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As I understand it, the MINI engine was designed by BMW and built by Chrysler with the intention of offering the supercharged version in the PT Cruiser. BMW doesn\'t make FWD vehicles, but Chrysler has been building them for a number of years. After the deal was made, Daimler bought Chrysler and we all know there is no love lost between Daimler and BMW. That meant the PT wouldn\'t have a version of the engine, so Daimler is looking for a small V6 to replace it. Even though the engine is made in Brazil, Daimler has their reputation riding on it, as well as BMW, so the quality should be okay. I suspect Daimler would like to tell BMW to get stuffed, so perhaps there will be a BMW-made engine once their contract with Daimler expires. It will probably be a few years before that happens. It takes a lot of money to design and build a new engine and doubtless BMW was trying to keep the costs down so the MINI\'s MSRP would be in line with the New Beetle. |