2012 Z4 with a Turbo 4 banger

Car And Driver

Is anyone anxiously awaiting the arrival of BMW's first USA production 4 banger in over a decade? According to the latest issue of Roundel, the new Z4 will be the first car with the engine in the US, closely followed by versions for the 1 series and 3er. The N20 engine in the new Z4sdrive28i will generate 240 hp and 260 ft-lbs of torque with an 8 speed transmission. Does this mean that the Z2 is dead? I guess BMW is trying to take the market share from Saturn Sky and Pontiac Soltice buyers, particularly with their piss yellow paint job.

Originally Posted by Z4luvr

Car And Driver

Is anyone anxiously awaiting the arrival of BMW's first USA production 4 banger in over a decade? According to the latest issue of Roundel, the new Z4 will be the first car with the engine in the US, closely followed by versions for the 1 series and 3er. The N20 engine in the new Z4sdrive28i will generate 240 hp and 260 ft-lbs of torque with an 8 speed transmission. Does this mean that the Z2 is dead? I guess BMW is trying to take the market share from Saturn Sky and Pontiac Soltice buyers, particularly with their piss yellow paint job.

Not so excited myself. IMO, a true modern day BMW has an inline 6, no exceptions. While you may get the power and torque out of the turbo 4 banger, it won't have that sweet rumble of the 6 nor the low end of a 6. I'll pass...

I'm anxiously awaiting telling my sales guy to go POUND SAND $50k+ for a 4banger. NOT gonna happen. Sorry, don't mean to be a jerk about this but $50,000 for a 4 cylinder engine. (But it's lighter, so it will be faster - I DON"T CARE). God I'm all fired up today!! Sorry.

Originally Posted by charlesberry

I'm anxiously awaiting telling my sales guy to go POUND SAND $50k+ for a 4banger. NOT gonna happen. Sorry, don't mean to be a jerk about this but $50,000 for a 4 cylinder engine. (But it's lighter, so it will be faster - I DON"T CARE). God I'm all fired up today!! Sorry.

Amen! Glad I got my 30i while they were still available!

Originally Posted by supremeart

Not so excited myself. IMO, a true modern day BMW has an inline 6, no exceptions. While you may get the power and torque out of the turbo 4 banger, it won't have that sweet rumble of the 6 nor the low end of a 6. I'll pass...

"low end" of the I6?

The naturally aspirated I6 engine is a sweet motor, but the problem with it is that it has little low-end grunt and you have to get into the higher RPM range to get the power out of it. The turbo 4 will have more torque than the I6 from about 1000 rpm all the way up.

I am also a fan of the I6 for nostalgic reasons, but lets be realistic here... the turbo 4 will have more power at any point of the RPM range than the outgoing I6. And about 20% better fuel economy.

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

"low end" of the I6?

The naturally aspirated I6 engine is a sweet motor, but the problem with it is that it has little low-end grunt and you have to get into the higher RPM range to get the power out of it. The turbo 4 will have more torque than the I6 from about 1000 rpm all the way up.

I am also a fan of the I6 for nostalgic reasons, but lets be realistic here... the turbo 4 will have more power at any point of the RPM range than the outgoing I6. And about 20% better fuel economy.

The N52 has peak torque at 2750, not as low as the F/I engines but still good low end kick. My concern is the loss of the natrual balance and smoothness of the I6, why I stayed far away from the Audi A4.

The fuel economy is a real plus for the 4 if one drives very gently.

Originally Posted by supremeart

Amen! Glad I got my 30i while they were still available!

+1 It was a factor in my decision. I've owned 7 BMWs and they all had the inline 6 including the 1980 633csi.

If I wanted a Miata, I'd buy a Mazda. I hope this model flops in the US and they withdraw it after a year.

Originally Posted by rmorin49

If I wanted a Miata, I'd buy a Mazda. I hope this model flops in the US and they withdraw it after a year.

This is not BMW saying "lets try a 4-cylinder and see what happens!"... this is a result of the very demanding fuel economy regulations. It's not just a BMW thing. Audi has almost entirely eliminated the V6 option from their A4/A5/Q5 models, within the next few years they will all be 4-cyl only. MB is also bring over many more 4-cyl cars, and BMW will too. Love it or hate it, BMW can not meet the fuel economy requirement if they keep the regular I6 as their volume engine, and there is no room in the lineup to sandwich the regular I6 between the turbo 4 and turbo 6.

Unless you can get the government to roll back the fuel economy standards, smaller turbocharged/supercharged engines are here to stay.

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

This is not BMW saying "lets try a 4-cylinder and see what happens!"... this is a result of the very demanding fuel economy regulations. It's not just a BMW thing. Audi has almost entirely eliminated the V6 option from their A4/A5/Q5 models, within the next few years they will all be 4-cyl only. MB is also bring over many more 4-cyl cars, and BMW will too. Love it or hate it, BMW can not meet the fuel economy requirement if they keep the regular I6 as their volume engine, and there is no room in the lineup to sandwich the regular I6 between the turbo 4 and turbo 6.

Unless you can get the government to roll back the fuel economy standards, smaller turbocharged/supercharged engines are here to stay.

He's right. It's not like BMW wanted to bring a 4-cylinder to the US. They are basically being forced to in order to meet the CAFE fuel economy standards by 2016. Mercedes has to do it too.

That's probably another reason why BMW launched the I-brand of electric and hybrid cars. Infiniti and some other companies may not need to go the 4-banger route because they are owned by Nissan which sells smaller, fuel efficient cars so they should be okay to meet CAFE standards as a car company.

[QUOTE=07X3platinum;6118018]He's right. It's not like BMW wanted to bring a 4-cylinder to the US. They are basically being forced to in order to meet the CAFE fuel economy standards by 2016. Mercedes has to do it too.

That's probably another reason why BMW launched the I-brand of electric and hybrid cars. Infiniti and some other companies may not need to go the 4-banger route because they are owned by Nissan which sells smaller, fuel efficient cars so they should be okay to meet CAFE standards as a car company.[/QUOTE]

All too true. I give them credit for doing this while adding 60 Tq. N4S

Still glad I bought mine with the I6.


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