BMW Confirms 2.0-Liter Turbo for Z4 and 5-Series

The current BMW crossover offering is interesting, but we don’t really like how the Bavarian manufacturer and other famous carmakers are making SUV the center of their focus instead of sportscars. After all, what is BMW known for if not performance cars with rear-wheel drive and excellent handling?

Earlier this week, BMW unveiled a new 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, but instead of launching it on a light sportscar, it did so on the X3 xDrive28i. The engine replaced the naturally aspirated 3.0-liter straight-six and combined decent performance with improved fuel economy. Now the Bavarian automaker has officially confirmed that the new mill will be available in other models "such as the BMW Z4 and 5 Series in due course."

Although the company did not give out an exact date for the release, the engine should be shoehorned into the two models by the end of the year, or early in 2012, depending on market demand.

So what kind of performance can we expect from a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline-powered Z4. Well, in the X1 xDrive28i the turbocharged twin-scroll engine churns out 245hp and 350Nm torque. BMW also say that the unit is lighter and more compact than the equivalent six-cylinder engine, while also returning 16 percent better fuel consumption and lower emissions in the process.

When using the old six-cylinder mill, the Z4 sDrive35is accelerates from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.8 seconds. But, when fitted with the new four-pot, the X3 is 0.7 seconds faster , so the Z4 now hits 100 km/h in almost 5 seconds.