BMW could end production of its V8 and V12 engines in the coming years and replace them with more powerful six-cylinder hybrids, the company's R&D boss has revealed. Klaus Froehlich told Automotive News Europe that China's tight emissions regulations would likely drive the shift, meaning models like the V8-powered M5 and 12-cylinder M760Li might switch to electrification sooner rather than later. It comes as little surprise, of course - but it hurts all the more to hear it from the horse's mouth...
The blame doesn't entirely lie with China; Froehlich noted that cost could also be a deciding factor in determining the fate of BMW's most exotic motors. He said: "We only produce a few thousand [V12] units each year," so justifying "the several thousand euros of added cost it takes to make them compliant" is getting harder and harder. Things aren't much better for the higher-volume V8, either, because BMW's six-cylinder PHEV powerplant is already producing as much as 600hp, and is obviously much more malleable when it comes to complying with ever-stricter emissions limits.
The loss of the V8 would be a more bitter pill to swallow. The M5 has had its fair share of engine changes, the E60 M5 representing the most dramatic shift yet, and it was six-cylinder-powered through the earliest M5 generations. But the latest turbo 4.4 is adored by many, ans would be sorely missed. Especially when AMG is also set to bin its 63 V8 for an even more drastic example of downsizing; a hybrid four-pot, from 2021. The successive motors will have more power, rest assured of that. But character?
It's not all bad news though because R&D boss Froehlich did make it clear that BMW intends to keep its four and six-cylinder petrol engines in production for another 30 years, albeit with increasing levels of electrification. He also insisted that diesel would survive another 20 years, too, although not the quad-turbo six that powers its most potent oil burners due to the cost of production. Interestingly, BMW's smallest engine, the 1.5 three-pot it fits into 3 Serieses and Minis alike, will also go due to streamlining - the same process that ensured the M135i would swap to four-cylinder power and be based on a front-driven platform. Fingers crossed BMW takes the Porsche approach and uses the cash made from those measures to ensure the survival of ultra-special driver's machines like the M2 Competition. Something tells us the value of such products means it will...
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