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I hadn't heard this rumor nor has my dealer, but I'm not surprised. I speculated a few months ago in this forum that the TTV8 -- while being extremely clever and innovative -- might have an achilles heel in that so much heat is concentrated in the V above the engine. Another poster surmised that BMW has to be using "Shuttle grade ceramics" to keep the heat from damaging the engine cover or vehicle hood.
There are two schools of thought about heat concentration like this. The pessimist's view is that the concentrated heat buildup could be very damaging. The optimist's perspective is that at least if the heat is all in one place it can be managed. The "Palbay vents" seen in his pictures of preproduction 50i's would only be helpful if the engine has no cover, which seems to be a no-no these days. If indeed fires have been occurring, that would indictae that it is heat soak following engine shutdown that is the problem. If the rumor is true, it will be interesting to see what BMW engineers come up with.
Twin turbos -- there's no free lunch!
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