In 1997, Chrysler Corporation and Rover Group (then a subsidiary of BMW) formed a joint venture called Tritec Motors to design a new small straight-4 engine.

[1] BMW entered into a new joint venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen to develop the Prince engine which is used in the second generation Mini cars.

It is a modern engine with an SOHC 16-valve head, electronic throttle control, and meets Euro IV emissions requirements.

According to Ward's Auto, Erich Sonntag of BMW described the Tritec engine as old fashioned and not very effective on function, performance and fuel efficiency.

Like all Tritecs, it is an SOHC 16-valve cast iron engine with an aluminium cylinder head and multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection.