BMW Slashes V8 Production - V10 And V12 Go On Endangered Species List

Not to nit pick but the V8 in the 550, 650, 750 is not the one in the M3.

The M3's S65 lump is based on the V10 but is completely new.

i'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing for future bmw owners. i'm sure bmw will make fantastic four's anyway.

You make it sound like BMW doesn't make any 4 cilinder engines.....

they do but here in the US i'm not sure if they still have any. i know they used to.

no they make fantastic six cylinders and 8 cylinders which would be strange that they are cutting the 8 then what happens to the future 7 series

Interesting to note the BMW says worldwide v8 production can now be done at one plant running for only 4 days a week. That is a serious drop off.

I still think that they can make a smaller v8 and add turbo to it.

This is true

Sigh...the V8 just began to return during the early 90s and now they're leaving us already.

So sad...so sad....
I still love the sincere power of the low rumbling V12s...guaranteed no turbo lag 'cause there isn't a turbo...real class, raw power!!!

sigh...it's gonna be another sad roundabout in the automotive world :(

Brembo thay do already. It's the engine in the X6 and the 2010 555/755

I drove a 550 for a few years and loved it. If driven easy you could get 26 mpg on the road. I hope BMW will continue to improve their V8's and not abandon them.

The only way a 550 will get 26MPG is on the highway with a speed of 50 or 60MPH. Average millage which includes around town etc. is around 19 or 20MPG.

understandable, most people lease the BMW V6 models anyway...

I didnt realize BMW had a car with a V6......

a BMW V6??? Is this your first time at a car website?

pushrod, BMW 6 cyl engines are I6s, not V6s. The poster was most likely being sarcastic.

Wow, pushrod must feel like an idiot right now.

I don't need you to tell me what's under the hood of a BMW. I know already. You should learn about sarcasm, then read me again.

Hyundai starts pushing V8's while BMW cuts production of them. Be afraid BMW fans, be very afraid.

BMW is reacting to the market. If sales for V8 are down keeping production up on engines would be silly.

All that means is that Hyundai came to the party too late. BMW is making the proper and wise adjustments for the current market climate.

Driving a Hyundai is like buying clothes at Wal-Mart - you get a cheap knockoff of last year's designer fashions. Wal-Mart sells dresses and shoes now. Do you think Saks is worried about them?

Yet still i hear all of you saying Acura needs a V8. No they dont!

Shut up Michael.

I dont see the big problem with a 4cyl BMW they have been making one for years...as long it has performance and is reliable I dont see the issue....The other thing is 1 BMW has to continue production of the V12 because of Rolls Royce, the V10 not so much a twin turbo V8 could replace it just some purists may be upset about a normal BMW engine going in an M car..but it does make sense. Ive heard the new 7 series dropped the V12 option with the new generation already, but hopefully it will get it back soon as BMW seems to be running away from high end cars, to produce a ton of mainstream low end models...which is my only issue with them right now they appear to be giving up on the high end market....and on a side note that BMW picture is again rediculous like this posters other BMW hatred articles...the V10 was just released with the new M5 and M6 BMW had that title before this engine and will have it after...a V12 BMW ismore about prestige than anything else so I fail to see how BMW dropping a V10 that it just basically got, and a V12 which is more a prestige car, will kill its title of the Ultimate Driving Machine..........

bmwdrvr, first of all, all BMW's are high end cars, getting better fuel econemy will not make them cheap, these are high end luxery cars. Also, BMW is not dropping their 8 or 10 or 12 cylinder motors, they are only reducing production, sales are down.

please dont respond to my post again.......I mean I hate to say this is the quality of posters going down or something.....you never even read what I said and yet you responded with a comment that makes no sense and has nothing to do with what I just said......why dont people actually read the post before replying to it....its starting to get old it really is..where are the old days where informed people would go back and forth now its like random comments about nothing at all............AGAIN IF YOUR NOT GOING TO READ SOMEONES POST DO NOT REPLY TO IT....

BMW isnt selling a ton of V8's, but that is because of price point. Of course they will have a V8 in the new 7er. Of course they will continue to produce 4.8i X5's. I wouldnt put it past them to come out with a twin turbo 4 cylinder for the 1 series. they have very efficient 6 cylinders, why so serious?

There is a problem with this article. BMW do not make V6, and I do have serious doubts about the credibility of this article.

Why all the worry? V10 & V12 engines, and cars that likely would be equipped with them, aren't very popular right now because of high gasoline prices. BMW can simply crank up big-engine productiohn when demand recovers.

BMW big engines are very nice, but their inline 6 is what has put this company on the map. Powerful, efficient, silky-smooth - a beautiful engine in every way. Supercharging or turbocharging a small-displacement I-6 might be the best way of achieving good fuel economy without diluting the BMW driving experience.

Where did S4 go?

Good question. I have no ides. Anybody know?

* idea, not ides.

I thought that every BMW owner was rich and didn't bother with silly 4 cylinders, just the top of the line V8s?

LOL. Don't listen to amazinBimmer, chewy!

Or were you being sarcastic? Either way, I got a laugh out of it.

Wasnt this expected? The number of 550i you see on the streets are rare compared to the number of 523i, 525i, 528i, 530i, and 535i that you see on the streets. So it only makes sense. As for the 7 series, I think most of them are sold in big V8, but the market for smaller engines is getting bigger.

As for their SUVs... V8s will always live!

BMW's sweet spot has always been 4 cylinder and I-6 engines.

In fact, their V8's have, with rare exception, never lived up to the longevity and reliability standards set by their venerable I-6's.

Remember the alusil/nikisil V8 engine block issues in the mid-90's - cost BMW a ton in new engine replacements under warranty.

If you have a 540/740/545/745 with medium mileage (say 80K +) - watch out because gasket replacement, rebuild, and cooling issues are just around the corner.

BMW's last gen I-6 engines routinely went 300,000 miles when sticking to BMW's 'old' maintenance schedule.

Now many V8's will die around 100K or so. V8's cost BMW a lot of reliability credibility.

V-12's will be around to power the Roller's and 7's tho.

That's not 100% accurate. I still see 90's 7 series' with V8s running around with no problems. Not to mention the 745s, still running around.

But I agree, BMW's I6 engines are definetly the best.

After nearly three years with BMW 550i, would gladly go back to inline 6 cyl., with 3.5 L volume. Not a turbo fan. Extra weight of V8 effects handling and tire wear(Bridgestones runflats close to $500 each). A few speeding tickets cures the V8 thrill. Miss 2003 530i. Had sterling silver with sport package. Beautiful today.

BMW just needs to focus on 2 engines, the V6 and the V8, these are the staples of their performance fleet. If their R&D can create ways to technologically tweaked the engines to use less gas and maintaining or improving the power and torque - that would be great. They definitely need new ideas in terms of new and renewable energy based engines. Their hydrogen based 7 series engine is great - if only they can trickle it down to their 1 and 3 series and have the dealer network offer the hydrogen filling station.

The "V6", sheeesh, where do these people come from?! BMW has NEVER had a V6, they are world famous for their inline sixes. A filling station at the dealer? We will need a lot more stations than one at every dealer and until hydrogen costs less than petrol no one will be buying one.

Haven't heard of the BMW X6 Concept ActiveHybrid? That and many other projects which fall under BMW's EfficientDynamics program have been underway for years.

It would a good idea if they buy engine from honda