Jalopnik: Turbocharged

BMW Turbo Four-Banger In Development

Mark Arnold — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Confirming speculation, BMWNA CEO Jim O’Donnell has stated in an interview with Business Week that BMW is indeed developing a new turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine. Of course, when we'll see it on our shores all depends on who gets elected President. Wait, what? Said O'Donnell, "It will deliver stronger performance in terms of acceleration than the current 6-cylinder, it will deliver lower emissions and will give you better fuel economy; so it is a win, win, win situation. This will be a high tech 4-cylinder engine; obviously turbo charged. We can’t really confirm or deny when it is going to come into the US, or if it is going to come into the US, until after the election and the government makes it clear what is going to be the platform that manufacturers have got to work to."

After the election? Really? Sure, that makes sense, seeing as BMW's future North American lineup will vary depending on future legislation. But we thought ze Germans were all about über efficiency, technology, and whatnot anyways, no matter what our stupid politics are. Oh well, either way, it sounds like the perfect engine to stick in a 1-Series tii. [via BimmerFile][image]

1980 Toyota Corolla Somewhat Repowered With BMW I6

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST

It's a little known fact that one of us Jalops spent the better part of our youth traipsing around the country in the back of a 1980 Toyota Corolla without so much as a radio installed. That first parental Corolla turned out to be a gateway Toyota and was followed by an unbroken chain of Corollas extending to this very day. This is why there is an A4 in the driveway and a Continental in the garage. Things would have been different had the Corolla of our youth been powered by a turbocharged BMW inline six sporting 400 bhp and 370+ lb.ft. of torque. Ah yes, smoky power drifts though the state of Nebraska would have made cross country trips far more palatable.

Dodge Tomahawk? Please: "Jagged Edge" For Sale on eBay

bwojdyla — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:45:00 EDT

Remember when the Tomahawk rolled on stage beneath leather-clad Wolfgang Bernhard's posterior? Remember how we all thought Dodge must have had an aneurysm, and the "bitchin'" center of the brain was now running the show? Well, in light of what we have here, Dodge's Viper-powered bike/car mashup looks more like a malaise-era station wagon. It's "Jagged Edge," a one-off motorcycle powered by a twin-turbocharged, 5.3 liter, V12 Jag engine with a single cog driving the rear wheel. Fancy-pants suspension? Nope, it has the front end from a Kawasaki GPZ1100 and a hard tail rear (that means none). Highly engineered thoroughly tested transmission? Ha! It's cobbled together from a cacophony of motorcycle and Land Rover parts. The builder reports 120 mph is as far as he's pushed it, but says there's far more room to roar. Sir, we salute you. [eBay via Custom Mettle]

Ford Is Readying A Trio Of Twin-Turbo Engines

Jonny Lieberman — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Looks like BMW isn't the only new twin-turbo sheriff in town. Back during the Detroit Show we hipped you to the knowledge that FoMoCo was readying a "twin-force" V6 good for over 400 hp that would be showing up in a Lincoln flagship. Not good enough for Mulally, apparently. Turns out that Dearborn is actually preparing twin-turbo 4 and 8-cylinder engines as well. Which is fantastic news. For their part, Ford is saying that this new family of forced induction mills will be easy on our pocketbooks, explaining that "twin-force will offer diesel-like fuel economy." And that's good, we like that. But they are leaving out the part about how twin-turbo V8 Mustangs (and maybe the Interceptor...) will be better than 10 Super Bowls. Direct injection and cylinder deactivation will also be part of the mix, natch. – Jonny Lieberman

Ford adding twin-turbos to V6 and V8 petrol engines [Motor Authority]