BMW has made a habit of underrating the performance figures of its engines. Just look at the 3.0-liter six-cylinder turbo powering the Toyota Supra as it pumps out much more than the company claims. The same can be said about the new BMW X3 M Competition.
The crew over at IND Distribution put an X3 M Competition on their dyno and saw it return figures of 491 hp and 446 lb-ft (605 Nm) of torque at the wheels. BMW claims that the new 3.0-liter twin-turbo six of this SUV pumps out 503 hp and 442 lb-ft (598 Nm) of torque at the crank so when you factor in the inevitable drivetrain loss, likely to be anywhere between 10 and 20 per cent, it would appear as though the X3 M Competition engine actually delivers at least 524 hp and 490 lb-ft (665 Nm) of torque.
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It’s not uncommon for car manufacturers to underrate the performance figures of their engines. Perhaps most famously, cars coming out of Japan between 1989 and 2005 never had more than a quoted 276 hp due to a ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ between the country’s leading car manufacturers in a bid to avoid a horsepower war. In reality, all cars out of Japan with 276 hp have more power than claimed.
Since we now know that horsepower and torque figures for the X3 M Competition have been underrated, we can confidently say that the same will be the case with the next-generation M3 and M4 models as they will feature an identical engine.