Novo Mini

Designed for use in smaller engines, Continental’s new turbocharger featuring an industry-first aluminum turbine housing enters production on BMW’s 1.5 L three-cylinder, 134 hp (100 kW) B38-series engine that powers the 2014 Mini Hatch.
In developing their new turbo machine, Continental engineers saw opportunities to reduce cost and weight by designing a water-cooled turbine housing in cast aluminum. (Continental would not divulge the specific alloy employed on the initial BMW application.) Continental’s patent application, “Turbocharger with Cooled Turbine Housing” published December 2013 states that the high-pressure-resistant nickel alloys “represent a considerable cost factor” and those high material costs make a ferrous-alloy turbine housing “the most expensive single item in the overall costs of an exhaust-gas turbocharger.”

More than the aluminum makes this turbocharger special. Instead of a typical bolt-on component, it is an integral part of the engine. The concept of cooling the turbine housing via an internal jacket using water from the engine’s normal coolant circuit “was born from a system optimization between us and BMW Group,” Wiggins said. “They wanted to try and see from an overall system perspective if we could develop a more cost-effective package.”


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