[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Hires Ferrari Chief Engineer

69
COMMENTS

Tweet

BMW has hired Roberto Fedeli, Ferrari's ex technical director, for a yet unspecified role/position. Fedeli is set to join BMW officially in November, "but we currently can't say what his role will be," a BMW spokesman told Automotive News Europe. This news comes shortly on the heels of news of another notable pickup for BMW - Franciscus van Meel, former head of Audi Quattro, who will become the next chief of BMW M.

According to Automotive News:

A Ferrari spokesman said Fedeli left the sports car maker Sept. 13 and his resignation was not linked to the departure of Ferrari's long-time chairman, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Fedeli quit before Montezemolo stepped down as Ferrari chairman, the spokesman said.

Fedeli joined Ferrari in 1988 and has been responsible for the engineering of all Ferrari cars since 2007. His most recent model is the limited production LaFerrari gasoline-electric hybrid supercar, the fastest road car built to date by the company.

At BMW, Fedeli is expected to use his expertise with the group's M performance division or with Rolls-Royce, according to Automotive News Europe sources.

Fedeli's duties at Ferrari have been taken up by the brand’s chief technological officer Michael Leiters, who joined the company from Porsche in January. Leiters held various roles at Porsche, including program manager for the Cayenne large luxury SUV.

[onatuesday]

Hope he brings Ferrari sound to the BMW lineup

[Maz335i]

Great news!

[MPower10s]

yes the BMW supercar will be a masterpiece if its not too late for him to give his input. how about some Flat-plane crank M cars now?

[theMilkman]

The ex head of quattro from audi and Fedeli from ferrari. Both have worked extensively on hybrid power. The performance version of the i8(i9) should be incredible.

[MCHL]

ex-Audi Quattro guy + ex-Ferrari guy = BMW's ///M1 successor to celebrate its centenary!!!
that makes sense!!!

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by MCHL

ex-Audi Quattro guy + ex-Ferrari guy = BMW's ///M1 successor to celebrate its centenary!!!
that makes sense!!!

I was just thinking he'd be lead engineer of the M1 project or something.

[Vector Pilot]

Change is on the horizon. Perhaps Fedeli can bring along a Ferrari design team too.

[BMWAELBILAL]

Originally Posted by theMilkman

The ex head of quattro from audi and Fedeli from ferrari. Both have worked extensively on hybrid power. The performance version of the i8(i9) should be incredible.

Wait is that mean the BMW M3,M4 M5 M6 AND the rest of BMW goona be Ferrari sound
But I like ferrari sound but i like the sound of BMW too but i hope that it stays BMW MOTORS

[kevinlevrone]

Great news. BMW does lack some inspiration right now, in my opinion. Somehow they can't keep the edge over the competition, and they really need some innovative solutions in their future cars, like a truly outstanding and maybe switchable AWD system, electric power in mass-market sports cars to compensate for the turbocharged engine response, better sound, lighter construction, etc.

[Jadar]

This is getting really interesting. BMW seems to be up to something huge and epic

[Sektion9]

Originally Posted by dd1981

This is getting really interesting. BMW seems to be up to something huge and epic

agree, something big has to be coming down the road soon!

[FogCityM3]

Agree with prior comments, this can only be a signal of something big, and probably not just one car/model, either

As I mentioned in my prior comments about the ex-Audi guy, clearly a different strategic direction is being sought which has not been provided by internal resources. The ///M division seems to be in focus here and weak sales of ///M cars as a whole (particularly M5 /M6) and the lack of a divisional "halo effect" on BMW being perceived as the ultimate driving machine seems to be at play. Glad the company can recognize what many have been saying for a while now and here's hoping for better things to come! Probably will not be the end of the talent poaching either.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by BMWAELBILAL

Wait is that mean the BMW M3,M4 M5 M6 AND the rest of BMW goona be Ferrari sound
But I like ferrari sound but i like the sound of BMW too but i hope that it stays BMW MOTORS

Brands have character. That character is guided by the leadership, but no good leader walks in the door and tries to change the character of a successful brand overnight. It is often said that good leaders learn from their failures, but great leaders learn from from their success as well. You can be sure that these new hires understand the BMW brand, and aren't going to walk through the door wielding an axe.

Ferrari V8s sound the way they do because they use a flat-plane crank configuration. The downside of a flat-plane crank is second order vibration. It's unlikely that BMW would move to a flat-plane orientation because of this trade-off. No one complains about a flat-plane crank in a Ferrari because... well... it's a Ferrari. They're not expecting luxury car smoothness; they're expecting a kick to the balls in performance.

This is further evidenced by the fact that BMW have solved the main problem with the cross-plane V8 configuration when running turbochargers. The turbine portion of a turbocharger performs best when it is provided an even flow of air. The uneven firing order of a cross-plane V8 results in less-than-optimal air flow to the turbine. BMW solves this by inverting the head flow, plumbing the turbochargers from the top of the engine, and crossing the exhaust manifolds in a way that distributes the exhaust pulses evenly between the turbochargers.

This results in a win-win. You get the smoothness of a cross-plane V8 with the even exhaust pulse characteristics of a flat-plane V8. All of this is achieved with only modest increases in complexity.

[BMWAELBILAL]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Brands have character. That character is guided by the leadership, but no good leader walks in the door and tries to change the character of a successful brand overnight. It is often said that good leaders learn from their failures, but great leader learns from from their success as well. You can be sure that these new hires understand the BMW brand, and aren't going to walk through the door wielding an axe.

Ferrari V8s sound the way they do because they use a flat-plane crank configuration. The downside of a flat-plane crank is second order vibration. It's unlikely that BMW would move to a flat-plane orientation because of this trade-off. No one complains about a flat-plane crank in a Ferrari because... well... it's a Ferrari. They're not expecting luxury car smoothness; they're expecting a kick to the balls in performance.

This is further evidenced by the fact that BMW have solved the main problem with the cross-plane V8 configuration when running turbochargers. The turbine portion of a turbocharger performs best when it is provided an even flow of air. The uneven firing order of a cross-plane V8 results in less-than-optimal air flow to the turbine. BMW solves this by inverting the head flow, plumbing the turbochargers from the top of the engine, and crossing the exhaust manifolds in a way that distributes the exhaust pulses evenly between the turbochargers.

This results in a win-win. You get the smoothness of a cross-plane V8 with the even exhaust pulse characteristics of a flat-plane V8. All of this is achieved with only modest increases in complexity.

Thank u now I understand but one more question
Its going to stay a BMW motor and BMW made and BMW strength right

[Falafel Combo]

Perhaps "Ferrari Sport Line" badge designations, all new for 2016 MY?

[Whateva]

Classy

[Adem1534]

Originally Posted by BMWAELBILAL

Thank u now I understand but one more question
Its going to stay a BMW motor and BMW made and BMW strength right

BMW will never outsource their motors. BMW takes pride in it's engines and it would be a huge hit to their public image if they ditch their own motors. BMW will not stop using BMW engines.

[bunker]

Originally Posted by alpinweiss 335i

Perhaps "Ferrari Sport Line" badge designations, all new for 2016 MY?

I see what you did there...

[VMRWheels]

Wow, awesome! Congrats to BMW and Fedeli.

These recent hires reminds me a bit of the Steinbrenner Yankees.. picking up all the big names/stars to create a super team haha

[GMe90]

This is good news. BMWs have definitely lost their sport sedan feel with the current generation of cars.
Hopefully, these new guys can bring some soul back into BMWs.

[Thurman Murch]

Maybe the rumours about the V10 in the next M5 are legit

Time to bring back the soul and balls to BMW

The design is there, the power plant is lacking on many dimensions

I love rumble and bumble and strong race colors ... Not farty smooth

When I grey and become old and yes I will want smooth and quiet