BMW introduces third generation engine.

With the current state of F1 rules preventing partners Williams from producing anything too radical, BMW was able to unveil the team's secret weapon during the team's annual launch at Silverstone today [Friday].

The P82 V10 is another new design, albeit based on last year's engine, but new in every respect. It consists of almost 5000 individual parts, around 1000 of them different. All core components are developed and manufactured at BMW in Munich - such as the cylinder head, crankcase, crankshaft, camshaft or electronic engine management - before being shipped to Grove for assembly into the 2002 challenger.

Design work on the P82 began in January and February of last year, and the concept stage was followed by further design work until June. All parts for the first engines had been completed by September, although testing of those components had started in August. On 21 September, the P82 had its first bench-test and, on 3 October, it was taken out for its first test run.

The development objectives included requests for more power, greater reliability and less weight in the upper part of the engine to optimise the centre of gravity - something that BMW's motorsport director Dr Mario Thiessen believes have been achieved.

"On circuits where engine performance was the deciding factor, we were a force to be reckoned with in 2001," he reflected, "Defending this status, while at the same time improving our reliability, are our key objectives for 2002.

"Our first engine - the E41 of the 2000 season - was a leap from zero to 90 per cent. The P80 upped that to 98 per cent. And yet we will never achieve 100 per cent of what is technically possible. The benchmark shifts with every successful innovation. The crossbar is raised as you jump."

The unit, designed at the BMW F1 factory in Munich under the guidance of F1 development director Dr Werner Laurenz, meant a bit of head-scratching for the Grove-based design team led by Gavin Fisher, but drew immediate praise from one of the men charged with driving the new FW24 this season.

"The new engine is much better," said Juan Montoya at the Silverstone launch, "It is a big step forward - a step forward in every way you can say. It is as big a jump as it was from 2000 to 2001."

Provided BMW has managed to overcome the reliability problems that affected the engine on its public debut in testing over the winter, McLaren and Ferrari may find Williams breathing even hotter on their necks in 2002.