Paul Rosche

Paul Rosche (1 April 1934 – 15 November 2016) was a German engineer known for his work while at BMW. He is notable for designing the engines of a number of BMW's high-performance models including the M31 found in the BMW 2002 Turbo, the S14 for the E30 M3, the M12 for the 320i Turbo and the Brabham BT52, the M88 in the M1, and the S70/2 in the V12 LMR and the McLaren F1.

Rosche joined BMW after going to college and became very skilled at calculating camshafts. He soon became a specialist with camshafts, earning the nickname "Nocken-Paul" (Camshaft Paul). He later became a technical director of the BMW M racing program.

Throughout Rosche's career, engines which he personally designed or under his stewardship have achieved a total of 150 European Formula Two Championship and Formula One World Championship wins, as well as two victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Biography Paul Rosche joined BMW immediately after he graduated from college in November 1957 at 23. He started working in the six-person research and development team, under the supervision of Alexander von Falkenhausen, who quickly promoted Rosche after realizing that he was extremely talented. The first project Rosche worked on was the camshaft of the BMW 502 and 507. As a result of his high level of skill in calculating camshafts, Rosche quickly began to specialize in this task and was given the nickname "Nocken-Paul" (Camshaft Paul). Rosche designed the 2002TIK, a turbocharged engine which won the 1969 European Touring Car Championship; BMW's racing program was halted in 1970 by its sales and marketing director, Paul G. Hahnemann, after his position came under threat from the company's board. Some believed it was a result of Gerhard Mitter's fatal accident at the Nürburgring in the previous year, as well as budget cuts. Rosche and von Falkenhausen led the development group discreetly until BMW was encouraged to make a comeback in the business of racing in 1972.

BMW withdrew from F1 at the end of 1986 and sold their engines to Megatron. Rosche built prototype engines thereafter, but the company refused to return to F1. When Murray's plans to develop an engine with Honda fell through, he turned to BMW Motorsport for their services leading to Rosche being tasked with the development of an engine for the McLaren F1. The goal originally demanded by Murray was a 4.5-litre V10 or V12

The development of the engine started with a completely new design, taking a few components from the M70; the eventual result was the S70/2. This engine exceeded its goal at 627 bhp, however, it exceeded the maximum weight by 16 kg. Rosche died on 15 November 2016.