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Originally Posted by Uli_HH
BUT itīs real simple ... do you think BMW/M-GmbH would spend the money to develop (and produce) two totally different I6 engines of the same or nearly the same displacement side by side ... I would bet the simple answer is NO ... never!
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As I said in my last post they have done it in the past. I'll point you toward the M52B30 and S50B32 for further reading. A similar (though not quite the same since M did very little work on the engine) situation happened more recently with the 1M which used the older N54 instead of the N55.
So, yes, I think a similar scenario is very possible today. All we know for sure is that the M engine will be based (however loosely) on an existing series engine. In theory, it could be the N54, N55 or B68. You are putting all of you eggs in one basket and committing yourself to latter as the only possibility. I am allowing for any of them, while suggesting the the N55 seems the most probable to me at this point.
Clearly the M engine could not have be based upon the new engine family if its development was not progressed far enough along yet when M started their work. The N54 and N55 on the other hand we know for certain are available and have been for years. We don't know exact development timelines for the newer engines (at least I don't, and I doubt you do either), so for now we cannot (at least I can't) make a conclusion yet.
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FOR me there is only one reason for two totally different 6-cylinder-engines, build side by side and with the same displacement, ... an 3.0ltr.R6 BiTurbo for all .35i/.40i and M.35i/M.40i and an unique and stand alone 3.0ltr.V6 BiTurbo for the M3/M4 ...
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"Just to be different" does not provide a sound basis for a good business case, so I disagree with you on that particular point. The only justification I have ever been able to come up with for an M V6 is if there were a series V6 planned (which there is not - hence the M engine will be an I6).