Fans of the M3’s high-revving (stress on high-revving) V8 prepare to wave goodbye to your beloved power plant! Next generation BMW M3 will have a turbocharged engine for better fuel efficiency.

According to sources from BMW, the current 4.4 liter V8 will be that last of naturally aspirated M engines. They have to use forced induction as a temporary solution to lower their average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, in order to cope with the new environmental regs.

That is not a necessarily bad thing, because with the X5M and X6M and the upcoming M5 which use the new biturbo V8, BMW proved that downsizing and forced induction can still answer your horsepower needs. As a matter of fact we will be glad to see a 6-cylinder M3 again! The M3 has always been an edgy and angry compact sportscar. The E92 and its V8 are a bit too lairy to be honest. It is fast and poised and precise, but it doesn’t have the same awesome feel of the previous gen M3 with its busy little engine.

Chances are that the next M3 gets a twin-turbo system like the one they use in 335is.

source: Autoblog