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Originally Posted by dmboone25
Exactly on the engine front. They just did it with the new M5, sounds like it will be more of the same with the next M3/4 (and probably M2 as well).
What is there to get excited about if the engine is basically the same for straight generations or ~14 years? Yikes.
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Yup. Although inherently I'm not against further development of a platform as I will explain below.*
It's just that with the turbo trend, now it's almost as if they just turn up the boost a little bit and improve cooling and then match the HP figures of last year's Comp. model and call it a day. Sorry but that is just lazy engineering.
*Before anyone brings up the M88/S38 (which was used for over 2 decades), let me clear the air as to why M GmbH's original "big six" gets a pass.
1) History/Pedigree- A true motorsport engine developed from the M49 of the 3.0 CSL race car, later became the M88 and powered the BMW M1
2) Engineering- This engine defined the path for future Motorsport engines, featuring ITBs, natural aspiration, and an appetite for revs. BMW M continued to refine it with each new generation. Displacements increased from 3.5L to 3.6L and finally to 3.8L, power kept increasing and so did the redlines.
3) Tradition- there was a certain pride factor for BMW M and a cool factor for the customer that these engines were hand built in Germany by BMW Motorsport engineers.
4) Versatility- Pretty much all the M-cars from that era (until the E34) had some M88/S38 in them and for good reason: they made good power and good torque for daily driving but still maintained the "race-car" characteristics of its roots. The E30 M3 didn't share the engine, but shared the cylinder-head minus 2-cylinders.
So yeah, I can forgive BMW if they build upon and improve on an exciting and legendary engine, but it's hard to give them a pass on the generic stuff they're pumping out these days.