unit. Indeed, introducing this combination of technologies, the BMW Group, 100 years after the invention of the turbocharged engine, has written a new and particularly attractive chapter in the history of turbocharging.
Resting on a proven basis: the straight-six power unit.
Introducing turbocharger technology, BMW is providing both a fascinating and efficient answer to the driver's wish for additional power and performance. Particularly with the concept chosen by BMW, turbocharging is simply ideal in preserving the proven qualities of the drivetrain and creating other new, appealing features.
This technology is being introduced on the basis of BMW's current generation of straight-six power units displacing 3.0 litres and developing maximum output of 195 kW/265 hp, that is a potential already quite outstanding for a normal-aspiration engine. Now, to generate a further significant increase in power and, in particular, more torque, BMW is introducing Twin-Turbo technology, boosting output over the proven 3.0-litre normal-aspiration engine by about 15, and torque by approximately 30 per cent.
Absolute ratings of 225 kW/306 hp maximum output and 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft peak torque tell the whole story, clearly proving the supreme muscle offered by the new power unit from low engine speeds. And what this means in practice BMW's engine development specialists have already calculated, taking the BMW 3 Series Saloon as an example: The Twin-Turbo version accelerates from 0–100 km/h more than half a second faster and completes the flexibility test (80–120 km/h or 50–75 mph in second-highest gear) in 6.3 seconds, leaving the most powerful normal-aspiration version, the BMW 330i, far behind at 8.2 seconds.
Retaining the normal-aspiration engine concept, such an increase in dynamic performance would only have been possible by significantly enlarging the size of the engine, which would also have meant a corresponding increase in weight and corresponding effects on the car's balance.
Using turbocharger technology in conjunction with High Precision Fuel Injection, on the other hand, BMW has found a particularly efficient method to meet significantly greater demands in terms of both power and torque. Just for comparison, the new Twin-Turbo straight-six weighs approximately 70 kilos or 154 lb less than a comparably powerful natural-aspiration eight-cylinder displacing 4.0 litres. And compared with an equally powerful turbocharged engine featuring intake manifold fuel injection, the new power unit with High Precision Fuel Injection offers approximately 10 per cent better fuel economy.
Apart from lower weight and a standard of fuel economy by all means favourable in its performance class, the new Twin-Turbo offers yet another quality feature typical of a BMW straight-six: This is outstanding running smoothness and, as a result, precisely the virtue which has made BMW's six-cylinder inline power units the world standard for refined drive technology. Right from the start, the arrangement of cylinders gives the engine perfect balance and smoothness in terms of free mass forces, avoiding vibrations also at high engine speeds.
A further aspect is that the turbocharged version of the six-cylinder comes with the particularly light camshafts already boasted on the normal-aspiration power unit, double-VANOS variable camshaft adjustment, and an electrically driven coolant pump operating only when and to the extent to which it is actually required.
The turbo “gap� a thing of the past.
Introducing this revolutionary engine technology, BMW's engineers have succeeded in once and for all eliminating the previously inherent disadvantages of a turbocharged power unit. Hence, BMW's new Twin-Turbo six-cylinder is not encumbered by the features so typical of turbocharged engines in general to this day: There is no time-lag before power and torque cut in, and the engine does not have the high fuel consumption so typical of a conventional turbocharged power unit. Particularly the Twin-Turbo arrangement ensures a much more responsive development and build-up of power, two smaller turbochargers each supplying compressed air to three cylinders instead of one large turbocharger serving all six cylinders.
The big advantage of such small turbochargers is their low inertia momentum, even the slightest movement of the gas pedal by the driver's foot serving to immediately build up superior pressure and power. Clearly, this puts an end once and for all to the turbo “gap� previously so typical of a turbocharged power unit the time lag required until the turbocharger starts to really boost power.
On the road, therefore, the new Twin-Turbo power unit offers the same muscle as a much larger normal-aspiration engine, the 3.0-litre developing supreme torque of 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft without any noticeable delay consistently throughout the engine speed range from 1,300 to 5,000 rpm.
And even that is not everything, with the engine continuing to rev up smoothly to a speed range of approximately 7,000 rpm. This obviously gives the driver a particularly superior thrill of driving dynamics, allowing him to accelerate quickly and smoothly whenever required, for example when overtaking another vehicle.
Substantial progress in two respects: more power, more efficiency.
To combine a truly thrilling driving experience with a standard of fuel economy appropriate in this day and age, BMW has become the world's first car maker to develop a straight-six gasoline engine complete with twin turbocharger technology, direct gasoline injection, and an all-aluminium crankcase.
Through their concept alone, the turbochargers already make an important contribution to enhanced fuel economy: With the turbines made of high heat-resistant special steel able to handle temperatures of up to 1,050°F, there is no need for the cooling effect of enhanced fuel supply. The result, particularly under full load, is a significant reduction of fuel consumption on the road.
High Precision Fuel Injection nevertheless performs the key function in this concept for maximum fuel efficiency: The new generation of BMW's direct gasoline injection power units meets all expectations also in practice in terms of fuel economy, without requiring any compromise in the engine's dynamic qualities. Indeed, High Precision Fuel Injection allows even more exact dosage of the fuel/air mixture as well as a higher compression ratio simply ideal for an increase in efficiency and a significant reduction of fuel consumption in practice.
All this is made possible by the central position of the piezo-injector between the valves. In this position the innovative injector opening up to the outside is able to distribute fuel in a conical, particularly consistent spread throughout the combustion chamber.
Developing the new straight-six power unit with twin turbocharger technology and direct fuel injection, BMW is opening up a new chapter for an engine principle actually quite old: Only recently the turbocharged engine celebrated its 100th birthday, turbocharger technology registered for a patent by Swiss engineer Alfred Bachi in November 1905 playing an important role for decades particularly in the enhancement of marine and aircraft engines. It was only much later that cars with turbocharged power units started to come off the production line, the first series model in Europe to boast this technology being the BMW 2002 turbo in 1973.
BMW the first turbocharged World Champion in the history of Formula 1.
Throughout the history of the turbocharger now going back 100 years, BMW has set milestones in development time and again. As early as in the late '60s of the former century, BMW became the first manufacturer to use turbocharged engines in touring car racing. And in 1983 a BMW Brabham with Brazilian racing driver Nelson Piquet at the wheel became the first turbocharged racing car to win the Formula 1 World Championship. Even back then, BMW's engine specialists were able to get far more than 1,000 hp out of an engine displacing only 1.5 litres.
Ultimately, however, the apparently unlimited options in boosting engine power through turbocharger technology led to the decision in the highest realms of motorsport to stop the ongoing escalation of engine power for reasons of safety.
In series production, on the other hand, all turbo concepts used so far have always been seen as uneconomical in terms of their fuel consumption. Indeed, this conflict of interests appeared to be inevitable for a long time, with no solution in sight. So only the most recent developments in engine construction have opened up the door to a new approach BMW is now taking consistently: Twin-Turbo technology in conjunction with High Precision Fuel Injection as the concept for a particularly thrilling manifestation of EfficientDynamics.
The new high-performance power unit ranking right at the top of BMW's straight-six engine line-up impressively proves the potential of this concept and its most important components. Ensuring superior response and supreme pulling force, the new power unit about to enter series production opens up brand-new dimensions in driving dynamics.
Introducing High Precision Fuel Injection, BMW's engine development specialists have also prepared for another option in innovative technology. For over and above the benefits of supreme dynamics provided by the engine, the new technology sets the foundation for a lean-burn direct injection concept ensuring significant optimisation of fuel economy also in other performance classes. In this way BMW is once again using its leading competence in engine construction in order to develop modern, up-to-date drive technology and at the same time enhance Sheer Driving Pleasure to a new standard never seen before.
Torque and Output Diagram of the BMW 3.0-Litre Straight-Six Gasoline Engine with Twin-Turbo and High Precision Fuel Injection.
