BMW has been producing engines for automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft since 1917, when the company began production of an inline-six aircraft engine. They have been producing automobile engines since 1933.

1917—1919 BMW IIIa inline-six aircraft engine- the first engine produced by BMW
2015—present BMW B58 inline-six automotive engine

Motorcycle engines

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Automotive petrol engines

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BMW is well known for its history of inline-six (straight-six) engines, a layout it continues to use to this day despite most other manufacturers switching to a V6 layout. The more common inline-four and V8 layouts are also produced by BMW, and at times the company has produced inline-three, V10 and V12 engines, BMW also engineered non-production customised engines especially for motorsports which include the M12/13 1.5-Liter straight 4 piston turbocharged engine from 1982 to 1987 for Brabham, Arrows and Benetton Formula One teams, the E41/P83 3.0-Liter V10 from 2000 to 2005 for Williams F1 Team and the P86/8 2.4-Liter V8 for their own F1 team partnering with Sauber F1 from 2006 to 2009, with which the company enjoyed its first and best finish at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix as a full works F1 manufacturer team, finishing the race with their winning driver Robert Kubica, and Nick Heidfeld in second place.

British super car manufacturer McLaren Automotive, a manufacturer of road-going sports cars based on Formula One technology, decided to work with BMW for the development of their first ever production car—the McLaren F1 in 1993 for the engineering and customization of its engine—the S70, which had a 6.0-Liter 60° V12 DOHC configuration. As only 1,510 units of the cars were produced by McLaren, the S70 engine holds the record of the lowest production engines by BMW to date.

Prototype V16 engines have been made despite not reaching production. These prototypes were the 1987 BMW Goldfisch V16 6.7 litre engine and the 2004 Rolls-Royce 100EX 9.0 litre engine. BMW has also made prototype V6 engines[1]

Automotive petrol engines
Engine code Configuration Years Displacement Fuel system
B38 Inline-three turbo 2013–present 1.2–1.5 L Direct injection
M10 Inline-four N.A. 1960–1988 1.5–2.0 L Carburetor / Mechanical and electronic fuel injection
S14 Inline-four N.A. 1986–1990 2.0–2.5 L
M40 Inline-four N.A. 1987–1995 1.6–1.8 L Fuel injection
M42 Inline-four N.A. 1989–1996 1.8 L Fuel injection
M43 Inline-four N.A. 1991–2002 1.6–1.9 L Fuel injection / CNG
M44 Inline-four N.A. 1996–2001 1.9 L
N40 Inline-four N.A. 2001–2004 1.6 L
N42 Inline-four N.A. 2001–2004 1.8–2.0 L
N45 Inline-four N.A. 2004–2011 1.6-2.0 L
N46 Inline-four N.A. 2004–2007 1.8–2.0 L Manifold injection
N43 Inline-four N.A. 2007–2011 1.6–2.0 L Direct injection
N13 Inline-four turbo 2011–2015 1.6 L Direct injection
N20 Inline-four turbo 2011–2017 1.6–2.0 L Direct injection
B48 Inline-four turbo 2015–present 1.6–2.0 L Direct injection
M78 Straight-six N.A. 1933–1950 1.2-1.9 L
M328 Straight-six N.A. 1936–1940 2.0-2.1 L
M335 Straight-six N.A. 1939–1941 3.5 L
M337 Straight-six N.A. 1952–1958 2.0-2.1 L
M30 Straight-six N.A. 1968–1994 2.5-3.5 L Carburetor / Fuel injection
M20 Straight-six N.A. 1977–1993 2.0-2.7 L Carburetor / Fuel injection
M88/S38 Straight-six N.A. 1978–1989 3.5-3.8 L Fuel injection
M102 Straight-six turbo 1980–1982 3.2 L Fuel injection
M106 Straight-six turbo 1982–1986 3.4 L Fuel injection
M50 Straight-six N.A. 1989–1996 2.0-2.5 L
S50 Straight-six N.A. 1992–1999 3.0-3.2 L
M52 Straight-six N.A. 1994–2000 2.0-2.8 L
S52 Straight-six N.A. 1996–2000 3.2 L
M54 Straight-six N.A. 2000–2006 2.2-3.0 L
S54 Straight-six N.A. 2000–2008 3.2 L
M56 Straight-six N.A. 2002–2006 2.5 L
N52 Straight-six N.A. 2004–2015 2.5-3.0 L Port injection
N54 Straight-six turbo 2006–2016 3.0 L Direct injection
N53 Straight-six N.A. 2006–2013 2.5-3.0 L Direct injection
N55 Straight-six turbo 2009–present 3.0 L Direct injection
S55 Straight-six turbo 2014–2021 3.0 L Direct injection
B58 Straight-six turbo 2015–present 3.0 L Direct injection
S58 Straight-six turbo 2019–present 3.0 L Direct injection
OHV V8 V8 N.A. 1954–1965 2.6-3.2 L
M60 V8 N.A. 1992–1996 3.0-4.0 L Fuel injection
M62 V8 N.A. 1996–2005 3.5-4.8 L
S62 V8 N.A. 1998–2006 4.9 L
N62 V8 N.A. 2001–2010 3.6-4.8 L
S65 V8 N.A. 2007–2013 4.0-4.4 L
N63 V8 turbo 2008–present 4.4 L Direct injection
S63 V8 turbo 2009–present 4.4 L
S68 V8 turbo 2022–present 4.4 L
BMW S68T MHEV V8 turbo MHEV 2021–present 4.6 L for Land Rover
E41/P80[2] V8 & V10 N.A. 2000–2009 2.4-3.0 L Fuel injection
S85 V10 N.A. 2005–2010 5.0 L
M70 V12 N.A. 1987–1996 5.0 L
S70 V12 N.A. 1992–2000 5.6-6.1 L
M73 V12 N.A. 1993–2002 5.4 L
N73 V12 N.A. 2003–2016 6.0-6.75 L Direct injection
N74 V12 turbo 2009–2022 6.0-6.75 L Direct injection

Timelines

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Automotive diesel engines

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Automotive diesel engines
Engine code Configuration Years Displacement
B37 Inline-three turbo 2012 1.5 L
M41 Inline-four turbo 1994–2000 1.7 L
M47 Inline-four turbo 1998–2007 2.0 L
N47 Inline-four turbo 2007–2014 2.0 L
B47 Inline-four turbo 2013–present 2.0 L
M21 Inline-six turbo* 1983–1993 2.4 L
M51 Inline-six turbo 1991–2000 2.5 L
M57 Inline-six turbo 1998–2013 2.5-3.0 L
N57 Inline-six turbo 2008–2020 3.0 L
B57 Inline-six turbo 2015–present 3.0 L
M67 V8 turbo 1998–2009 3.9-4.4 L

* Also produced in a naturally aspirated configuration.

Timelines

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Aircraft engines

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Straight-six

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  • 1917–1919 – IIIa, 19.1 L straight-six — first BMW corporate product of any kind
  • 1919, 1925–? – IV, 23.5 L straight-six
  • 1926–1927 - V, 22.9 L straight-six
  • VI, 38.2 L V12
  • 1926–1937 – VI, 45.8 L V12
  • VIIa supercharged V12
  • 116 (initially XII), projected 20.7 L V12, never manufactured
  • 117 (initially XV), projected 36.0 L V12, never manufactured

Radial

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  • X, 2.2 L 5-cylinder
    • Xa, 2.9 L 5-cylinder
  • 1933–? – 132, 27.7 L 9-cylinder, development of Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet built under licence
    • 1935 – 114, prototype diesel development of 132
    • 1935 – BMW-Lanova 114 V-4, supercharged liquid-cooled diesel prototype development of 114
  • 1939 - 139, prototype 18-cylinder double-row; two-row variant of 132
  • 1939–1945 – 801, 41.8 L supercharged 14-cylinder double row
  • 1942 – 802, projected 53.7 L supercharged 18-cylinder double row; 18-cylinder version of 801
  • 803, projected 83.5 L supercharged 28-cylinder 4-row liquid-cooled; essentially two 801s coupled together
  • 1936–1944 – Bramo 323, 26.8 L supercharged 9-cylinder, inherited when BMW bought Bramo in 1939
  • 1944–1945 – 003 axial flow turbojet
  • 1997–2000 – BMW Rolls-Royce BR700 family of turbofans; Rolls-Royce plc bought out the venture in 2000.

References

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  1. ^ George, Patrick (2014-09-11). "Did You Know BMW Builds V6 Engines All The Time?". Jalopnik. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Engine BMW • STATS F1".