RE: BMW 4 Series - official

RE: BMW 4 Series - official

Thursday 6th December 2012

BMW 4 Series - official

Official pics and more info on the new 3 Series coupe replacement



“We’re going to take a larger step,” says BMW big cheese Ian Robertson of the decision to rebrand the next generation 3 Series Coupe as the 4 Series.

67mm drop makes the 4 feel leaner & meaner
67mm drop makes the 4 feel leaner & meaner
Pictures of the new coupe leaked out yesterday, but PistonHeads was there for the official unveiling in Munich, and in the metal the 4 Series lives up to Robertson's promise with a much sportier and more aggressive look than 3 Series coupes of old. It’s a subtle but significant change; the 4 Series is to the 3 Series what the 6 is to the 5.

So there’ll be much shared mechanically between the saloon and the coupe. But where BMW’s recent saloon car styling has been sleek, conservative and evolutionary the coupes have adopted a distinct look of their own that’s much more aggressive and assertive. This makes sense when you look at the numbers – the 4 Series is 50mm longer in the wheelbase and 80mm wider in rear track than the outgoing E92. The wheelbase remains the same as the F30 four-door but it’s a little wider in the rear track (+11mm) and in fact 23mm longer than the saloon. It’s a whole 67mm lower though. Numbers only tell you so much though – in the metal the 4 Series looks seriously muscular, low slung and assertive with just enough reference to previous two-door BMWs to keep the lineage going without being stuck in the past.

Interior based largely on 3 Series, as is...
Interior based largely on 3 Series, as is...
With the 4 Series still officially a concept (yeah, right) the talk at the presentation was more of design than engineering but we did corner Adrian van Hooydonk to ask about those distinctive side vents. Decoration or more? “Efficient Dynamics can be an abstract notion,” he says, with typical flourish, “so we as designers can give it form, and our contribution to the need to reduce CO2 is in aerodynamics.” In other words, the vents do serve a purpose, extracting turbulent air from the wheelarches, while intakes in the bumper create a “curtain of air” over the spinning wheel. “It’s ornament and function combined in a very BMW way,” says head of design Karim Habib, also talking cryptically of the car’s ‘hip swing’ (nor us) and visual reinforcement of the rear-driven chassis through more muscular rear arches.

Job done on the styling front then.

...much of the front end.
...much of the front end.
The question burning on our lips is an obvious one though: does this mean the end of the M3? Logically the hot version of the 4 Series would be an M4 and four-door M3s have rarely been big sellers, were the badge to be reserved for the saloon. “M3 is an iconic name,” acknowledges Robertson with a fixed politician’s smile. “We have thought about that.”

He’s not saying any more than that though. So what do they do? Drop the M3 name? Apply it to the M version of the 4 Series? Or keep it for the four-door and create a new M4?

A dilemma for sure. One that won’t be resolved for a while yet either, with the 4 Series Concept making its public debut at Detroit in January and the run out for the current M3 promising more special versions to keep our interest piqued. A new CSL then? The man from M was notable by his absence. “Perhaps he is in the toilet?” said our host as the bigwigs were introduced. If he was he was certainly taking his time. Perhaps he was “still thinking about it.”









Author
Discussion

GranCab

Original Poster:

2,902 posts

145 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Mmmm - plaited detailing on brown leather - very Bavarian ....

GranCab

Original Poster:

2,902 posts

145 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
But seriously ... it's the best looking BMW since the E46 M3

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Big improvement over the old one in terms of looks.

Not keen on the idea of 8cm wider than the E92 though - that felt uncomfortably wide to me.

stuart-b

3,643 posts

225 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
kambites said:
Big improvement over the old one in terms of looks.

Not keen on the idea of 8cm wider than the E92 though - that felt uncomfortably wide to me.
Yes, it is quite wide, but you get used to it - the biggest problem is lack of front parking sensors on mine - with the M sport bodykit, you just can't see the end of the bonnet easily, or the wings, it's quite an issue getting out of tight spaces.

This is my future upgrade!

Guvernator

13,109 posts

164 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
kambites said:
Big improvement over the old one in terms of looks.

Not keen on the idea of 8cm wider than the E92 though - that felt uncomfortably wide to me.
Have to agree with this, the E92 is big enough. I really don't understand this obsession with manufacturers to make each version of the car bigger and bigger, our roads are small and congested enough and it's only going to get worse.

No mention of weight in the article either. I hope BMW try to make this one lighter like other manufacturers seem to be trying to do of late.

andrewparker

7,905 posts

186 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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Some good photos over at Auto Blog - http://www.autoblog.com/photos/bmw-concept-4-serie...

After_Shock

8,751 posts

219 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Guvernator said:
Have to agree with this, the E92 is big enough. I really don't understand this obsession with manufacturers to make each version of the car bigger and bigger, our roads are small and congested enough and it's only going to get worse.
Simple, Zie Germans like to do this so every 2 or maybes 3 generations they can bring out another model a bit smaller than the new one, which is typically the same size of the original car those 2 or 3 gens before.

The 4 series coupe will allow the 2 series to slot in below nicely.

The X5 is another good example, started with that, then 2 gens in the X3 arrived, when that got a new model which was bigger the X1 appears, ongoing cycle.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
I like that interior. Not a bad looking car either, would appear it's rather aimed at the US market though in terms of size.

FWDRacer

3,564 posts

223 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Fussy and over detailed styling at front/rear. Smacks of trying too hard.

Best looking Drier(4er?) since E46.

After_Shock

8,751 posts

219 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Much better pics than yesterdays, like the Front more now and the side profile but, whats going on with the lower section of the back bumper? Looks terrible.

tomellingham

71 posts

164 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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Wheels look like they are pushing it a bit!

kazino

1,580 posts

217 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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Now that looks spot on, well done BMW.

tjlazer

875 posts

173 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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I can't understand the negative reaction to the looks, it's the future. Get used to it. They won't reissue the e46 m3 or e39 m5 so i that's your bag go get one. I did but would be very happy in the M version of this car one day.

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
tjlazer said:
...it's the future. Get used to it...
As is the death of the internal combustion engine, that doesn't mean people have to like it.

brakes

104 posts

139 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Love today's pictures - very aggressive and mean-looking. Can't wait to see what M-division can do with it.

m3sye

26,231 posts

200 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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That is gorgeous, best BMW I have seen for a long time.

Interior is not up to the standard of the new 6 series though.

Celt

1,264 posts

191 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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Looks very similar to the 6 series, A5 and Mercedes coupe. Not an ugly car by any means.

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
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I think it looks fantastic.


MycroftWard

5,983 posts

212 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
The styling is quite attractive, looks a big old boy though.

I can see why they'd want more differentiation for their mid sized coupe and to take it upmarket a bit.

cjgreaves41

106 posts

154 months

Thursday 6th December 2012
quotequote all
Not a fan, the windscreen line is too steep and the headlights look squashed..... and as for making it bigger.....