[Q4P]

This thread is exactly why this website (as much as I love it) has kind of taken a downward spiral...

Something to think about... for people that are concerned with performance in every day driving; BMW only offers 4 NA motors in the modern era that would satisfy... The S54, S62, S65 and S85. All are M engines...(all cost a lot). The first one is somewhat torqueless by modern standards and not the best for every day driving, the other 3 burn a whole lot of gas and need to be revved like crazy to make power as well. I'll let you take a guess as to what the absolute best solution was for all non-M cars which by modern day standards were starting to be a little bit slow... bcuz of that the M motors were turbod as well so as not cannibalize that lineup. Bmw could have went NA for the M motors but they would have fallen in the same hole as they did with the N54 vs S65. Combine fuel efficiency , CAFE Standards, certain real world performance standards such as down low TQ and competition from other manufacturers and you have your answer as to why things went the way they did. This was the best option for BMW to make as the only options left were to make NA motors which are subpar to that of Toyota and Honda and guzzle gas or create a new era of motor and be a few steps ahead.