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In Reply to: 330i auto @ 220hp vs. 328i stick (more) posted by rca on October 22, 1999 at 08:49:00:
Personally, I think that raising the hp of the 528i is more of a concern to BMW than raising the power of the 328i. It wouldn't surprise me (actually, I expect it) if the 530i, or something along those lines, came out before a 330i. Here's the thing- right now there's an 89 horsepower difference between the 540i and 528i. I think BMW will close that gap, but not by half- just a little less. They still will want to justify the $11,000-13,000 premium between the cars (It's probably a bit less than that when standard equipment on the 540i is factored in)
I expect the new 3L engine to put out between 220-230. Right now, the 2.8L engine puts out 68.9 hp per liter. A 240 hp 3L will put out 80 per L. That's one hell of a jump- even considering engine control and managemnet advancements and the increased displacement. They could pull a Honda, and make that peak at like 8000 rpm, but that's not BMW's style. A 230 hp engine would put out 76.67 hp per liter- that sounds more reasonable (at 220, it would do 73.3 hp per liter).
So what's the point of my babbling? umm, wait a second, what is my point.... oh yeah, I don't think 240hp is going to be the final hp figure. A bit less than that, but still, it'll be sufficient to pull a 530i or 330i and it's very happy occupants to very high speeds very quickly.
If they are going to make a 530i, they won't make the engine 240+ horses, since that would make it too close to the 540i (yeah, I know it's still a 40 horse difference, but there's a 90 horsey difference now), I think it'll end up being 220-230 hp. And remember, the 3L engine is being developed primarily for the X5, which is more or less a raised 5-series wagon. They're going to keep the performance gaps
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