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BMW's V10 wins international respect... again
Stiff competition from Volkswagen and Toyota failed to unseat BMW's 5-liter V10 engine as the best engine in the world for the second year in a row, according to the judges presenting at the International Engine of the Year Awards 2006 held at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany. The powerplant also beat out other entrants to win in the categories of Best Performance Engine and Best Above 4.0-liters. BMW also received kudos for the Z4 M's 3.2-liter and twin-turbodiesel 3.0-liter, for a total of five awards.
Subie fans will be pleased to know that the Subaru WRX's 2.5-liter turbo garnered the company's first-ever international engine award in the 2- to 2.5-liter category.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jordan 8:13PM (5/10/2006)
As for an engine still listed with mileage "tbd" on BMW's website, I'm not completely won over with this engine. While I'm sure most who can afford the M5 or M6 that this comes in does not have much of a regard for current rising gas prizes, my respect for this motor could go down if, say, it only gets 8MPG (3.4km/L?).
Still, congrats for hitting the 100HP/L mark.
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That One Person 8:14PM (5/10/2006)
This isnt surprising...this engine is amazing. Too bad its attached to a crappy transmission...
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jordan 8:29PM (5/10/2006)
Ack for using the reference to "engine" twice in the first sentence and saying "prizes" instead of *prices.* My bad. :/
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Tim P 8:55PM (5/10/2006)
I guess US automakers get no love? What about GM's LS2 or LS7? I guess old school pushrod technology isn't "cool".
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bhtooefr 9:02PM (5/10/2006)
City: 12 US MPG (19.6 L/100km, or 5.1 km/L)
Highway: 18 US MPG (13 L/100km, or 7.7 km/L)
Source: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/compx2005f.jsp?year=2006&make=BMW&model=M5&hiddenField=Findacar
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Stoneman 9:09PM (5/10/2006)
I'd take a Corvette engine over the BMW for the sheer joy of hearing that old-fashioned pushrod V8 engine roar. I get goosebumps when I hear it.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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Proud Japanese 9:10PM (5/10/2006)
If everyone was like Stoneman, then we would be stuck in the dark ages.
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Cody Peterson 9:11PM (5/10/2006)
Yeah I prefer the vette ls series too..
Chevy's kept that a simple push rod v8 (the standard vette these days gets like 26 mpg highway even) yet it puts out 400 hp....
The vette, especially the zo6, is a bargain, in my mind.
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Tad 9:43PM (5/10/2006)
I'm with #6 and #8...and obviosuly Proud Japanese has not done his research. The new corvette engines are really technologically advanced...despite what many think. How many other V8's can claim 26 mpg highway and have 400HP? Although Chevy did have the Quadcam ZR-1 back in the day, I think a pushrod V8 is Corvette tradition, and GM is doing a great job at intergrating the latest technology in the new LS2 and LS7.
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Proud Japanese 10:18PM (5/10/2006)
By technologically advanced you mean just sticking an even bigger engine into a car.
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Jim 10:33PM (5/10/2006)
"Best Engine in The World!" 12MPG-18MPG and what power to weight ratio? John Stossel would just say "give me a break!" Does evaluated in Germany ring any bells?
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dave 10:37PM (5/10/2006)
and again, the list is a joke.
VW winning any award for anything signifies we're not dealing with reality. Also skipping Honda's tremendous ICTDI for the diesel category is a mistake.
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dave 10:38PM (5/10/2006)
"Proud Japanese", get real. The SBC is a hallmark of excellent execution, and your distaste for it only makes you sound like an ignoranus.
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dave 10:39PM (5/10/2006)
#11 Jim I think you've hit the nail on the head.
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Noah 11:34PM (5/10/2006)
How the ump stick transmits it's guideance to the valve isn't really of the much concern to the internal fluid dynamics of the engine at sane speeds... In my opinion the OHC design is smarter an generaly seems to make better use of materials and IMO is easier to service from a time (which is expensive) vs parts (which are cheap) point of view.
That said I love a good V10 or V12... too bad BMW can't make a slick 7 speed manual transmission for it... or maybe even a 6 that just worked right...
--Noah
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gbh 11:55PM (5/10/2006)
Aerodynamics, weight, gearing. That's why a C6 gets the gas mileage it does.
Yank that lump directly out of the 'Vette. Stick it in a brand new Chevy Savana work van - 5200#+ and all the aerodynamic properties of a brick wall. Say hello to 8-9 MPG. 14 on the highway.
The BMW is a heavier car than the 'Vette. It is also a larger car than the 'Vette. Of course the mileage is going to be lower.
FWIW - I'm not particularly fond of V10s, BMW or not. They don't work as well as V8/V12 configs.
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Tad 11:56PM (5/10/2006)
Please "Proud Japanese" say smething else dumb! By technologically advanced I meant dry sump oil systems, titanium intake valves, advanced design of the intake system, and they dont "stick a bigger engine in something"...both the LS2 and LS7 are small block engines...lots of careful design and machining goes into making a "small block, big block" if you will. Shall I continue?
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Mike 12:16AM (5/11/2006)
In talking about MPG, you guys aren't seperating the engine from the car. A vette gets better gas mileage than an M5 because it is lighter and because it has a very tall OD gear.
Overall, I'm not impressed by BMW's monster engine. It's not that difficult to make something fancy if the end product is prohibitively costly. I will never have enough money to afford the car that it comes in, so it is meaningless to me. It's like a jet engine or a rocket booster - who cares if it makes a lot of power when you have to be a small government to afford one. They should limit awards to engines that real people might buy.
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haha 3:19AM (5/11/2006)
REAL PEOPLE MEANING THE PROLETARIATS?
you gotta be kidding me
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Mike 9:08AM (5/11/2006)
No, real people meaning real people. I don't know that many folks with so much free cash that: 1. they CAN by an M5, and 2. they WILL by an M5 at the expense of other items. I've never seen one on the street (although they are pretty subdued stylistically, so I may have missed it.) I have nothing against expensive cars - if you have the money for one, by all means buy and enjoy.
My real point is that design and engineering are only impressive when there are constraints involved. I'm sure that most car companies have the talent to make a V10 like BMW, but it would be so expensive that nobody would buy it. BMW can price cars at over 100K and still find buyers. As a result, the per unit budget for their engines is probably much higher than that of most other companies. It's easy to make something impressive when you have a lot to work with in the first place.
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