Quote:
Originally Posted by palpatine_us
The future will be three and four cylinder engines propelling the front wheels and an electric motor in the rear adding 100hp to 400hp depending on the "M'ness" of the vehicle. Battery packs will be modular. The same architecture will give us pure electric vehicles. Gone will be the I6s, V8s, and V12s.
Most likely setup:
M5: 250hp I4 with a 400hp electric motor
M550i: 250hp I4 with a 250hp electric motor
540i: 250hp I4 with a 100hp electric motor (similar to current 530e)
530i: Just the 250hp I4
You've gone from four engines to one; four drive trains to two.
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Even if something like this happens - and it could, although I strongly doubt in the exact way you describe - it is at least one generation beyond the next one (which starts in late 2022) away. It could conceivably even be a generation after that, which would be in the mid-2030s.
The V12 is gone by 2023 at the latest, and the V8 could start phase out any time this decade. But the I6 is being heavily developed today as part of upcoming M45e power system. It's got a lot of life left.