Autocar Magazine in the UK is speculating that the rumored 3-cylinder engine that BMW has been working on for some time now, will be seen under the hood of the F30 3-Series. This should come as no surprise, as the 3-Series is the bread and butter volume car in the BMW brand, and such an efficient engine would go a long way into promoting BMW as THE brand for sustainability.
The engine itself is rumored to be a 1.5L 3-Cylinder diesel engine putting out 150HP and produce less than 100g/km of CO2. Its already been rumored that this engine setup, which will come in both diesel and regular gasoline formats will drive the smaller cars in the BMW lineup such as the 1-Series and the new Sub 1-Series compact car.
This car will certainly be seen in European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets, but the key question to be seen is whether BMW would decide to introduce such an engine to the US market. So far, BMW USA has shied away from bringing over BMWs smaller engine offerings to the states and such a car here in the US seems highly unlikely at this time.
The new 3 is on track to make its first public debut at the Frankfurt Autoshow later in 2011! (
http://www.bimmerpost.com/future-bmw)
Source:
Autocar