BMW M3 to Get Tri-Turbo Small Displacement Straight-Six

With the 2012 M5 now revealed in all its turbocharged glory, the auto tabloids have switched focus to the next-generation M3.

While the V8 has long been rumored as dead, the latest reports indicated BMW will switch back to a straight-six engine, opting instead for turbochargers to make up the difference for the decreased displacement. In fact, the next-gen M3 mill will drop almost a quarter of its size, down to 3.3-liters. The straight-six will then be blessed with not one, not two, but three turbochargers – one of which will be electrically powered. Rumors of this same setup on an X3 M model have surfaced before and if true, let’s hope the engineers in Munich have advanced electric turbos beyond the eBay kind.

[Source: AutoExpress]