On Friday, April 12th, the new Range Rover Sport SV was launched in China and debuted as the EDITION ONE Limited Edition. The official price of this British luxury off-road vehicle has come to a staggering 2.438 million yuan, which is more expensive than the BMW XM (2.3 million yuan), which is also the brand's performance flagship!
It is worth noting that the 4.4T V8 twin-turbo engine used in the all-new Range Rover Sport SV, which can burst out with 635 horsepower, is the same engine as the BMW XM and X5M -- BMW's S68 engine! Why does Land Rover use BMW engines in its own performance flagships? Which brands of BMW engines are still used in models, and how good are they today?
Land Rover has a BMW heart
Is it unintentional? These histories are worth excavating
The BMW S68 engine, which is also used by Land Rover for more than 2 million, is actually an electrified version of the S63 engine of the BMW M8 and M5: it is paired with a high-performance electric motor to create a plug-in hybrid XM, which also adds a 48V mild hybrid system. The electrocution of large-displacement engines is partly in response to stricter Euro 7 emission regulations, which is very beneficial for BMW and Land Rover, which are also local European automakers.
In addition, the engine gets a new crankshaft, oil cooler, oil pan, upgraded turbocharger and even a new electrically variable camshaft timing control system (VANOS, for the first time in BMW engine history, as all previous VANOS systems worked hydraulically and mechanically).
It can be said that the BMW S68 engine has both high-performance, mature, stable, environmentally friendly and innovative high-quality attributes, which is an out-and-out good thing, and it is not unintentional to use it on Land Rover-
Those familiar with the history of the BMW Group know that the BMW Group acquired the Rover Group in 1994 and also took the Land Rover brand under its control, until it changed hands to the Ford Group in 2000, creating the original BMW X5 in six years - using a lot of the advanced technology of the Range Rover at the time, and the BMW road performance and comfort and Land Rover's off-road ability were fantastic combined.
The original E53 X5
In that year, BMW rode the east wind of Land Rover to create the X5, the king of the road, thus opening the SAV/SAC legend of the X family, and has become the leader of the luxury brand SUV market to this day. Now, BMW is also pulling this partner with deep bonds in the engine field that it is best at, and it is not a romantic feeling to meet at the peak?
Land Rover's choice to apply BMW engines to flagship performance models such as the latest Range Carrier SV also shows the weight of BMW engines in addition to feelings and halos. Below, let's take another look at which brands and which models are using and have used BMW's engines, and see if these combinations are beyond your imagination.
丰田Supra,再现JDM光环
The value of BMW engines is worldwide
Codenamed MK5, the Toyota GR Supra is the fifth generation of this JDM legend, with cool and sharp lines that live up to the nickname "Bull Demon King". And in this car that has been introduced to the domestic market, the most topical thing is its connection with BMW: it uses BMW's B48 four-cylinder engine and B58 inline six-cylinder engine, providing 2.0T and 3.0T two power specifications, with a maximum horsepower of 255 hp and 382 hp (overseas model specifications).
That's right, the same coupe, this generation of Supra is the brother model of the BMW Z4, based on the joint research and development of BMW and Toyota, using the same engine, the power is the same (but unfortunately due to the difference in domestic and foreign emission regulations, the maximum power output of the domestic imported model is slightly lower, is 197 hp and 340 hp), and even the official pricing is highly synchronized - Supra is 499,000-629,000 yuan, Z4 is 493,900-640,900 yuan. It is also said that the reason why this generation of Z4 Roadster does not have a corresponding hardtop model is because of the existence of the Supra......
From top to bottom, it's actually BMW's B58 and B48 engines
In 2019, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, also driven by Sport Auto test driver Christian Gebhardt, had a 3.0T Supra lap time of 7:52.17, faster than the Z4 M40i's 7:55.41, thanks to the powerful new Bavarian heart of Munich. The brilliance of JDM's performance was rejuvenated in the new car, which naturally made fans cheer and follow, so much so that in 2021, the Supra and the Z4 were both the world's best-selling sports car segments in the world.
When BMW's two most commonly used gold-level engines met the legendary Dongying series, the injection of fresh blood made JDM burst into new cars again. If we talk about German cars, BBA is already a household name, but compared to its prominence, the development of Japanese cars has dragged on a bit in recent years, so much so that nostalgia has become the theme. Through the in-depth cooperation with BMW, Toyota has let a group of JDM fans know that they don't need to stop and look back, but they can also go all the way up - the value of BMW engines is worldwide.
The most powerful V12 in BMW's history
It turned out to be given to this McLaren
Unfortunately, in addition to the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars that are still available to the Group, BMW has said goodbye to the V12 engine on the brand's current models. But did you know that BMW has also used its own V12 engine in the history of McLaren?
As a British supercar brand originating from F1 racing, its first civilian supercar was named F1: it came out in 1992, a total of 106 units were produced, equipped with the S70/2 6.1L V12 engine provided by BMW, which could burst out an astonishing 627 horsepower more than 30 years ago!
The powerful S70/2 engine was tuned by Paul Rosche, BMW M's veteran engine engineer and known as the "King of Engines", and ended up delivering 14% more power than Gordon Murray, the father of McLaren's F1 supercar.
Interestingly, Gordon Murray was the technical backbone of Brabham in Formula 1 in the 80s, and it was the turbocharged engines provided by BMW that helped the team win the championship – and it was because of his deep understanding of BMW's extreme prowess in the field of engines that he naturally thought of BMW when he was looking for the powerful heart of an epoch-making supercar.
Tracing back to the roots, the pedigree of the BMW S70/2 engine is also commendable. Its engineering prototype S70 engine was used in the E31 M8, which was not put into mass production, and the earlier M70 engine was born in 1987, which was the first V12 engine born in Germany after World War II, and BMW was 4 years ahead of Mercedes in reshaping the V12!
Write at the end:
"The Emperor of Machines" is a title that a series of BMW engines often receive in the same class. The Bavarian engine factory is terrifyingly strong in building engines, which makes sense. BMW is now fully committed to electrification, while still respecting the tradition and value of the internal combustion engine, and has made it clear that it will not abandon the internal combustion engine, because it is not only gasoline that burns, but also boiling blood and beating hearts. BMW engines are a treasure and belief that every BMW owner and Bimmer should be proud of, so please keep it up.
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