Will the 08's have the twin turbo petrol engine?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by rebound

Others can "police" me on this, but no.

We've got too much sulfur in our diesel for European manufacturers. The oil companies are coming out with reduced-sulfur blends, though, so hopefully it won't be long 'til we get some BMW diesels over here...

Both the US and Canada now have low-sulphur diesel fuel. The problem now is that the current Euro diesel engines don't meet US or Canadian emissions limits (which are measured differently than in Europe). There are some low-power diesels available in some brands of cars (Volkswagen), plus diesels in heavy-duty pickup trucks not subject to the same emissions laws due to higher GVW, but we don't have any engines in passenger cars or light duty trucks available today that meet next year's emissions laws. Even the current Mercedes Blue-Tec is not clean enough to pass. Next year Mercedes (and maybe BMW) will move to Urea injection (processed bovine urine) to further reduce diesel engine emissions. While those will be legal, there are not yet agreements on how owners will be policed to ensure that they keep the Urea tank full, thus complying with emissions laws.

While all the manufacturers say that they will have diesels out next year, none of them really want to IMO. It is too much trouble. However, if one of them breaks ranks and offers diesel engines, they will all have to. Expect limited availability by both model choice and production capacity, while they see how the market accepts diesels, and to limit the risks of penalties for non-compliance with emissions standards.

[The Cleaner]

BMW need to figure out how to get more engine produced before them add more models with the 3.0T. The 335 and now 535 are experiencing long delays because of the engine shortage.

Glad I got mine !

[xfactor]

I have absolutely no interest in the diesel model.

I've driven many modern turbodiesels during my trips to europe and there are just too many compromises with a turbodiesel in a performance focused automobile. I could see the benefit of a large turbodiesel for towing, but the X3 has a paltry 3500lb towing limit so what's the point...

I also haven't heard of any shortages with regards to the new twin turbo engines and my dealer has plenty of 3er's in stock with said motor.

[loki2566]

I may be behind the times, but I also read somewhere that the X3 is still using the E46 platform and will change to the E90 platform when the twin turbo engine is offered. Anyone know anything?

[stangmatt66]

Originally Posted by loki2566

I may be behind the times, but I also read somewhere that the X3 is still using the E46 platform and will change to the E90 platform when the twin turbo engine is offered. Anyone know anything?

Yes, the X3 is on the e46 platform. It's very likely it won't get the twin-turbo until it moves to the e90 platform in MY2011.