Quote:
Originally Posted by MJBO
I feel like M cars started to lose their status when they lost their special engines.
You couldn’t buy a “normal” BMW with an S65, S85, S54, etc.
Today’s M cars have reworked engines from the standard lines, and they’ve dropped the sharper DCT in favour of the too-smooth ZF even in the M3/M4.
Don’t get me wrong, the new cars are crazy fast and capable, but it’s come at the expense of the raw and more rarified driving experience.
My 2020 G01 X3 30i came with M badges all over it, it’s kinda silly.
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It's not financially feasible to design a completely different engine any longer. I mean, it's arguable that it wasn't ever a good idea. S54 and S52 are not that far off of the types of changes we see in S55. S85 and S65 may not have been the wisest decisions. S85 is a great engine, but the character IMO never suited a 5 series, and they blow up at an alarming rate. S65 was more on-target for the car but still not exactly the high point of BMW engine reliability. Probably could have used more low-end torque in such a heavy car but cost forced them to chop 2 cylinders off of S85 and run with it. People love the 1M, and if they had gone the turbo route for S65 I think people would have still been happy with the E9x M3.