2014 BMW M3 Will Have 3.3-liter Tri-turbo With 450 HP

Let’s take a second to look over BMW’s performance offering. There’s the SUV pair formed by the X5 M and X6 M, a new M5 and that exciting 1-Series M Coupe. What do all those cars have in common? Turbocharged engines. True fans may have noticed we’ve deliberately left out the M3, probably the most exciting car launched in 2008, but one which is lacking a bit in appeal.

For a while now, we though that BMW will come up with a larger displacement straight-six with twin turbocharging for the M3, but we are apparently only partially right. According to the Auto Express, the next generation of the M3 will indeed have six cylinders under the bonnet lined up in a row, but the 2014 model will actually pack three turbochargers. Yes folks, you heard it right: the 2014 BMW M3 will be a tri-turbo.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of the engine, as it will reportedly go into the upcoming X3 M that will probably debut in Frankfurt, and could also see action in the M2 Coupe. However, Auto Express has also added a few extra morsels for BMW fans to chew on: the straight-six will displace 3.3 liters and could produce as much as 450 horsepower.

What’s more, the new M3 will lead the M Division’s carbon fiber assault on the performance market. “There will be a bigger focus on very low fuel consumption. The new M3 will prove this,” said the head of BMW’s M Division, Dr Friedrich Nitschke.