Breaking News: Mercedes-Benz and Bmw working on three-cylinder petrol engines

All hail the return of the Isetta!

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:04:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Mitchel,
What have you been jamming down your smoke pipe?

— Agent63 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 3:10:54 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

true

— tryme (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:34:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

It will be a disaster, no one will pay $40,000.00 for a 3 cylinder.

Where is the prestige, and look at the damage to the German heratige when Suzikis tail lights are all you can see in your windsheild?

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:49:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Three-cylinder engines will be hugely unpopular in Merc's and BMW's. Big mistake.

— thstone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:55:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

Great, that's exactly what those Merc taxi cabs need.

— 009load (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:58:13 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Sorry Guys I prefer German cars all the way. But in small and cheap engines.....Japanesse are the best... If I'm wrong why most world Champions use Japanesse Bikes? Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda. etc

— Yonder7 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 4:59:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

WHY?!
I think it's by common sense that by the time 3-cylinder engine will be anywhere as powerful than today's 6-cylinder engines would be when auto enthusiasts prefer electric cars over conventional gasoline vehicles.

— WorldofLuxury (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 5:12:22 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I thought benz already had a 3banger in the smart?

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 5:34:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Apparently nobody here has been paying attention to the current trend in the business: downsizing.

Smaller engines in luxury cars are already trendy in Europe and are slowly catching on in the US. With rising gas prices and an uncertain future these cars are going to be in huge demand.

— Bill (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 5:46:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

What's the average age of the Autospies poster? 12?

— Willis (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 7:09:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

I'm not the first, and certainly won't be the last, to say a 3 cyl. is a bad idea....period.... They're so unstable, they require all kinds of weighting to make them stable, and once that's done, you're left with an overweight 3 cyl that can't perform and defeats the purpose of having a 3 cyl. in the first place.

— Bmw8ter (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 7:17:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

By the 1930s the most powerful engines had 12, or even 16 cylinders, some supercharged and only put out around 160hp. Then as time and tecynology rolled by the engines lost cylinders and size and became more powerful. In the 70s smog laws and fuel shortages brougth the engines even smaller. During the 80s some of the smallest engiens were produced and let's be honest, the power that came from them was amazing. Buick GNX had a 3.8L turbo and put out 280 or so hp (officially, but we all know they were way more pwoerful than that). Even Chrysler was in the mix with cars like the Spirit R/T that had a 2.2L I4 that put out a claimed 224hp (so the insurance companies could stay calm). The natural progression of the engine is to go down on the size of the cylinders (so that eventually we will get to ZERO!) and up on the power. If 3 cylinders can get the job done at a fraction of the thirst, bring them on. I don't need to brag about how many cubic centimetres, number of cylinders, or number of gears my car has.

— tango (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 7:38:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I think it's better if BMW and MB make a different brand and put all these 3 cylinder and 2 cylinder jokes under it.

JUGNU

— JUGNU (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 8:11:44 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Make mine an M3, Ha!!!!!!!

Get it?

3....

— aarononymous (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 8:18:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

The only gain I see is production costs. The 3 banger is not only unballanced, I would like to see where it makes peak horsepower and morover the torque curve, when it peaks and how flat it is. This will determine the amount of models it could be used for. It would definately have to be force inducted which raises cylinder preasures that multiply the ballancing issue. I would rather see a small cc V6 with cylinder deactiveation, at least there is an opposing cylinder.

— bfghemicuda (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 11:02:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

BMW's 3-banger is still dirtier than the Prius3. Funny.

Engines will be crap to drive, too jerky when you have floor it everytime to get the turbo to kickin to get you moving. BMW's 116i already takes 10+ seconds to reach 100km/h, how long will it take a 1200cc engine to do it?

Perhaps 3 cylinders are easier to manufacture, make it simpler for the factory kids to assemble.

Only brand conscious tards will buy them unless they drastically lower the price.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 11:25:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Well, BMW needs an engine for the .5 Series ;-.

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/22/2009 11:49:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

There's nothing wrong with 3 cylinder engines guys. Just because it's not a rumbling V8 or howling V10 or V12 it doesn't mean it's not good for cars. This American mindset will never go away of course. Bigger is always better but the rest of the world think different. Economically friendly motors in cars that are driven everyday is not a bad idea. Lots of people drive hybrids and no body complains about the slow 0-60 times or the puny petrol engines bolted together.

— Agent63 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 3:14:24 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

It is actually funny. When there is a new idea, in the 10th of a second you will hear why it is not possible or why it doesn´t make sense.

Gentlemen, progress needs brave decisions and to strike a new path will always be a warm welcomed occasion for haters to spread their bullshit.

BMW and Mercedes are well known and honored all over the world for their deep knowledge in engine development. If somebody can make a 3 cylinder engine work properly, then it is definitely BMW and Mercedes, and even more so, when they concentrate their forces.

— agent507 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 3:40:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Mercedes already has a 3 pot turbo engine used in the Smart. Should be enough to power a S Class Benz.

— richard112360 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 12:08:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

Look, its not all about logic. Maybe it should be, but its not. There are some things that people will just not accept regardless of how much they might make sense. Diesel engines come first to mind. No matter how clean they are, no matter how much power they have, no matter what you call them, Americans just ain't gonna buy them. Triples are in that same category.

— thstone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 5:13:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Agent507.
How is taking existing technology, removing a few cylinders equate to progress? Progress would be hybrids where you take 1/2 the amount of oil and get twice as much mileage out of it.

If BMW wants super fuel efficiency, stick one of their motorcycle engines in a car. Will drive just as bad but they won't need to waste money they don't have to R&D.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 9:01:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

The Suzuki Swift (AKA Geo Metro from GM) had a 3-cyl. gas engine in normal and turbo models. It got better mileage than a Prius with a lot less material and environmental damage in its production. And the engines were smooth. But "it ain't no E-class/5-series!"

But think about this:
Currently most cars are V-6 or 4-cyl, requiring 2 heads, which are the most complicated, costly part of an engine.

But with a mix of V-6 and 3-cyl. you only need 1 cylinder head design. Saves cost on all engines!
Just like a BMW V-12 is 2x straight 6, and Bugatti Veyron 8-litre 16-cyl. is really just 4 Golf GTI turbo engines sharing a common crank (with 4 cylinder heads and 4 turbo chargers).

In fact, expect the new crop of 3 and 6-cyl. engines to share the same engine controller -- just 2 banks/heads/CPUs for the V-models.

IT MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE, AND RIGHT NOW THE BEAN-COUNTERS DICTATE DESIGN

— DieselRules (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 11:22:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

what's up with all the hate on this site...
can't you guys have a normal discussion about cars and possibly related subjects without all the drama? I mean unless you're involved in the development of any of the cars discussed i don't see any reason for getting worked up... After all they are all competing for the customers' approval (that's US!) so it's all the better for us!
as for the issue of instability, V is not a 'natural' layout and yet it seems to be working pretty fine in so many cars thanks to the wonders of engineering, and we're talking about BMW here, who wins some quite a few engine awards every year, and mercedes benz, whose engines are not known to be unrefined, so i'm guessing they'll work something up... last but not least, odd inline engines exist and there is nothing wrong with them (I-5)

— nvme (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 5:20:04 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

agent507,
When I drove their 3 series, it didn't impress me. Perhaps they should clearly label which cars have magic feel (E46 M3 and E39 M5) and which ones don't (everything else). My brother's modded Celica handled better than the 323i.

Progress is Prius. More power, less fuel, lower price, better performance. Not BMW's less power, less performance, maybe less fuel but higher price because we doubled the size of that propellor.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 9:19:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Dieselrules,
Prius3 managed to stuff a bigger engine into the bay and get even more mileage and performance out of it. Compare that to the sardine cans in Europe with ever smaller diesel engines. 100yo technology has its limits, but that doesn't stop morons from overpaying for it.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2009 4:14:13 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0