BMW S68

The S68 is BMW’s current 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 48-volt mild-hybrid
assistance, introduced for the 2023 model year. It replaced the
N63 in the 60i cars and the S63 in
the M SUVs, and identifying which car has which is the single most confused thing about it.

What the S68 is

A 4.4-litre V8 with two turbochargers mounted in the vee between the cylinder banks, direct
injection, and a 48-volt starter-generator integrated into the transmission housing. The
mild-hybrid system is the part that distinguishes it from what came before: it contributes a
small amount of additional output and allows the engine to shut down and restart without the
interruption a conventional starter produces.

Our brochure archive stops at 2020 and holds nothing that describes this engine, so nothing
on this page is quoted from a factory document. What follows is from United States
certification records only.

Where it was fitted

Seventeen specification pages, in three output steps: 523 hp in the
M60i cars, 536 in the 760i, and 617 in the X5 M Competition. Combined fuel economy runs from
15 to 21 mpg depending on the body.

The engine that is routinely misattributed

This page exists partly to correct a mistake that appears widely, and that we made
ourselves before the data caught it.

Our own reference list originally recorded the S63 as the engine
of the X5 M after 2023. It is not. When we linked specification pages to engines by two
independent routes — the manufacturer’s engine code as filed with the EPA, and the list
of cars each engine is documented as being fitted to — the two disagreed on exactly this
point, and the certification code was right. From 2024 the X5 M Competition carries an S68.

The practical rule: a 4.4-litre V8 in a BMW built from 2023 onwards is an S68, whether it
wears an M60i badge or an M one. The S63 stopped before that. Where a car’s engine code cannot
be read out of a government record, we leave the field empty rather than guess — which is
why some recent pages here say less than sites willing to assume.

What we do not publish

No reliability rating. The NHTSA complaint database records faults against a
vehicle, not an engine, and for an engine this new the complaint record is thin
regardless. Anything presented as a durability verdict on the S68 today is a prediction, not a
measurement.

Common questions

How much horsepower does the S68 have?

523 hp in the X5, X6 and X7 M60i, 536 hp in the 760i xDrive, and 617 hp in the X5 M
Competition, on United States certification figures.

Which BMWs have the S68?

In our records: the X5 M60i, X6 M60i, X7 M60i, 760i xDrive and X5 M Competition, from the
2023 and 2024 model years onwards. The engine is also used in other BMW Group applications
that do not appear in our United States passenger-car data.

Is the S68 the same as the S63?

No. Both are 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8s and the S68 replaced the S63, but they are different
engines — the S68 adds 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance and carries a different factory
code in certification filings. Model year is the reliable way to tell them apart.

Is the S68 a hybrid?

A mild hybrid, which is not the same thing as a plug-in. There is no charging port and no
electric-only range; the 48-volt system assists the engine and smooths its stopping and
starting.

Sources

Outputs, model years and fuel economy from EPA certification and fuel economy data. Engine
attribution from the factory engine code in those same certification records, cross-checked
against the model lists behind our engine pages. No brochure covering
this engine is held in the archive.