The second car in the BMW stables to receive the new N20B20 4-cylinder direct injected turbocharged petrol engine is the BMW Z4, in the sDrive28i model. The first model to get the engine was the BMW X1 xDrive28i.
In the X1, the N20B20 makes 245 horsepower at 5,000rpm and 350Nm of torque from as low as 1,250rpm, which is slightly less horsepower but a whole lot more torque compared to the engine it replaces – the 3.0 litre 6-pot that in “28i” tune makes 258 horses and 310Nm.
We expect the engine to be extended to other BMW models as well – there’s surely going to be an upcoming new 1-Series 128i, the F30 328i and perhaps even the F10 528i will become 4 cylinder powered.
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first the M division goes FI instead of NA and now this – I think I’m gonna be sick……
err….what is FI?
Forced Induction
NA six going the way of dinosaurs. Goodbye!
The I-6 is one of the smoothest and best performing engines ever, any car company can make the numbers on a 4 cylinder look good but will it ever match up to a NA I-6?
All this hype when it comes to turbos, turbo this and turbo that – has everyone forgotten bout the first batch of N54 engines in 335i & 135i? How bout the HPFP issues that the first batch of 335i & 135i had?
Did everyone also forget about the class action law suit in the states regarding the HPFP and twinscrolls?
I think its unfair that BMW is taking away the choice of the NA I-6 and forcing us to swallow 4 cyl engines, if every BMW motor is going turbo I’m going elsewhere…
wow!! monster! n20b20 ? cool!
forte koup anytime over this expensive shit!
Forte Koup is a nice car. A great loaded coupe with a great price. I even bought one 2 months ago and expecting delivery in 2 weeks time.
But comparing it with a turbo-ed Z4 simply show how immature you are.
Its completely built for different demographics and different purpose.
One is a koup ( opps, coupe ) and the other, a open top roadster.
Its like saying, a kancil is better than a ferrari? In many way it is, its cheaper, its more reliable ( yes, u will be surprised ). But a ferrari is not built to be cheap. Its build for completely different purpose.
So grow up my friend.
Can not even know how to compare apple to apple, time to go to school kid.
IMO, BMW makes some of the best inline-6 engines (the other exception of course is Porsche). Can’t blame them for replacing the inline-6 with this as it is more economical and practical. Things change and we have to move on. However, I hope that they will actually make a sweet 6 version, maybe on the M roadster?
How is this compares to the S2000?
Even both engines have around 240hp, the S2000 is obsolete (as far as I know, Honda stopped the production in 2009 already). The big difference:
S2000: 208 Nm @ 7,500rpm
Z4: 350Nm @ 1,250rpm
Although VTEC has been developed to get more torque at low rpm’s, it apparently failed in this comparison…
after driving the gti i’m now a turbo fan!
no matter how many hp you squeeze from NA engine, you can’t produce loads of torque at low rpm like how a turbo does, civic type R and s2000 produce a lot of power for its cc but even my lawn mower has more torque
way to go fortelover..clap..clap..clap..
Wow, congrats BMW, 12 years later and with the help of a turbo you finally achieved the same horsepower as the S2000!
I remember first reading about that VTEC 2.0L from the S2000 making 240hp and my eyes popped.. thought it was a great feat and now BMW does the same with a turbo, variable timing and direct injection. We should all applaud (sarcasm) BMW.. give them thundering applause!!
S2000 exceeds the emission limit set by many countries, so turbo is the way to go.
In a way, i agree with you.
And with turbo, comes another set of problems.
I used to own an s2000, drove it to 120k km, before selling it. Man, i tell you, over 7 years ownership, never once it spent overnight at the workshop. Just basic maintenence.
My current ride,which is a conti turbo, lets just say it spend a nice percentage of its life so far staying in the workshop, vs the road.
I drove a turbo for 288.000km before selling it, I never once it spent overnight at the workshop. Just basic maintenence.
All big lorries are turbo, they will be phased out when they have more than 1.000.000km on the clock.
So what do you want to tell us? That your workshop cannot be recommended?
Clutch Basah,just look at how much more torque the BMW unit produce compared to the honda’s . In everyday driving, torque matters more than a big Bhp.
No offense, I have a company car and my trustee Honda EX5 for my everyday driving.. who cares if they don’t have 500Nm.
Cheers :D
Clutch Basah… your sarcasm is unplaced.
go look at power outputs for the M3 (whichever generation) and M5
no other manufacturer gets those sorts of output from those engine capacities by way of natural aspiration bar ferrari, lambo and prosche.
i am a fan of the S2000 as well… but kutuk tu berpada pada lah…
Chill dude, we are talking about 4 pot-er lar, how many cylinders M3/M5 has?
To justify my argument let me put it in simple equations;
S2000 : 4 cylinders = 240hp /220Nm of torque@6,800 rpm
Z4 sDrive28i : 4 cylinders + TURBO = 240hp/350Nm of torque@1,250rpm
From what we could see the first one is inferior to the later BUT it was a NATURALLY ASPIRATED INLINE-4… no turbo, nada, zilch, null, zero, teloq
Sure the Z4 has 350Nm of torque as low as 1,250rpm but how often do you floor your accelerator from idle? unless you’re doing a 1/4 mile on daily basis.
Your last line is quite interesting. You don’t have to floor. Even gentle daily driving benefits from high torque at low RPM. Driving becomes so much more relaxed and the gears cycle up faster, engine revs are kept low – NVH also kept down. You hardly hear the engine work. High revving engines belong mostly in the past, and are now only suitable for very niche applications.
BMW is brilliant. It is good they are are coming out with smaller engines with higher hp. and better fuel economy.
Paul any idea when will the new petrol 2.0 twin power turbo be launched in the F10? Also, will the F10 price go down since its a 2.0 and not 2.5 which carry higher taxes. Can you give us an estmate? Say now the 523i is RM$384,000, how much lower will it be with this new engine?
Right now the N20 has only been revealed in “28i” tune… which will slot into the 528i. No idea about the 523i, perhaps there’s not much news because internationally a 523i doesn’t exist in most “first world” countries.
There’s definitely the possibility of more affordable pricing because of lower tax, but it’s up to BMW Malaysia whether to use the margin to reduce price, or to increase specs. We’ve already seen how affordable an F10 can become with the 520d… small gap between it’s retail price and the 325i’s.
The sifu has spoken..
cheers Paul, i’m just playing with these people.. they didn’t play that long.. aren’t they?
Paul, you are right, the “28i” tune only has been revealed. But there will be many variants, finally topping abt 245Bhp. Overseas, they are bound to replace across the board of F10 models with different variants of the N20 with each model having different Bhp. I doubt Malaysia will introduce it. All this time, BMW Malaysia has been hiding behind the shadow of kononnya higher taxes for the 2.5. They justify the higher price of the 523i when comparing with the Mercedes E200CGI, saying that the Mercedes is 1.8 but BMW is 2.5.
If they intro the 2.0, they cannot bullshit anymore and will be forced to price the car at RM333,333, the same as the 520d. They won’t do it…why lose money when you can screw buyers for more money?
The government should tax all 2500cc and above cars heavily. This will encourage manufacturers to bring in 2000cc and below which will save us fuel. Look at Merc, now most of their best sellers are 1800cc (E200 and E250). The government should also step in and ask BMW why they are not introducing a smaller engine for their cars when it is available globally. The government must be pro-active and promote fuel saving amongst consumers.
BMW Malaysia will have to introduce the N20 in the F10 when it happens globally, after all, the N52 engine in the F10 now is 8 years old and outdated. Globally, except Australia, all the F10 engines are the newer more efficient N53.
try looking at when max torque comes in
the beemer most likely has more hp under the fat power curve
and most likely more economical too, more green
dont get me wrong im a honda fan as well, hehe
Cheers
BMW Z4 sDrive35is 3.0L, 335HP, USD60K = RM186K.
If there are no Proton or Perodua or Naza or AP, I would have bought this Z4 sDrive35is.
Wonder how much this BMW Z4 sDrive28i is selling in Malaysia?
Chill people.BMW’s direction is in line with the current trend of downsizing powerplants with small capacities and add that 4 pot or 6 pot with a turbocharger.I believe they started this with the 330ci with the 3 litre twin turbo 6 pot with 306bhp and over 400nm of tourque.
Whether it’s the variable geometry type turbo or not is irregardless and their demographics and target segment for their market share in this category of cars is entirely different.
Yes the S2000 makes exactly the same power,but it’s torque curve is flat,it’s a screamer no doubt and is very reliable,as Turbo man put it.But this ride catered for an entirely different enthusiast segment.It’s just not in the same league as this Z4.Besides,it’s out of production.BMW makes one the best inline 4’s/6’s in the world,and this engine is a magnesium block unit if i’m not mistaken.
At the end of the day,it’s what we really want to own,be happy about it and drive the living daylights out of it.Opinions and personal preferences vary differently from all of us here.
Cheers guys.
Variable geometry turbo for the BMW petrol engines are unlikely… probably twin scroll fixed geometry.
Agreed Paul.Cheers.