News Roundup 28 January 2011

BMW to replace six-cylinder engines with turbocharged fours?

For me BMW is synonymous with six-cylinder engines and, in particular, the inline six. As engine layouts go it has much to commend it in terms of refinement. No V6 can match it for balance – the term used to describe the way an engines internal vibrations do (or do not) cancel each other out. Against that is the difficulty of installing what can be a long engine with adequate space for the crash protection required these days. However BMW has kept faith with its six-cylinder engines when just about everyone else has switched to V6s.

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

A classic BMW inline six as fitted to the M635CSi

So it was saddening to read BMW’s announcement of a new, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine. It has 242bhp and 258lb.ft - more than the company’s ‘smaller’ six-cylinder engines. The new power unit is said to be smaller and lighter than the sixes too, which makes sense. It also makes sense within the context of engine downsizing that is going on across the industry for better mpg and lower CO2 emissions. BMW has already replaced the some V8s with turbocharged straight sixes. On the official mpg and CO2 tests the new engine is bound to be superior, it just seems unlikely that it will sound as good.

Incidentally, it seems that BMW’s model designations no longer enjoy the close relationship with engine size that they once did. For the six-cylinder petrol models (excluding the X versions) the designations and engine capacity are listed below:

BMW 325i – 2,996cc – 218bhp

BMW 335i – 2,979cc – 306bhp

BMW 523i – 2,996cc – 204bhp

BMW 528i – 2,996cc – 258bhp

BMW 535i – 2,979cc – 306bhp

BMW 740i – 2,979cc – 326bhp

Z4 23i – 2,497cc – 204bhp

Z4 30i – 2,996cc – 258bhp

Z4 35i – 2,979cc – 306bhp

Why, for example, is there a 3.0-litre engine in the 325i and a 2.5-litre in the Z4 23i?

Car of the Week: Volkswagen XL1 Super Economy Vehicle

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

Volkswagen XP1

Launching an economy car in the Middle East is probably a sign of the German sense of humour but Volkswagen chose the Qatar Motor Show to unveil the 313mpg XL1 concept.

It is VW’s third generation economy vehicle and uses an 800cc turbodiesel engine combined with electric motor and 7-speed DSG transmission. It is also attractively streamlined, low, mid-engined and possibly more elegant than anything the company has built in over 20 years.

I think real world economy – as opposed to the artificial combined drive cycle – would be better with an ordinary turbodiesel engine and manual gearbox. Slightly more power and performance would be useful too; the XP1 has around 75bhp split 50:25 between diesel and electric motors. A 0-62mph time of 11.9 seconds is adequate but nothing special (although 30-60mph or 60-90mph times would be useful to know). It also feels like cheating to limit the top speed to 99mph – if the aerodynamics are that good it would be instructive to see how fast you can go on 75bhp.

I could see myself driving something like the XP1 – not something I can say about most concept cars.

Six Appeal at the Motorcycle Show

At last year’s Motorcycle Show BMW showed a concept bike with a straight-six engine. This year it gathered together several six-cylinder bikes.

The Honda CBX is something of a favourite of mine.

From Motorcycle and Scooter Show 2010

From Motorcycle and Scooter Show 2010

I don’t think I’d ever seen a Benelli Sei before:

From Motorcycle and Scooter Show 2010

Or a Kawasaki KZ1300

From Motorcycle and Scooter Show 2010

More weekend pictures: Detail shots 2

This BMW was among the Bristol cars; a 502 coupé (I think).

It may seem like an odd interloper but the chassis was related to the one used by Bristol and the earlier, six-cylinder version used the six-cylinder engine from which Bristol’s ‘six’ was developed.

I’m not sure it is pretty but it has presence and the V8 badge on the boot is rather stylish.

Another 4WS car to try

Just pouring over the details of the new BMW 7-series. As you would expect it comes with all the gadgets you could imagine. Without going into too many details it seems that one option will be Integral Active Steering, which provides up to 3-degrees of steering to the rear wheels. As you would expect the claim is of enhanced low-speed manoeuvrability with high-speed stability. Of course this is not the first time BMW offered four-wheel-steering – the 8-series, back in the early 1990s, was offered with rear axle kinematics which was a fancy term for 4WS.

BMW GINA Light concept car

Just a brief entry as I've got to do a full write up about BMW's latest concept car. What I wanted to say here, where I can afford to be less objective and more opinionated, is how much I love it. Not only does it challenge lots of preconceived ideas about how a car should be made but the thinking behind it promises to challenge the attitude that "we've always done it this way". Of course it helps that the concept car is beautiful, a classical roadster with the engine at the front under a long bonnet. Hopefully all future BMWs will look as good as this.

The search continues and other thoughts on a Saturday morning

Up early today to collect the pipe ordered by the Citroën dealer last week. Not the right part, despite what the computer says. They did try to find the correct part but to no avail. Did give me the contact numbers of people who might be more sympathetic to my plight and who might be able to correctly identify the part I’m after.

Another moan about advertising. Last night I saw a BMW advert on television, promoting their Efficient Dynamics system for reducing fuel consumption and all the nasty stuff associated with burning a hydrocarbon fuel. The theme was BMW saying “thank you” for all the things that saved fuel, such as gravity. One of the things thanked was “the stop sign that allows the engine to switch off and save fuel”! Can you believe such a thing! The very act of stopping and starting is incredibly wasteful.

Treated myself to a McDonald’s breakfast on my way home from the garage. In the past I’ve struggled to get these things home without the coffee cup falling over and spilling. Today, somehow, I managed it – despite having a longer journey than I used to. I’d like to think it was down to my prowess as a driver but I wonder if it is down to the soothing properties of Citroën suspension?

A real treat as I drove through my village, 3 vintage cars in convoy. The lead car had the look of a Bugatti and, as it drove past, I could see that the two other cars were also Bugattis. They were all 4-seat open tourers and much quieter than I expected. Two were Type 50s and one, I think, was a Type 40. It is nice to see rare cars being driven, rather than confined inside a museum

Chauffeur for the day

Spent all of yesterday playing with some fancy cars. I don’t think I’ve driven as many cars in one day before; in fact the seven cars I drove would make up most of a normal year’s worth of testing. In order I drove:

VW Phaeton LWB 3.0 V6 TDI
Lexus LS 600hL
Jaguar XJ6 lwb 2.7D
Chrysler 300C (diesel)
BMW 730dL
Mercedes-Benz S300d
Volvo S80 2.5d



Overall the cars were amazingly good, I’m sure diesel engines aren’t supposed to be as nice as they were. In the case of the BMW and Mercedes you might even wonder if it was worth going for a bigger engine. The only unpleasant surprise was how badly some of the cars seemed to cope with bumps. I couldn’t help thinking that a Citroën C6 would be better than all but the 7-series and S-class.

2008 Wish list – a few more things

Time to finish the New Year wish list with a few final ideas:

Visit the Geneva Motor Show – The Geneva show is possibly the most prestigious motor show and with cheap flights isn’t as expensive to go as you might think. If this wish doesn’t come true I have only myself to blame. Need to get my skates on and book.

Drive more cars – At the start of each year I wonder what I am going to drive. Keeping up with the latest and best new cars is a difficult business – with any luck I’ll manage to borrow some press cars in 2008. I’d like to have a go in the Fiat 500 and the Renault Laguna coupé with 4WS (although that might be due in 2009).

Get published more often – it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation but hopefully the more cars I can drive the more saleable features I’ll generate and the more stories I can get in print the more likely it is I’ll be able to borrow press cars from the manufacturers.

Drive a Bristol up the Fosse Way – don’t know how likely this is but when I drove up the Fosse a couple of months back I wondered how nice it would be to do the journey in a decent car. I could practically hear the thrum of the Bristol’s BMW-derived 6-cylinder engine and see the view over the curvaceous bonnet. Or would I prefer the hushed progress and generous view from a later V8 Bristol? Better try both I think.

All that remains is to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Heroes and Villains 1 – BMW 325i e30

It is time to look back over cars I’ve driven that have made an impression, whether good or bad. Some cars have lived up to my expectations, some cars have disappointed. A good reputation or a prestige badge is no guarantee of hero status. Most of my judgements have been based, out of necessity, on a single car. I understand the limitations of this method and therefore no judgement is final. A bad car can rise in my estimation but equally a good car can fall from grace.

First to come under scrutiny is the 1980s icon the e30 version of the BMW 3-series. With smart, square-cut styling; smooth 6-cylinder engines; good build quality and a sporting reputation it was the small saloon everyone wanted. Even now it is held up as a sporting icon.

The example I drove had plenty to commend it. It was nicely made, the interior plastics were clearly a cut above mass-market cars, it had a light and airy cabin, a good ride and a smooth 2.5 litre 6-cylinder engine. What surprised me were the things that were not good. The driving position felt strangely offset, the wheel and pedals were not in line with each other or with the seat. The engine did not feel as though it had 177bhp and made more noise than I expected. The worst aspect was the steering; low-geared and slow to respond; it also grew heavier as more steering was applied which made the steering feel like winching a heavy weight up a slope.

Maybe a 325i with sports suspension and a close-ratio gearbox would feel more like a sporting car. As it stands the e30 3-series is a fine, well-made, quality saloon but I can’t understand how it earned a reputation as a driver’s car.

Geared up

I was reading through this week’s Autocar, which featured a full road test of the BMW 123D coupé. Now I’m no BMW fan but the 123D looks like it has an awful lot going for it. Because I had plenty of time on my hands I studied the technical detail of the car very closely. Looking at the gear ratios I spotted something unusual; the fifth gear ratio was 1:1. It was a clear reminder and indicator that the BMW has an old-fashioned front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. I wish there were more cars like it.

Weekend Fun 3

Last post about the Oulton Park Gold Cup. I’m not much of a fan of motor racing but it is much better to see racing cars in action on the track rather than static in a museum. You do see some fine displays of driving skill as old racing cars generally have more power than they have roadholding or braking ability. This year some of the more prestigious cars stayed away because the Goodwood Revival was the following weekend. As a result there were no C or D-type Jaguars, no Listers, Ferraris or Corvettes, which was a disappointment given the high standard of entries in past years.

What was interesting was the difference in sound quality between the different engines. The sound of a 4 or 8 cylinder engine carries much more clearly than any six. Subjectively the loudest cars of the weekend were the Chevron sports cars and the Formula 5000 single-seaters. Formula 5000 was an interesting discipline, using Formula 1 chassis but with production-based 5-litre American V8 engines to keep costs down.

Favourite moments of the weekend included watching the historic Formula Junior cars and seeing both a Fiat 124 coupé and a BMW 328 (well, a Frazer-Nash BMW) in action. The Fiat is such a rare car because most examples rusted at a frightening rate – a shame because contemporary accounts rate it highly. As for the BMW, it was the most modern of the pre-war cars – no wonder so many people hold the 328 in high regard.