3 cylinder turbo petrol engines could make their way across BMW’s car range over the next few years!

Fuel efficiency is the buzz word amongst competing automakers across the world and three cylinder engines seem to be the cusp at the move towards more frugal petrol engines. Ford has done it with the 1 liter EcoBoost petrol engine and so has Volkswagen with the 3 cylinder units powering cars like the Polo and the Up! petrol hatchbacks. That said, the F30 BMW 3 series sedan could be the first big volume car from the German automaker to go with 3 cylinder petrol engines.

2012 F30 BMW 3 Series Sedan

BMW has thus far already showcased a 3 cylinder turbodiesel engine, intended for use in future car models. The three cylinder petrol engine, however is still two years away from turning into production reality. BMW will mate turbo charging to this range of new three cylinder petrol engines to ensure that it produces enough power and torque to keep the BMW promise of the “joy of driving” intact.

Other details about this 3 cylinder turbo petrol engine range remains unknown at the moment including whether these engines will get a balancer shaft to iron out vibrations that are associated with three cylinder engines. However, BMW does seem to have big plans for the three cylinder turbo petrol engines as this engine is said to slowly make it way onto the entire range of BMW cars in due course of time.

2012 F30 BMW 3 Series Sedan

In India, three cylinder petrol engines have been massive sellers to say the least. India is a land where high fuel efficiency is the biggest factor that budget car buyers consider, and the country’s largest automaker even has an ad campaign called “average kya hai” running on this theme. In fact, India’s top selling car, the Maruti Alto features a F8D 3 cylinder petrol engine. India’s all time best seller, the Maruti 800, has had a 796cc, 3 cylinder F8D engine, right from the first day of its launch, way back in 1983.

Amongst other cars, the Nissan Micra petrol, the Maruti A-star, the Maruti Alto K10, the Maruti Omni, the Hyundai Eon, the Volkswagen Polo petrol and the upcoming Renault Pulse petrol are the number of three cylinder petrol engined cars in India, although none of them are turbocharged. In the future though, that might change as tigthening emissions and increasing concerns around fuel economy could mean that three pot turbo petrols could be the definitive way to go.

Via WhatCar

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