When BMW introduced its new turbodiesel engine in the X6 M50d and the X5 M50d in South Africa, the news that the powerplant came equipped with no fewer than three turbochargers travelled quite quickly.
After all, we are used to twin-turbocharged engine configurations, but three blowers seemed a bit odd. However, with outputs of 280 kW and 740 N.m from their 3,0-litre straight-six cylinder engine, the M50d models delivered impressive performance. In a CAR road test, the X6 M50d reached 100 km/h from standstill in a brisk 5,38 seconds.
But, now rumours have surfaced on the Internet that BMW is working on a quad-turbo diesel engine.
Set to be revealed next year, the engine could eventually be installed in the all-wheel drive, upcoming 750d xDrive (unlikely to become available in South Africa), the X5 M50d, X6 M50d and also the upcoming X7.
The engine will obviously develop more power and torque than the current flagship turbodiesel engine. Expect outputs to be at least 300 kW and 800 N.m…
