BimmerFest BMW Forum banner
41K views 67 replies 38 participants last post by  Keyser Soze 
#1 · (Edited)
BMW 4 series coupe 440 spied testing

The all new 3 series coupe, which is being re-branded as a 4 series coupe will debut as a model year 2014 in the summer of 2013. BMW has been busy testing the base model 428i coupe rumored to have the same turbo 4 cylinder N20 that is available in the current 2012 and 2013 328i. The big engine 4 series coupe will have the turbo 6 cylinder N55 found in the 21012 and 2013 335i sedan but the power will be bumped to the 320hp range.

The 4 series test mule spied here is the N55 powered 440i coupe with a power bump to 320hp. The power bump is part of BMW's strategy to move the coupe up market from the 3 series sedan creating a distinction between the sedan and coupe markets as they have done with the 5 and 6 series. The 4 series coupe will come with more standard features and a higher base price furthering the gap between the 3 series sedan and 4 series coupe.

2014 BMW 4 series coupe

Much of the 4 series coupe design is still under wraps as we're just under a year out. While this cars headlights are clearly test car units the final F32 coupe will have a headlight design that mimics the F30 3 series sedan, wrapping all the way from the fender to the kidney grills. The grills will be much wider then the 3 series sedan with a look similar to the 6 series coupe. At the rear the trunk lid has been styled to wrap into the rear window. The big engine 440i retains the split, left and right single exhaust were the 428i will have a left side dual exhaust.

As we get closer to the press launch of the 4 series coupe the camouflage will start to drop off the 4 series so stay tuned for more and more revealing spy shots of the 2014 4 series coupe. Based on the size and general lines you can see so far, do you think the 4 series coupe is going to be HOT or NOT?
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#5 · (Edited)
btw - I forgot to mention, STUPID TO THE HIGH HEAVENS THROWING AWAY FORTY YEARS OF HARD WON BRAND IDENTITY BY CALLING THIS CAR A 4 SERIES. People are still pissed they dropped the "ci" designation for the coupes. Someone at BMW corporate, please pull your head out your butt and learn something. Keep the irreplaceable 3 Series name and bring back the "ci" designation for the coupes (and "cic" for the 'verts).

BMW recently recognized as the MOST VALUABLE BRAND IN THE WORLD and they are too stupid to recognize a huge part of that is the 3 Series, including the coupe, and the ///M3, which virtually every person on the planet associates with a coupe or convertible.

This 4 Series crap is a bigger corporate identity blunder than New Coke!!! The entire 3 Series history is built on the two door 3er. Without which there would be no 3 Series sedan at all!!! This "4 Series" is NOTHING SHORT OF BMW BLASPHEMY. It is shameful to the brand.

I guess I ought to email this rant to BMW.
 
#7 ·
btw - I forgot to mention, STUPID TO THE HIGH HEAVENS THROWING AWAY FORTY YEARS OF HARD WON BRAND IDENTITY BY CALLING THIS CAR A 4 SERIES. People are still pissed they dropped the "ci" designation for the coupes. Someone at BMW corporate, please pull you head out your butt and learn something. Keep the irreplaceable 3 Series name and bring back the "ci" designation for the coupes (and "cic" for the 'verts).

BMW recently recognized as the MOST VALUABLE BRAND IN THE WORLD and they are too stupid to recognize a huge part of that is the 3 Series, including the coupe, and the ///M3, which virtually every person on the planet associates with a coupe or convertible.

This 4 Series crap is a bigger corporate identity blunder than New Coke!!! The entire 3 Series history is built on the two door 3er. Without which there would be no 3 Series sedan at all!!! This "4 Series" is NOTHING SHORT OF BMW BLASPHEMY. It is shameful to the brand.

I guess I ought to email this rant to BMW.
I agree (although I'm not quite as worked up about this as you! :D).
 
#8 ·
tturedraider says it all. BMW is screwing themselves. They are so trying to emulate Audi and yet, it is Audi that has been playing catch up since the 1980s.
 
#16 ·
Agreed on all fronts. The naming has gotten completely out of hand.

1, 3, 5, 7, series
3XX should denote displacement
A "t" suffix is for turbo
X for all-wheel drive
i or d for petrol vs. diesel

It's clear to me what a 530txi is. But maybe us "insiders" who can decode the nomenclature are the exception?

With mobile phones you have the "Samsung Galaxy III S" competing with the "iPhone 4". It's like the "BMW 435i xDrive" competing with the "Audi A5 Quattro". One of those is much cleaner / clearer to me than the other. Maybe the analogy is a little strained, but you get the idea.

-James
2006 BMW X3 3.0i (manual, m-sport, xenons, premium, pdc, servotronic)
 
#17 · (Edited)
My guess is that BMW did a lot of focus groups to realize that the average person didn't understand all the naming. We might like I, CI, XI, etc. it does get a little confusing with the extended drive train options. Would an AWD, Turbo, Coupe be a CXTi?

335CXti doesn't sound all that awesome either.

EDIT - Realized it would be a 330CXti under the above naming nomenclature.
 
#37 ·
Good point. You can't say whether it is N55 or M57. This is in Europe, both are very rare, but N55 reaches the rarity of a unicorn.

Is that a trailer hitch?
Yes, that is a trailer hitch. Many a German will take 3er or 5er on vacation while dragging a caravan/trailer behind the car. Not just German, mind you, but they are majority where I used to live.

I always wanted to shoot them for driving on secondary roads with almost no straights instead of toll highways making a 20 cars procession a thing to fully expect on your trip. Needless to say, you pick the secondary road because there are no straights, not to avoid the toll.
 
#21 ·
ahh change is good!
 
#26 ·
tturedraider commented:
July 13, 2012, 12:52 pm

btw - I forgot to mention, STUPID TO THE HIGH HEAVENS THROWING AWAY FORTY YEARS OF HARD WON BRAND IDENTITY BY CALLING THIS CAR A 4 SERIES. People are still pissed they dropped the "ci" designation for the coupes. Someone at BMW corporate, please pull your head out your butt and learn something. Keep the irreplaceable 3 Series name and bring back the "ci" designation for the coupes (and "cic" for the 'verts).

BMW recently recognized as the MOST VALUABLE BRAND IN THE WORLD and they are too stupid to recognize a huge part of that is the 3 Series, including the coupe, and the ///M3, which virtually every person on the planet associates with a coupe or convertible.

This 4 Series crap is a bigger corporate identity blunder than New Coke!!! The entire 3 Series history is built on the two door 3er. Without which there would be no 3 Series sedan at all!!! This "4 Series" is NOTHING SHORT OF BMW BLASPHEMY. It is shameful to the brand.

I guess I ought to email this rant to BMW.

Yep, stay stuck in the past while the future passes you by.
 
#28 · (Edited)
BMW 4 series coupe 440 spied testing

The all new 3 series coupe, which is being re-branded as a 4 series coupe will debut as a model year 2014 in the summer of 2013. BMW has been busy testing the base model 428i coupe rumored to have the same turbo 4 cylinder N20 that is available in the current 2012 and 2013 328i. The big engine 4 series coupe will have the turbo 6 cylinder N55 found in the 21012 and 2013 335i sedan but the power will be bumped to the 320hp range.

The 4 series test mule spied here is the N55 powered 440i coupe with a power bump to 320hp. The power bump is part of BMW's strategy to move the coupe up market from the 3 series sedan creating a distinction between the sedan and coupe markets as they have done with the 5 and 6 series. The 4 series coupe will come with more standard features and a higher base price furthering the gap between the 3 series sedan and 4 series coupe
2014 BMW 4 series coupe

Much of the 4 series coupe design is still under wraps as we're just under a year out. While this cars headlights are clearly test car units the final F32 coupe will have a headlight design that mimics the F30 3 series sedan, wrapping all the way from the fender to the kidney grills. The grills will be much wider then the 3 series sedan with a look similar to the 6 series coupe. At the rear the trunk lid has been styled to wrap into the rear window. The big engine 440i retains the split, left and right single exhaust were the 428i will have a left side dual exhaust.

As we get closer to the press launch of the 4 series coupe the camouflage will start to drop off the 4 series so stay tuned for more and more revealing spy shots of the 2014 4 series coupe. Based on the size and general lines you can see so far, do you think the 4 series coupe is going to be HOT or NOT?
Where is the proof that any of this info is true,i say no way.BMW is just going to throw out the window all the history they have with there number one brand by calling the 3 series coupe a 4 series.An M3 being called a M4,yuck.
The only thing I hope you are right about is if it looks like a mini 6 series,as long as the headlights look like the 6 series and not the F30 sedan.
 
#36 ·
I think their intention of the 4 Series is to take the coupe and convertible more upscale (meaning even more expensive) and because it's a 4 rather than a 3, you'll feel justified in paying it. It will be interesting to see what the pricing is like compared to the F30 if they do call it a 428i/435i.
 
#42 ·
unless proven otherwise, i can only consider these claims to be speculation. i am sure the OP has a sterling reputation around here, but that doesn't magically make sourceless information into fact.

the change from 3 to 4 series, the nomenclature of 440, the engine specifications... i don't see how anyone could know it just from some pictures.
 
#43 ·
unless proven otherwise, i can only consider these claims to be speculation. i am sure the OP has a sterling reputation around here, but that doesn't magically make sourceless information into fact.

the change from 3 to 4 series, the nomenclature of 440, the engine specifications... i don't see how anyone could know it just from some pictures.
I'm not entirely disagreeing with you. I too would like to see the source info. Really just for the 4 series part at least. All the info I've seen says its going to be a 4 series. I've seen nothing anywhere, nor has my dealer, that its going to be another 3 series, much as I think I wish it would be. So his info at least fits with everything else we've all seen.
 
#45 ·
Maybe it's the 228 ? Seriously, I've been looking at Porsche lately and they raise the hell out of prices and don't call the 911 a 1011. A lightly optioned 911S Cab, the new 991, had an MSRP of 120k ! BMW is scared to death of raising prices, they just cheapen the cars. It might be the right business decision but as a car person I don't like it.
 
#49 ·
I don't get all the fuss. What BMW did to the steering of their new models was far more damaging to the brand than calling a 3 series couple, a 4 series could ever be. Then there was the X6 and 5GT.

Also in the US, the models that spend the least time on the lot are the X3 and X5. In the suburbs of NYC, the X5 can hard to find on dealer lots.
 
#50 ·
I don't get all the fuss. What BMW did to the steering of their new models was far more damaging to the brand than calling a 3 series couple, a 4 series could ever be. Then there was the X6 and 5GT.

Also in the US, the models that spend the least time on the lot are the X3 and X5. In the suburbs of NYC, the X5 can hard to find on dealer lots.
Think New Coke. You don't spend decades building a brand and then flush it down the toilet for the sake of newness.
 
#54 ·
Mercedes has already begun the process of realigning/renaming their models, e.g. CLK is now the E Coupe. The next CL will be a S Coupe. Audi abandoned their 80 nameplate despite 30 years of history. Anyone complaining today about the A4/S4/RS4 nameplates? So, I think 1,3,5,7 for sedans; 2,4,6,8 for coupes; X1,X3,X5,X7 for traditional SUVs; and X2,X4,X6 for CoupeUVs makes sense to me. If they happen to make an abomination, then call it a GT. :rofl:
 
#57 ·
Just another nail in the BMW corporate coffin. With all the serious mistakes BMW has been making lately I suspect they must have new executives making bad decisions.

After 16 years of 3 series loyalty I had already written them off anyways when I test drove the new generation 3 series. The car has many problems but the 3 show stoppers have to be:

1. Auto On/Off that can't be disabled other than every time you get in the car.
2. The cheap idrive screen that appears to be an afterthought when the designers realized they had forgotten to make room for the display. It looks like my daughter left her IPad propped up on top of the dash.
3. The electric steering disqualifies the 3 series from being an "Ultimate Driving Machine" and that's the essence of any BMW.
 
#58 ·
2. The cheap idrive screen that appears to be an afterthought when the designers realized they had forgotten to make room for the display. It looks like my daughter left her IPad propped up on top of the dash.
That was exactly the look BMW was going for. They wanted it to look like an iPad or flat screen TV. I understand that you don't like it, just clarifying that it was what they intended.

I also don't think the ESP rules out it being a good driving car. The NSX has electric steering, as does the Tesla and both are considered to have great driving dynamics.

Tim
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top