Photo: Autoexpress.co.uk
Car and Driver's Jens Meiners has been around Europe last week to see what's new in the powertrain segment for the next few years. Fortunately, his endeavor brought some new info to the automotive scene.
At a meeting that took place in Vienna, BMW's R&D chief Herbert Diess talked about the future plans of its company and how it hopes to continue to provide good, fun cars and save the environment at the same time.
Around 2006, BMW reviewed its strategy for the long run. According to them, their discoveries were somewhat interesting. They noticed that, currently, there is a strong trend towards down speeding and running engines within 800 to 1800 RPMs. That means that larger cylinder volumes are needed.
“The danger is that we are moving away far from emotion, from our heritage, which is characterized by six-cylinder engines and motorcycles,” said Diess for Car and Driver.
Their latest invention, the 3-cylinder 1.5-liter engine is a perfect replacement for most 4-cylinder units. According to recent reports, the engine (that was showcased for American journalists a while back) is well balanced, delivers a lot of power and sound very good.
“I believe it is a good option for our front-drive and compact rear-wheel-drive cars. The sound, frequencies, power delivery and dynamic capabilities are more interesting than on many four-cylinder engines," said BMW's R&D Chief.
Furthermore, the new i3 which is set to hit the market this year, will be a fun to drive town car that will reduce emissions to 0. Of course, there are some compromises but, the gains are far more important.
Another solution for the stringent CO2 emission standards might be using natural gas, a matter BMW, Hyundai and Volkswagen are currently looking into. However, this time, the Bavarian company decided to let other take the first step.
Herbert Diess said, at Vienna, that natural-gas powered vehicles are a "fantastic solution" and hinted that he expects another big manufacturer with game-changing power to make the first move.
According to Car and Driver, this big manufacturer would be Volkswagen, that is currently handling the market through the Audi A3 g-tron and the Volkswagen Eco Up.
Bottom line, everyone is looking to create more and more fuel efficient cars with the lowest possible CO2 emissions, especially in Europe. The 2020 deadline for cutting down on emissions is getting closer by the hour and everyone wants to find the best compromise between driving fun, economy and practicality. As for BMW, we know they'll come up with the best solution, even for natural-gas powered cars, just as they succeeded with the i3 and i8.
Via: Car and Driver
Around 2006, BMW reviewed its strategy for the long run. According to them, their discoveries were somewhat interesting. They noticed that, currently, there is a strong trend towards down speeding and running engines within 800 to 1800 RPMs. That means that larger cylinder volumes are needed.
“The danger is that we are moving away far from emotion, from our heritage, which is characterized by six-cylinder engines and motorcycles,” said Diess for Car and Driver.
Their latest invention, the 3-cylinder 1.5-liter engine is a perfect replacement for most 4-cylinder units. According to recent reports, the engine (that was showcased for American journalists a while back) is well balanced, delivers a lot of power and sound very good.
“I believe it is a good option for our front-drive and compact rear-wheel-drive cars. The sound, frequencies, power delivery and dynamic capabilities are more interesting than on many four-cylinder engines," said BMW's R&D Chief.
Furthermore, the new i3 which is set to hit the market this year, will be a fun to drive town car that will reduce emissions to 0. Of course, there are some compromises but, the gains are far more important.
Another solution for the stringent CO2 emission standards might be using natural gas, a matter BMW, Hyundai and Volkswagen are currently looking into. However, this time, the Bavarian company decided to let other take the first step.
Herbert Diess said, at Vienna, that natural-gas powered vehicles are a "fantastic solution" and hinted that he expects another big manufacturer with game-changing power to make the first move.
According to Car and Driver, this big manufacturer would be Volkswagen, that is currently handling the market through the Audi A3 g-tron and the Volkswagen Eco Up.
Bottom line, everyone is looking to create more and more fuel efficient cars with the lowest possible CO2 emissions, especially in Europe. The 2020 deadline for cutting down on emissions is getting closer by the hour and everyone wants to find the best compromise between driving fun, economy and practicality. As for BMW, we know they'll come up with the best solution, even for natural-gas powered cars, just as they succeeded with the i3 and i8.
Via: Car and Driver
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