Published: May 24, 2012

New BMW M3 Bringing Back the Inline Six Engine

The V8 is dead and rumors of a possible V6 can now be put to rest.

It has finally been announced that the next-gen BMW M3 will be powered by an inline 6 cylinder engine as we expected. President of BMW North America, Ludwig Willisch, officially confirmed the news that will be music to M3 purists' ears. A V6 configuration using an abridged version of the current M3's S65 4.0-liter engine had been seriously considered, but it has now finally been ruled out. The fact it will utilize forced induction was never in doubt, so all that's left to discover is how much help it will get.

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To make it more powerful than the current M3, the new six-cylinder powerplant will have to come with at least two turbochargers. A tri-turbo setup perhaps with one or more electric turbos is also a possibility. Whatever they finally opt for, expect a power figure in the region of 450hp.