Is this the end of the line for the N/A BMW straight 6?

[ali]

Spring is nearly upon us and with that comes a raft of new engines from BMW

In comes the 440i with 322bhp and 332 ft/lbs straight six twin turbo.
The little 4 pot dervs get a make over as well with the basic 320d putting out as much torque as the 440i but with 100 less bhp
The 425d now becomes a 4 pot instead of 6 and even more worryingly is the 420i with a 181bhp and 430i in 248bhp form which are both turbocharged 4 pots

Is this the end of the line for the N/A BMW straight 6?

I thought a front wheel drive 2 series was bad enough now this.
May as well go and buy an Audi

[Chas]

I'm more concerned about Alpinas rolling off the BMW production line. Is this the end of the line for Alpina as a bespoke manufacturer? Are they becoming relegated to the status of tuner?

No Audi required; just stick with the older models and look after them

[Charles]

The normally aspirated straight six went years ago with the advent of sequential turbos.

Nowadays, BMW can achieve the same output from a turbo four pot which provides better economy so, unless they want to target a higher output, then there is no need for a straight six - sadly.

[simon13]

its hasn't gone though its just gained a turbo or two in diesel and petrol. As long as they make all their bigger cars the 6 pots and V8's will stay

They've just brought out a twin turbo v12 seven series! obviously nicked from rolls but hey!

[Jervint]

The end of normally aspirated BMWS in general I think. They finally found the replacement for displacement!

I wonder if we'll ever see engines like the S85 V10 or the AMG 6.2 again. Noise and emissions regs are both getting tighter. Plus the Chinese market has such a big say now...anything over 4 litres gets taxed to buggery.

I also think as far as straight sixes go the S54 is hard to top...

[CV35Ian]

Be positive:
6 cylinders = 6
4 cylinders plus twin turbos also = 6

[Broch]

I still hope that the XD3 will come with a tri-turbo engine