BY TONY QUIROGA
As far as the U.S. car market goes, BMW isn't just late to the turbo party — it missed the first round of soirées entirely. While its other markets got a turbocharged 2002 model back in the 1970s, a turbo 7-series in the 1980s, and a steady stream of turbo-diesel engines, Americans got the forgettable diesel-burning, 114-hp 524td. Twenty winters have passed since that turbo-diesel wallflower decorated showrooms, and all the while, BMW preached the gospel of high-revving, naturally aspirated, high-output engines. While Audi and Mercedes-Benz forced air into their engines to produce stupefying horsepower and torque figures, BMW kept increasing power by upping displacement and producing engines with extraordinary redlines.
So what's this twin-turbo version of BMW's familiar 3.0-liter inline-six doing under the hood of this 2007 3-series coupe? For starters, it's making 45 more horses and 80 more pound-feet of torque than last year's naturally aspirated 330i sedan. And perhaps there is a little "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" at play as BMW seems to have recognized that an engine with the midrange torque of a large-displacement engine can be done more efficiently with turbocharging. Furthermore, the latest turbochargers, working with direct fuel injection, yield a broader power band and less lag than their predecessors did. Consequently, the 330i sedan is gone for 2007, replaced by the 335i sedan with the same twin-turbocharged, 300-hp engine that powers the 335i coupe. The naturally aspirated 3.0-liter engine will live on in the 230-hp 328i coupe and sedan, which replace the 325i models. (Take note: BMW has dropped the Ci designation for its coupes.)
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