MUNICH - BMW AG says it will expand the use of its TwinPower Turbo package to 4- and 3-cylinder engines, both gasoline and diesel.
The package, which combines twin-scroll turbocharging, direct gasoline injection and fully variable Valvetronic valve management systems debuted in 2009 in a 6-cylinder 3.0-liter gasoline engine used by the 5-series GT midsized model.
Earlier this month at the Geneva auto show, BMW showed the first application of the TwinPower Turbo package in a 4-cylinder engine, the 2.0-liter gasoline unit used in the X1 medium SUV.
Expanding the TwinPower Turbo technology to a broader range of engines is part of BMW's commitment to cut average carbon dioxide emissions another 25 percent by 2020, after they were reduced 30 percent between 1995 and 2010. Last year, BMW group sales in Europe averaged 148g/km of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4 liters per 100km with diesel engines and 6.6 liters with gasoline models.
TwinPower cuts CO2, boosts hp
The X1 equipped with the TwinPower Turbo package has a fuel consumption of 7.9 liter/100km and carbon dioxide emissions of 183 grams/ Km, which BMW states as being 16 percent lower than a larger displacement engine offering the same performance. Nevertheless, the package increases output 43 percent to 245hp compared to a normally aspirated 2.0-liter unit.
BMW has not yet announced when the TwinPower Turbo package will be offered on a new family of 3-cylinder engines, that the company plans to power the next generation Mini subcompact and entry models of the BMW range.
BMW has said this 3-cylinder unit, part of a modular family which also includes 4-cylinder, gasoline and diesel units will be the company's highest volume engine family, powering up to 1.5 million of the automaker's cars a year by 2014-2015.
To put this volume into perspective, the figure is higher than that of the total global sales for BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars last year, which reached 1.46 million units.
