消息人士近日透露，宝马计划为未来新车提供新的动力强劲汽油引擎，这些车从X3 M开始。内部编号为“S58”的六缸涡轮增压引擎其实并非全新引擎，它是在目前搭载于M3/M3上的S55 3.0升引擎基础上改进的。现行版M3如果搭配选装的Competition套装，功率可达444马力，而新引擎有望将功率提升至470至475马力。但首先，S58要想办法能塞进X3M的引擎室里，而从逻辑上看，如果X3M采用这台引擎，X4M也将搭载相同引擎。而对于下一代M3来说，情况就变得有点复杂，因为有报道称，该车将将采用弱混动系统以便将功率提升至500马力。除了动力更强劲，新一代M3，包括M4轿跑车和敞篷车也将更多的采用碳纤维材质以降低车重，提升性能。预计S58引擎最早将配备在2018年发布的下一代X3M上，随后将配备在X4M上，而下一代M3将于2020年底发布。
BMW Preparing New 475-Horsepower Engine For X3/X4 M And M3/M4
Sources familiar with BMW’s agenda have disclosed a new powerful gasoline engine is in the making and it will be put to good use in a multitude of models, starting off with the X3 M. Codenamed “S58,” the six-cylinder turbocharged unit won’t be a completely new engine as it will be more of an evolution of the existing S55 3.0-liter mill you’ll find in the M3 and M4.
While the M3 you can buy today pumps out a meaty 444 horsepower when fitted with the optional Competition Package, the new engine is expected to up the power ante to somewhere in the region of 470 or up to 475 hp. But first, the S58 will find its way inside the engine bay of the highly anticipated X3 M set to take on the likes of Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 and the Audi SQ5. Logic tells us that its coupe-ified counterpart, the X4 M, will be blessed with the same engine.
Things could get a bit more complex in the case of the next-gen M3 as a different report indicates it will take advantage of a mild hybrid system lifting total power to as much as 500 hp. Besides packing more punch, the new M3 – and its M4 coupe and convertible siblings – will make a more generous use of carbon fiber to shave off weight and consequently boost performance furthermore.
Expect the S58 to premiere as early as next year in the first-ever X3 M, with the X4 M to follow shortly. Believed to get an optional xDrive all-wheel-drive system, the new M3 is slated to debut around the end of the decade and it probably won’t take too long before its two-door cousins will be out.