The BMW B38 is a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

, which replaced the straight-four

BMW N13 Prince is the codename for a family of straight-four 16-valve all-aluminium gasoline engines with variable valve lift and variable valve timing developed by PSA Peugeot Citroën and BMW. It is a compact engine family of 1.4–1.6 L in disp ...

. Production started in 2013. It is part of a modular BMW engine family of straight-three (B38), straight-four ( B48) and straight-six ( B58) petrol engines, which use a displacement of per cylinder. It specifically shares a lot of components with the

BMW B37 The BMW B37 is a , diesel, 3 cylinder engine with a single, mono-scroll and VTG turbocharger. The compression ratio is 16.5:1. It is the second engine from BMW's modular engine plan sharing most of its components with the BMW B38 petrol engine. Po ...

, due to their same size/configuration. The B38 is used in front-wheel drive cars (such as the

Mini Hatch The Mini Hatch, stylised as MINI Hatch (or MINI Hardtop in the U.S.), also sold as Mini Cooper, Mini One, or simply called the (BMW) Mini, are a family of retro-styled two-door supermini hatchback and convertible; and (from 2014) a longer, sub ...

and

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (F45/U06 model code) is a two-row subcompact executive MPV produced by BMW since August 2014. The closely related BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer (F46 model code) is a longer three-row version which began production in ...

), as well as BMW's traditional rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive (xDrive) configurations. The first car to use the B38 is the

BMW i8 The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The i8 was part of BMW's electrified fleet and was marketed under the BMW i sub-brand. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and was rele ...

hybrid sports coupé, where it is used as a

transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle *Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...

mid-mounted engine.

Design

The B38 features direct injection, an 11:1

compression ratio The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values. A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...

, variable valve timing (double-VANOS) and the twin-power turbo

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

with the world's first aluminium turbine housing, manufactured by

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

. On the 1.2Liter versions, the bore is and the stroke is . On the 1.5Liter versions, the bore is and the stroke is .

Models

B38A12U0

Applications: version: * 2014–current F55/F56 Mini One First version: * 2014–2018 F55/F56 Mini One

B38A15M0 / B38B15M0 (B38A15M1/B38B15M1 for post-2018 manufactured engines)

Applications: version: * 2015–current BMW F45/F46 216i Active Tourer / Gran Tourer * 2018–current F55/F56 Mini One version: * 2015–2019 BMW F20/F21 116i version (104kW (141bhp) for post-2018 manufacture) * 2015–2019 BMW F20/F21 118i * 2015–current BMW F22/F23 218i coupe / convertible * 2014–current BMW F45/F46 218i Active Tourer / Gran Tourer * 2015–2019 BMW F30/F31 318i LCI * 2015–current BMW F48 X1 sDrive18i * 2014–current Mini F55/F56/F57 Cooper * 2015–2019 Mini F54 Clubman * 2017–current Mini F60 Countryman * 2017–current BMW F39 X2 sDrive18i * 2017–current BMW F45 225xe Active Tourer (PHEV) * 2019–current BMW F40 118i * 2019–current BMW F44 218i Gran Coupé * 2020–current BMW F39 xDrive25e

B38K15T0

Applications: * 2013–2020 BMW I12 i8 * 2020–present Karma Revero GT/GTS

References

{{BMW automotive petrol engines: 2000s to 2010s b37 Gasoline engines by model Straight-three engines