12 YEARS OF BMW 12-CYLINDER ENGINES

Anniversary For An Example Of Munich's Engineering Genius

Munich, Germany ... BMW is celebrating the 12 th anniversary of its 12-cylinder engine this year as the only manufacturer currently offering this exclusive kind of power plant in its segment.

As the name Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works) implies, BMW is not short of experience in building multi-cylinder engines. The largest, an aircraft engine dating from the early 1940's, was an 85.5-liter double-banked radial engine with 28 cylinders, which delivered up to 4,000 horsepower. BMW has always taken pride in its skills as an engine manufacturer, developing and building power units which are ideally suited to their intended purpose. In turn, each engine type must help define the character of a particular BMW model. The range of engines built by BMW therefore includes single-cylinder, two- and four-cylinder units for motorcycles, and extends from four- through six- and eight-cylinder right up to twelve-cylinder automobile engines.

As an automobile manufacturer whose very name stresses the central and traditional importance of the "motor" concept, it is a point of honor at BMW that our range should include an absolute top-class engine: what else but the twelve-cylinder power unit built by the Bayerische Motoren Werke. The BMW V-12, the first German engine of its type to be built since World War II, is celebrating its 12 th birthday in the summer of 1999.

A twelve-cylinder engine represents in every respect the optimum power unit destined to drive a flagship luxury automobile: confident, powerful, superb performance with comfortable reserves, supple and smooth, with a fine tone - all tailored to suit the joy of motoring which BMW stands for. Or in engineering terms: the top- of-the- range V-type engine from BMW is a 5.4-liter all-alloy engine with two valves per cylinder, featuring Digital Motor Electronics, which delivers 326 horsepower (since 1995, previously 300 horsepower) and can muster a mighty maximum torque of 361 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm. In order to ensure that this top-of-the-range engine always keeps up with the state-of-the-art and ahead of the competition, a series of detailed refinements have been made over the years. The most important development was to increase the cubic capacity of the engine from its original five liters to achieve the improved performance data now available.

Other changes have included increasing the compression with cylinder-selective knock control and oil cooling for the pistons, improvements to the flow characteristics of the air inlet and exhaust systems, fitting roller cam followers to reduce friction losses and most recently the introduction of an electrically-heated catalytic converter.

And meanwhile, the BMW 12-cylinder engine is also powering the world's most noble automobile - the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph launched in 1998.

This engine also provided the starting point from which to develop yet another engineering masterpiece: the power unit for the McLaren BMW F1 super sports car, which with all its refinements is capable of over 600 horsepower. Power enough - as was proved in 1995 - to win the world's most important endurance race, the Le Mans 24 hour race. More recently, this racing engine powered the new BMW V-12 LMR racer to a spectacular overall win at the Sebring 12-Hour race in Florida.

It is not only on the roads and racetracks of the world that this high-tech engine "made in Bavaria" is making a name for itself: in the spring of 1999, a replica of the Vickers Vimy "Silver Queen" will set off on an aerial adventure from London to Cape Town, following the trail of those intrepid pioneers who set out 78 years ago on a journey into the unknown in search of a place in the record books. But this time the "Silver Queen" will be powered by two BMW twelve-cylinder engines, specially modified for the purpose.