BMW’s Jim O’Donnell confirms 4-cylinder turbos in production

Our main BMW man on the stateside, Jim O’Donnell has confirmed that BMW is working on 4-cylinder engines. In an interview with BusinessWeek while discussing the new 2009 BMW 7-Series, O’Donnell confirmed that BMW is working a 4-cylinder engine that will deliver better performance, lower emissions and better fuel-economy than the current 6-cylinders.

“This will be a high tech 4-cylinder engine; obviously turbo charged,” said O’Donnell. “We can”t really confirm or deny when it is going to come into the US, if it is going to come into the US until after the election and the government makes it clear what is going to be the platform that manufacturers have got to work to.”

We recently heard that BMW is close to deciding on 4-cylinder option for the 3-Series and 1-Series in the U.S. BMW is planning on producing 240,000 4-cylinder units a year.

Source: BusinessWeek (via BimmerFile)