BMW to Supply Engines to Saab
By Bill Visnic September 27, 2010A report from Europe today says newly revived Saab Automobile and BMW AG plan to announce a deal prior to this week's Paris motor show for Saab to purchase BMW engines for a variety of new Saab models.
A Bloomberg story today said Saab will first purchase an all-new BMW engine for the upcoming Saab 9-3, a new generation of the company's critical entry-level sedan targeted for launch in 2012. The two companies reportedly will announce the agreement on Wednesday, before the Paris show kicks off. Neither BMW or Saab would comment, but a statement from Spyker Cars NV, owner of Saab, confirmed the talks.
It apparently is not yet known if the new engine BMW will supply to Saab is a 4- or 6-cylinder design. It indeed would be significant if BMW were to allow access to its signature inline 6-cylinder engine layout, a key technical feature that has been an important component of BMW's automotive brand since the origins of its first production cars in the early 1930s.
It is probable, though, that the new engine BMW will sell to Saab is a 4-cylinder.
The Bloomberg report says the engine will develop about 222 horsepower, and although BMW has existing versions of its inline 6-cylinder engines that develop power in that range, a hallmark of Saab engine development in recent decades has been the use of turbochargers to enhance power from smaller and more fuel-efficient downsized engines. It would be a simple matter, then, for BMW to generate 222 horsepower or more from a 4-cylinder engine augmented by a turbocharger.
Another possibility: the all-new BMW-made engine is a V6 layout. BMW has over the years been rumored to be developing a V6 engine, which could give the company more design freedom than it enjoys with its hallmark inline 6-cylinder engines because the V6 is substantially shorter. Many automakers have in the past enjoyed success with inline 6-cylinder engines - but over the years have converted to V6 layouts because the V6 is easier to package and does not dictate as many styling restrictions.
The shortness of the V6 layout has become a particular advantage in achieving more stringent frontal-crash requirements and also is a virtual requirement if the vehicle is based on a front-wheel-drive chassis such as Saab typically employs.
More Than One Engine
BMW recently has made no secret that it wants to expand its business (and revenue) model by becoming an engine and technology supplier to other automakers - and it's reported the BMW-Saab engine-supply deal may include more than just the newly-designed BMW engine for the coming Saab 9-3.
The agreement reportedly may also give Saab access to BMW diesel engines, crucial for competing in the European market and potentially vital in other regions, including the U.S., where BMW is making inroads with inline 6-cylinder diesels in its 3-Series sport sedan and X5 crossover.
BMW already has an agreement to supply inline 6-cylinder diesels powertrains that include transmissions to fledgling Carbon Motors Corp., a company designing an advanced vehicle specifically for law-enforcement duty.
Saab's current 9-3, a car launched more than a decade ago, uses engines made by former owner General Motors Corp., while the company's all-new 9-5 flagship and upcoming 9-4X crossover also use GM-designed and manufactured engines - at least in their initial generation of production.
Saab also is planning a new model to beneath the current 9-3 to take over as the brand's entry point, and it is widely believed BMW's Mini brand may provide the architecture for that car, scheduled to launch around 2014 and likely to be called 9-2.
Photos by Saab
1. Next generation of the current Saab 9-3 shown here reportedly will be first car to use all-new BWM-designed engine
2. Coming Saab 9-4X crossover, shown here in concept form, initially will use engines made by former owner General Motors Co.
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