Thing is Merc's using super charger and bi-turbos, Audi is using Bi turbos etc so to keep up (especially as far as torque is concerned) turbo charging has to be done ..........

The trick is for the BMW to retain that precision and ensure that the trubos never come in with a bang.  I'm looking forward to it.

By 2011 i'd expect the power to be far beyond 575/580bhp, they are not far off that now and to be on the ball in the power game, a minimum of about 650bhp will be required as Merc already has that and will be pushing further ahead by 2011.

I would love it to be a supercharged V8.

The sound alone would make people buy it.

My wife's Merc is a C200 or in other words a supercharged 1.8i 4 pot which chuffs out 167 bhp which was much the same as my E39 had and that was a smooth 2.5i 6 pot.  Her Merc makes a very refined supercharged noise but the Mercs I have heard with V8 kompressor engines sound amazing.  Also the supercharged V8 Jags make a sexy noise too.

I think I would like to try a supercharged V8 one day purely for the noise alone.  My V8 is a bit refined and doesn't burble on idle and only roars when seriously planting it.

Superchargers are powered by the engine directly not some lame windmill pushed round by the exhaust.  Anything directly bolted to the power plant has to be better from an engineering point.

Andrew

By 2011 i'd expect the power to be far beyond 575/580bhp...

...and petrol to be £2.50 a litre.

I suspect that BMW has made this decision because they can get better economy from a twin turbo V8 than a V10. I could be wrong but i'd be supprised if most manufacturers weren't keeping an eye on economy even for their flagship performance models.

Even before oil prices starting rocketting up, are you guys not getting a bit sick of the German power race?

Hasn't it got just a little bit stupid?

Cars with rediculous power that need loads of electronics to stop them crashing when it rains and all still limited to 155mph. Add to this the fact that speed limits are being even more heavilly enforced in europe and the unlimited autobahn will go the way of the dodo eventually I just don't see the point. 

Give me an E39 M5 anyday. Fast enough and far batter looking IMO.

Just my two cents   

not some lame windmill pushed round by the exhaust.

A lame windmill that will produce more power than a supercharger due to the power usage that the belt driven device has. From an engineering point of view the turbocharger is more efficient as it generates energy from a waste product rather than taking energy directly from the engine. If the engine was a business and you were bothered about making power as efficiently and cheaply as possible then Turbo would be the only way to go.