Check out new M340i xDrive 50 Jahre Edition
But put your actual cheque book away; 100-unit special edition is not for the likes of us...
It’s been yonks since we drove the current M340i xDrive - but no revisit is required to know the extent of its peachiness. Here, after all, is a car that combines BMW’s lusty 3.0-litre straight-six with its flagrantly rear-biased all-wheel-drive system and a chassis tuned with fast road performance front of mind. There’s plenty of it, too: 374hp and 369lb ft of torque means the saloon gets to 62mph in as little as 4.4 seconds - the kind of straight-line pace, lest we forget, that makes it an on-paper rival for an E90 M3 GTS away from the lights (if nowhere else).
All that said, the one thing the M340i arguably does lack is a bit of visual presence. All part of the BMW masterplan plan, of course (heaven forbid it tread on the M3’s sainted toes) but the sight of yet another one in Sapphire Black or Brooklyn Grey on double-spoke 19s is hardly likely to have you whipping your trousers off to helicopter them over your head in excitement. And it is on that score that the new 50 Jahre Edition, limited to just 100 examples, succeeds beyond all expectation.
Launched, as you might expect, to pay tribute to 50 years of the BMW 3 Series, the special edition’s masterstroke is to not try very hard. Or at any rate fine-tune the formula only where needed: i.e. you get a choice of six BMW Individual paint finishes - Madeira Red Metallic, Laguna Green Metallic, Avus Blue Metallic, Carbon Black Metallic, Deep Green Metallic, and Citrin Black Metallic - each a signature colour in its own right, combined with the luminous, spangly appeal of proper 20-inch forged M Performance wheels, in the colour God intended.
And that’s about it. Naturally, there are 50 Jahre Edition badges and vague mention of an M Performance Exhaust that may (or may not) already be a thing, but otherwise it's just funky colours, big pretty alloys and, inside, Merino Leather upholstery as standard. In other words, it’s low-cost, high-margin spec tweaking at its finest and precisely what the doctor ordered for the otherwise muted M340i. Or it would be if we all drank Moosehead and spoke conversational French. Unfortunately, we don’t and therefore we’ll have to admire the 50 Jahre Edition from 3000 miles away. Kudos, BMW Canada.
Look at the clear glass … the silver wheels… and the spec of an actual colour for once!
Instead, 90% of the UK cars have a primer grey or black, with “black packs” to remove any identity of the car’s design, topped off with black wheels. Oh and if you can have a black “contrast” roof, all the better.
Am sick of UK car fashion. Genuinely don’t know why you all do it.
Look at the clear glass the silver wheels and the spec of an actual colour for once!
Instead, 90% of the UK cars have a primer grey or black, with black packs to remove any identity of the car s design, topped off with black wheels. Oh and if you can have a black contrast roof, all the better.
Am sick of UK car fashion. Genuinely don t know why you all do it.
I like a 3 series, and this does look better than the current M3. But it seems a shame to let the half century milestone pass without something in the UK. Nice to see some colour and silver wheels too.
I've had a 3 series for 11 years of my life when I include the E90 330d/E92 M3/E90 330i for example.
Look at the clear glass the silver wheels and the spec of an actual colour for once!
Instead, 90% of the UK cars have a primer grey or black, with black packs to remove any identity of the car s design, topped off with black wheels. Oh and if you can have a black contrast roof, all the better.
Am sick of UK car fashion. Genuinely don t know why you all do it.
But overall, it looks great, says it will match an E90 M3, reckon it would be quite a bit quicker in a lot of scenarios, then there is the scope for fiddling with it for even more power.
2015 3 series on AT. The greyscale pandemic set the rot in long ago!
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