Next-Gen BMW M3 to Return to 6-Cylinder Powerplant

F80 M3 Rendering

Apparently the big shots at BMW have been listening. The guys at Bimmerpost spoke with the president of BMW America, Mr. Ludwig Willisch, who confirmed that the next generation of M3 will return with a straight 6.

Spy videos of of the prototype running the Nurburgring suggested that it was a 6 cylinder (the sound was a dead give away), but no one was sure about what kind of 6 cylinder. According to Mr. Willisch, they were considering lopping two cylinders of f the current V8 and calling it a day.

They’ll probably be using two, maybe even three, turbos if they intend to make the new verison more powerful than the outgoing model. It’s also a possibility that they’ll be using electronic turbos too considering they’ve filed a patent for that technology last year. Of course this raises it a lot of questions. Could the performance actually be better with a straight six? While purists wailed and moaned at the inclusion of a V8 in the current model, there’s been no assailing it’s performance. This’ll also be the first forced-induction M3, which is a pretty big deviation that’s likely to ruffle the feathers of a few enthusiasts.

That said, the new M3 just got a whole lot more interesting. We’ll have to wait for another 1.5 to 2 years for it to finally arrive, in the meantime dream of turbo-charged Bavarian street cars. We know we will.

What do you think? Is it a mistake to ditch the V8? Tell us your opinion in the forums!