BMW N62

The N62 is BMW’s naturally aspirated V8 of the 2000s, built from 2001 to 2010 in 4.4- and
4.8-litre forms. It was the first production engine in the world with Valvetronic, BMW’s
throttleless intake control, and in the United States it powered the 545i, 550i, 650i, 745i,
750i and the V8 X5.

What the N62 is

An all-aluminium V8 with four overhead camshafts, 32 valves, Double-VANOS variable valve
timing, a variable intake manifold and Valvetronic. The
2004 5 Series brochure lists it for the 545i as a
“4.4-liter, 325-hp 32-valve V-8 engine, 4 overhead camshafts, Valvetronic, and steplessly
variable intake manifold”, with an “aluminum block and cylinder head(s)” and “electronically
controlled engine cooling (map cooling)”.

Valvetronic is the part worth understanding. An ordinary petrol engine controls power with
a throttle plate, and closing that plate makes the engine work to breathe. Valvetronic varies
how far the intake valves open instead, so the throttle can stay open and the pumping loss
largely disappears. The N62 was the first engine BMW put it on, and every Valvetronic engine
since — including today’s B48 and
B58 — descends from that decision.

Where it was fitted

Twenty specification pages in our records, and the pattern in them is
the displacement change: the 4.4-litre cars are rated at 325 hp, the 4.8-litre cars that
replaced them at 350 or 360. Torque runs from 330 to 360 lb-ft and 0–60 from 5.8 to 6.4
seconds depending on the body.

The X5 fitment is easy to miss and appears in the brochures directly. The
2005 X5 brochure offers both a “4.4-liter, 315-hp
32-valve V-8 engine” and a “4.8-liter, 355-hp 32-valve V-8 engine” alongside the six, in the
same equipment table.

The one that came before turbocharging

The N62 is the last naturally aspirated V8 BMW sold in volume in the United States. What
replaced it, the N63, kept the 4.4 litres and added two
turbochargers sitting in the vee between the cylinder banks — an arrangement that changed the
engine’s character completely. Our data shows the difference plainly: the N62 makes its 360
lb-ft high in the rev range, while the turbocharged V8s that followed produce well over 400
from just above idle.

If you are trying to work out which V8 a particular car has, displacement and model year
do it: 4.4 or 4.8 litres and naturally aspirated up to 2008 is an N62; 4.4 litres and
twin-turbocharged from 2009 is an N63.

What we do not publish

No reliability rating. The NHTSA complaint database records faults against a
vehicle, not an engine, and a 2007 5 Series in that database may be a six-cylinder
530i or a V8 550i without the record saying which. Any figure headed “complaints about the
N62” was arrived at by dividing those complaints on an assumption, and the assumption is doing
the work.

Common questions

How much horsepower does the N62 have?

325 hp in the 4.4-litre cars, 350 to 360 hp in the 4.8-litre cars, on the US certification
figures in our specification data. Individual brochures quote 315 and
355 for the X5 fitments.

Which BMWs have the N62?

In the United States: the E65/E66 745i and 750i, the E60 545i and 550i, the E63/E64 650i
and the E70 X5 4.8i. The 645Ci and 650i coupes of the same period use it too.

What is Valvetronic and why does it matter?

Variable intake valve lift, which lets the engine control its power output without
throttling the intake. It reduces the work the engine does simply to breathe. The N62 was the
first production engine to have it and every BMW petrol engine since has kept it.

Is the N62 the same as the N63?

No. Both are 4.4-litre V8s and they are otherwise different engines: the
N63 is twin-turbocharged, with the turbochargers mounted inside
the vee, and it replaced the N62 from 2009.

Sources

Quotations from the 2004 5 Series,
2005 5 Series,
2004 X5 and 2005 X5
brochures in this archive. Outputs, torque and acceleration from EPA certification data, with
the source named on every specification page.