Engine downsizing has been a theme for years now, as tightening emissions standards and taxes on large-displacement engines have made more cylinders harder and harder to justify. V-12s are nearly extinct, and many V-8s have gone away, replaced by four- and six-cylinder engines with turbochargers and hybrid assist. BMW has, so far, resisted killing its V-8 or the V-12s that Rolls-Royce uses, and it sounds like it will continue to for a long time.
Speaking with Autocar (via Motor1), Joachim Post, BMW’s chief technology officer, said that the company is in a good spot to comply with the restrictive Euro7 emissions standards by working on catalytic converters, and will not need to kill its larger engines to comply.
Part of what makes the cars compliant is the move to a plug-in powertrain for the highest-performance V-8s, like the new M5. This reduces emissions on short journeys and creates a car that is rated at 54 MPGe, which is hugely impressive when you consider it has 717 hp and can get to 60 in less than 3.5 seconds. It also sounds like the V-12, which is only powering cars from Rolls-Royce, could make a return to BMW. Perhaps, Motor1 speculates, in the new Alpina models that we should be seeing shortly.
Only time will tell, but thankfully BMW isn’t planning to replace displacement and cylinders with hugely advanced four-cylinder engines that have no soul, like another German automaker did…
