BMW M70

The BMW M70 is a naturally-aspirated, SOHC, V12 petrol engine, which was BMW's first production V12<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was produced from 1987 to 1996. It was also the first German 12-cylinder post-war automobile engine, predating Mercedes-Benz's M120 by four years and VAG's W12 by fourteen.

The BMW S70/2 engine, largely unrelated to the M70 and S70B56 engines, is a naturally-aspirated, DOHC, V12 petrol engine, which powered the 1993 to 1998 McLaren F1.

Design

The M70's design is similar to that of two 2.5 L M20 straight-six engines joined at a 60-degree angle,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> due to the following features: single overhead camshaft valvetrain, bore spacing of Template:Cvt, bore of Template:Cvt, stroke of Template:Cvt, and a compression ratio of 8.8:1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The M70 has the following differences with the M20 engine:

• Aluminium alloy engine block (AluSil) instead of cast-iron (both engines have an aluminium cylinder head), to reduce weight.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Airflow measurement using Mass air flow sensors (MAFs)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> instead of Air flow meters (AFMs) to improve fuel economy.
• Electronic Throttle Control instead of a mechanical throttle cable.
• A timing chain was used instead of a timing belt,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to reduce servicing requirements.
• Hydraulic valve lifters instead of mechanically adjusted tappets, to reduce servicing requirements.

The M70 has two Motronic 1.3<ref name="Motronic">Template:Cite web</ref> ECUs (one for each cylinder bank). To provide redundancy, the M70 also has two fuel pumps, fuel rails, distributors, mass air flow sensors, crankshaft position sensors, coolant temperature sensors and throttle bodies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Some M70 engines (such as fitted to the E32 750iL Highline) are fitted with two alternators. The second alternator is smaller and is used to charge an auxiliary battery and power equipment in the rear passenger compartment, such as a telephone, fax machine, wine cooler, independent climate control and power sun shields.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Versions

Version	Displacement	Power	Torque	Redline	Years
M70B50	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> at 5,200 rpm	Template:Cvt at 4,100 rpm	6,000	1987–1994
S70B56	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt at 5,300 rpm	Template:Cvt at 4,000 rpm	6,400	1992–1996
S70/2	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt at 7,400 rpm	Template:Cvt at 6,700 rpm	7,500	1993–1998
S70/3	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt at 6,500 rpmTemplate:Efn	Template:Cvt at 4,500 rpm	8,000	1998–2000

M70B50

Applications:

• 1987–1994 E32 750i/750iL – this was mated primarily to an automatic ZF 4HP24 transmission
• 1989–1994 E31 850i/850Ci – this was mated to either the automatic ZF 4HP24 transmission or the optional Getrag 560G
• 1988 Alpina B12
• 1991 BMW Nazca M12
• 1992 BMW Nazca C2

S70 engine Template:Anchor

S70B56

The first engine to use the S70 name is a Template:Cvt variant of the M70 engine fitted only to the E31 850CSi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With 1,510 units produced, this is the lowest production number BMW-engine, for a BMW-car to date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Three prototype dual overhead camshaft S70 engines were constructed, prior to the decision to not produce an E31 M8 model.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Applications:

• 1992–1996 E31 850CSi
• 1993 BMW Nazca C2 Spider
• 2011 Simbol Design Lavazza GTX-R (twin-turbo version)

S70/2

The S70/2, while sharing the same 12 cylinder layout, bore spacing and design principle as the S70B56, is essentially a new design with the heads based on the European market S50B30,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and thus featuring 4 valves per cylinder and variable valve timing (called VANOS by BMW) and individual throttle bodies. A dry sump oiling system is used.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The weight of the S70/2, plus ancillaries and full exhaust, is Template:Cvt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Applications:

• 1993–1998 McLaren F1<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

S70/3

The S70/3 is a racing engine based on the S70/2.

Applications

• 1998–1999 BMW V12 LM racing car
• 1999–2000 BMW V12 LMR racing car
• 2000 BMW X5 LM concept car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• BMW Goldfish V16