We have heard the claims repeatedly from BMW‘s people ever since they announced the development of their brand new series of 1.5-liter TwinPower three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines: these new powerplants will be strong, fuel-efficient and equally important, sound the part.
At the recent Paris Motor Show, BMW sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson told reporters that the new three-cylinder engine “behaves like a six-cylinder, is half-of a six-cylinder and has the noise of a six-cylinder”.
Want more? Here is another quote from BMW regarding the gasoline version of the 1.5-liter twin-turbocharged unit that will be offered in outputs ranging from 120Hp to 220Hp:
“In addition to the high-revving characteristics and gratifying responsiveness, the emotional sound of the engine also makes an important contribution to the driving experience. Because the frequency of the sound of a three-cylinder engine increases 50 per cent faster than that of a four-cylinder, the engine is perceived as being extremely vivacious and sporty.”
Now the time has come to listen to the sounds of a prototype 1-Series fitted with a 180Hp version of the gasoline three-cylinder engine linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission, as BMW recently invited several websites to try out the test cars.
Check out the videos below and then head over to the comments area to share your first thoughts.
We tip our hats to Dustin!
Story References: Bimmer-Today , Paultan , & via BMWBlog
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