Author:

ROBIN ROBERTS

BMW is developing a new 1.5 litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine for petrol and diesel applications.

It is said to be up to 10pc more economical than their best four-cylinder engine currently used.

Built on an alloy block, the engine gets Valvetronic variable valve timing, a single turbo, 11.0:1 compression ratio and a longer stroke than the N20 four-cylinder.

It has been engineered as part of BMW future modular engine strategy, which sees all engines based on the same individual 500cc cylinder.

BMW says the petrol engine will develop between 40bhp and 66bhp per cylinder, giving the various versions power outputs of between 120bhp and 200bhp. The torque outputs are expected to be between 44lbft and 66lb ft giving a range of 132lb ft and 198lb ft.

It is first destined for the new Mini and also the BMW 1 and 3 Series models.

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