BMW M Practically Constructed a V6 M5 — The Motorsport Experiment That Virtually Modified All the pieces

Once you consider BMW engines, “six cylinders” might be one of many first figuring out traits known as to thoughts. And even should you’re not a dyed-in-the-wool Bimmer head, you may know sufficient to imagine that these six cylinders can be aligned in a straight line, quite than in a “V” association discovered beneath the hood of another automakers. However BMW M truly gave critical thought to throwing a V6 beneath the hood of one in all its most iconic fashions — the BMW M5.

V6 Energy in a BMW M5? It Was Attainable

BMW M is, as its single-letter designation suggests, the Motorsport arm of BMW. As such, it stands to purpose that an M V6 — a departure from the inline-six the model could be very acquainted with — provided a possible aggressive edge. Reportedly, Paul Rosche noticed a route ahead in 1993 or 1994 for the V6 as extra than simply the next-gen M5 energy plant. When you don’t know, Rosche labored for BMW in numerous roles between 1957 and 1999. He had a hand in all the pieces that makes the model what it’s at the moment — from the legendary BMW M1, to the unique V12 LMR, and even the ever present BMW M3. Within the Nineteen Nineties, he was serving as Technical Managing Director of BMW M.

Anyway, as BMW M started work on the brand new E39 BMW M5, the V6 entered the dialog. Whereas we’ve beforehand reported that BMW thought of a V6 for the automotive, the “why” was by no means fully clear. Apparently, one driving purpose for BMW M to spend money on a V6 was motorsport software. Inline, or “straight” six-cylinder engines are for much longer than engines assembled in a “V” configuration. The V6 would’ve been a pretty resolution for the DTM racing collection, the place an inline-six wasn’t optimum for stability or packaging.

The Motorsport V6: The Lacking Hyperlink

BMW M by no means adopted by on the V6. Notably, the model withdrew from DTM totally because the E36 M3 debuted — which might’ve been almost across the similar time the model was this V6 engine. Additionally attention-grabbing to notice is the truth that virtually all Motorsport engines from this time on have been both four-cylinder or larger V8 or V10 motors.

Had the V6 come to fruition, BMW M would’ve had a low bar for manufacturing and gross sales volumes. The E34 M5, the E39’s predecessor, bought very slowly within the U.S., so BMW M was “2,000 or 3,000 vehicles” per yr. The actual prize, in any case, was creating a V6 aggressive sufficient for motorsport software. As an alternative, BMW pivoted to the 5.0-liter S62 V8 engineand we’re glad they did. In spite of everything, it’s solely by the use of the S62 that we ultimately bought the unbelievable S85 V10. Huge because of Steve Saxty for serving to supply a few of the info for this story. Take a look at his BMW books for extra behind the scenes seems to be on the BMW model.