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What most of you are missing in Pries' comments is WEIGHT reduction. That is what makes a high performance 4 cyl engine feasible.
Two of my favorite cars -- most fun to drive, super quick -- are (1) Lotus super seven (1,100 lbs), and (2) my 2002tii that was stripped down to 1,740 lbs. Both had 4 cyl engines with under 200 hp. For sure a different thrill than a Ferrari 365BB with a 12 cyl engine.
Over the years we have been slowly suckered into overweight automatic techno luxury hogs that can drag race and survive crash tests.
I would love a 2,500 lbs. M3 with a ceramic block 4 cyl turbo. It would kill the E92 or F8x.
We are more likely to see something like this in the Z2 first.
For now the most fun BMW IMO is the s1000rr. 193 hp 4 cyl 440 lbs. 0-60 in 2.9 secs. Top speed 190 mph.
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