[alfa] Italia BMW

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The down-under Dean asks "A friend has a boat with a turbocharged diesel. The engine is badged BMW however was built in Italy. Apparently BMW took the Italian motor and adapted it for marine use, and badged it there own. Does anybody know the original manufacture of these engines" to which Beatle Bayly suggests "Possibly VM?"

Excellent possibility. Don't know anything about the BMW connection, or about other Italian turbodiesel manufacturers, but Alfa's first turbodiesel (Alfetta, in 1979) was a VM marine engine modified for automotive use. VM was a member of the Finmeccanica group, closely related to Alfa in the way that SPICA and Lodge were, sometimes referred to as an Alfa subsidiary although I don't know whether that is strictly correct in the byzantine politics of the Italian business world.

I have been told that after Fiat took over Alfa they sold VM to Penske in the USA who now sells the engines as Detroit Diesel. In any case Alfa used VM turbodiesels in four cylinder 1.9, 2.0. 2.4, and 2.5 sizes and five cylinder 2.5s, and they had a history of prior development as marine units, so it shouldn't have taken BMW as a licensee much adaptation to sell them as boat engines.
 
John H.
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