1987: Enter Project E31
Enter project E31, the world’s first production car that would be available with the choice of six, eight, and twelve cylinder engines. Under development at Bayerische Motoren Werke, this sleek and powerful coupe was scheduled o replace the 6-series range in late 1989.
The supercoupe would draw on a fine heritage, recalling the unique and blisteringly fast M1 mid-engined supercar of 1979-1981. The new car recaptured the spirit of the M1, but was notably roomier and less complicated.
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“Enter project E31, the world’s first production car that would be available with the choice of six, eight, and twelve cylinder engines.”
No, E31 was never offered with straight six due to its taller profile and due to the V8 engine offering more power.
That distinction goes to both BMW E32 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz W140 S-Class. BMW introduced its first V8 engine since the 1950s in 1991 at the same time Mercedes-Benz introduced its W140 S-Class.
A trival tidbit: Mercedes-Benz W463 G-Class became the world’s first passenger car to have four, six, eight, and twelve cylinders engines when the rare G 63 AMG with 444-bhp V12 engine was introduced in 2002. Volkswagen 7L Touareg (2003-2010) remains the only passenger car to have engines with five, six, eight, ten, and twelve cylinders.