BMW M3 name to continue
The BMW 3 Series Coupe has become the 4 Series, but will the iconic M3 follow suit and become the M4?BMW board member Ian Roberston was playing coy when quizzed on the issue by motoring.com.au at the Detroit motor show yesterday at the reveal of the 4 Series Concept Coupe, confirming only that the M3 name would continue on.
“You will have to wait and see where we end up with the M products, but one thing I can say to you is that M3 is an icon that we are not prepared to lose,” Mr Robertson said.
“You will have to wait and see, but M3 is something is very dear to us.”
While that could be interpreted to mean BMW has elected to retain the M3 name for the highest performance version of the new 4 Series, the more likely scenario is there will be an M4 coupe, while the M3 will be restricted to the sedan.
The M4 name for the coupe version of the twin-turbo six-cylinder has been widely reported, and according to our sources, is how the car is being referred to within BMW as well.
It is expected both M3 and M4 will be launched together in 2014, the first time the coupe has not broken cover first.
The production versions of the 4 Series, which is longer, wider and lower than the 3 Series sedan it is based on, will start appearing later this year in Europe and 2014 in Australia.
The rebadging to 4 Series is designed to reflect BMW’s badging policy, which usually brands two doors with even numbers (think 6 and 8 Series).
But it also hands BMW the opportunity to create another model line in a luxury market where niche line-ups are all the rage (think Audi model proliferation).
The next step will be renaming the forthcoming second-generation 1 Series coupe and cabrio as the 2 Series.
Mr Robertson admitted the change from 3 to 4 Series was heavily debated within BMW.
“There always debate when we come up with naming ideas and whether that is numbers or real names like we have with Mini and Rolls-Royce, it’s something we take very seriously and it goes through a very extensive process before we make a decision,” he said.
“One thing that is very clear to us is that when you have a car in that’s in a segment that is very different to a sedan then maybe you can justify having a different number on it.
“This car is wider, it’s longer, it’s lower. The whole stature of the vehicle - while there are some similarities to the sedan - is very different. And that gave us the opportunity to bring a 4 Series in.”
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