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Originally Posted by N & M
My dear M fans, I think we are reading too much into this. What the news says is that BMW's contribution is casting tech, fuel economy and emissions. There is no mention of cross sharing of the resulting engine or an M engine program that will also benefit.
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Sure, but the mere fact that they are collaborating is great news. Specifically, this could help BMW with higher output turbocharged engines without the need to use water injection. They cannot afford to fall behind the curve in the area of specific output, whether it is entry level engines or high performance M engines.
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My view; BMW will continue with its 2 current engines until the next gen of propulsion tech is viable for performance development.
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Which two are those? BMW has the B* inline (currently 3, 4, and 6 cylinder in both gasoline and diesel variants), the N63/S63 V8, and the N74 V12. The N55/S55 are still in use but nearing end of life.
There is a high likelihood of a new V8 family soon. The reason is that the existing design dates back to the original M60 from some thirty years ago, and although it debuted in 3L and 4L displacements, it's 98mm bore center was chosen with expansion in mind. Eventually, it was grown to nearly 5L for use in the E39 M5 and Z8. However, it is larger than necessary for today's turbocharged applications. If BMW intends to continue using V8 engines - and they clearly do since even the brand new G30 5 Series is offered with one - a more compact design is necessary to compete with Mercedes (90mm) and Audi (91mm) in packaging and weight.