BMW has filed a patent at the German Patent Office for a V6 engine with two sequential turbo chargers. Could this be the engine of choice for the new F80 BMW M3?
Purists will cringe at the headline. Firstly BMW fans had to endure the addition of turbochargers in order to meet the stringent emission and CO2 laws, now the Bavarian engineers are investigating changing the holy grail of BMW heritage: The inline six to a V configuration. Although a V configuration lends itself to a more compact design and an easier packaging exercise it will be detrimental to the smoothness and trademark exhaust note of the inline six.
The patent does not state the engine capacity or application but it does coincide within the timeframe of engine choice for the next M3. What it does state is that the two turbos may be sized differently and be sequential in operation.
Only time will tell if this patent will make it into production but one thing is for sure – we live in a time where change is the only constant.