Thanks for the response Radium King.
It's an M97 I believe... the car is a base model.
Also...
Last night on the way home I paid a bit more attention to the noise and there doesn't seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason as to when it ticks and it seems to NOT be changing with engine RPM sometimes, but sometimes does. It's kinda hard to pick that detail out as it generally goes silent with a couple percent throttle opening. After hearing it a bit more it sounds maybe more like something plastic. A bit less sharp of a sound than two metal bits clattering against each other. Again... totally intermittent and does not sound the same as the valvetrain "sewing machine" sound. Obviously that puts it in an entirely different class of possibilities if it's plastic
.
Either way... A service tech will take a look on Saturday. I'll report the findings for anyone that's as curious as I am
.