The new design was given the name BMW 801 after BMW was given a new block of "109-800" engine numbers by the RLM to use after their merger with Bramo. The 801 retained the 139's older-style single-valve intake and exhaust, while most in-line engines of the era had moved to either three (as Junkers had done) or four valves per cylinder, or in British use for their own radials, sleeve valves. Several minor advances were worked into the design, including the use of sodium-cooled valves and a direct fuel injection system, manufactured by Friedrich Deckel AG of Munich.