A NEW BENCHMARK? THE BMW 4-SERIES
The future for BMW starts here. New car, new name, potentially a new benchmark. The images of the 4-series Concept that have been released today are a hint that BMW is taking this new generation of their hottest selling coupe very seriously. Design-wise the similarities with its sedan counterpart, the all-new 3-series that we have already driven this year, end at the front end – the 4-series boasting a far more aggressive, sleeker, much wider and obviously sportier design. Despite this being a concept, the 4-series is almost production ready, you can expect some toning down of the complex front and rear bumpers, but aside from that, this is pretty much what will be hitting the floor at your local dealer in 2013. And with anticipation for its release comes obvious anticipation for the range topper, the M3 – no wait, the M4! Confusing stuff this name changing malarkey. But badges aside, we all know the M-version of the “4″ could potentially pave the way for a new generation of sports cars in this segment.
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
I ran the current BMW nomenclature thru JimmyTranslate.com and i got this:
Nu-school BMWese >> Proper BMWese
1 series 3 series
3 series saloon 5 series saloon
4 series coupé 6 series
5 series 7 series
5 series GT No translation available
x5 No translation available
6 series Midlife crisis series
x6 Wanker series
7 series Panzer series
since the first "3 series" E21 was released in only a coupe, i'm disappointed that the didn't retain "3 series" for coupes, and use "4 series" for sedans.
Heresy.
Love everything but the name. I don't understand why after nearly 40 years they need to change the name designation now. It's the same thing as if Porsche were to start calling the 911 a different name. You don't mess with that stuff!
I don't even know what to say about the whole M4 idea, makes no sense to me. (or maybe I just cant wrap my head around/handle it)
When I think M3, I think coupé, I think Motorsport, I think of the Sport Evolution, the awesome e36 GT, the CSL; all of which were coupés.
It's kinda sad the 3-series naming for the coupé was ditched, but to be honest this doesn't look very much like the nimble E21 and E30 series, but more a scaled-down 6-series. Despite looking like a small (-ish) 6-series it still looks gigantic. Pretty sure it's bloody heavy as well.
Is it just me or does it look bloody massive?
Is it just me, or do the wing mirrors look MAHOOSIVE?
is this like a BMW equivalent of Mercs CLC?
I think it looks just brilliant! Still curious about the wheight(-issue).
For some reason, it looks like the front doesn't match the rear of the car ... I like the new design, but the rear is too classic, and maybe its 6 Series-style makes it look too "fat" for a M3- ... 4.
A little design analysis, based on the comments you dropped here.1- This is not sporty? Well this is a bit pretentious. Look at the (very) low grille, larger than the 3 Series, that connects the two extremely sharp headlights.See the way the nose of the car points at the street, see the two little lines at the base of the headlights, see the hood lines fading as they reach the grille.I'm not even considerating the bumper, cause in production they will change them: but as you can see this is one hell of a sporty design.Go look at the E92 now, I saw one just after seeing this: it seems so heavy and massive compared to this, so old.2- How can you be able to see an A5 in this? The A5 is a very simple, very clean design, with flat volumes and simple surfaces: remember that a design should be considered as a whole, and not as many little details.Go see the other views: there isn't a single surface here that can be mistaken for another car, or another brand, and even the rear end is very different from the 3 Series.The side profile this time is much more "coupè", meaning that it has a more angled C pillar, with a very small rear deck.That little vent on the side is the only element that should be taken away, and I bet that will not reach the production version.
I see only one reason why to change the name and that is Russia. In Russia everybody has to have the largest BMW. When X6 came out, everybody ditched their X5, because something was bigger in name or size. And I think this will work out. You can't believe how many russians have bought the 5 GT series..
xKZx You're absolutely right. We have to get used to this as China and co are the future markets for car manufacturers. Time for us to rely on our awesome old cars!!
i dont see the point of ditching the the 3 series coupe it has so much history attached to it. it also looks pretty massive the m version petter have a lot of hp and torque to get it moving in the way we all expect an m car to move.
call me back when they have news of a wagon / touring version
I'm digging the massive vents. Kinda sad that there is no more 3 series coupe, considering at first there was only the coupe. I can only hope the M "4" has a slightly more muscled look, but this is pretty good IMO.
Love it... Am I the only one? Gotta say though it does scream S5, and those fender vents either need to be taken out or go the whole length of the wheel arch.
BTW Dino- loving the feedback from you guys in the comments section!
Kyle_Cullam You are not the only one! And yeah it's cool to discuss things in the comment section :)
I'm pretty sure this is BMW's response to Audi's A5 and S5, They want to get the "cockometer" in the red again with their cars...
No offence but wasn't the A5/S5 Audi's response to the 3-series? Let's not forget who set the benchmark in the first place
Honestly....i dont see anything "sporty" about it.....its looking like a grand tourer still.....None of the BMW recently truly have a "sporty" look. 1 series M car looks sporty i suppose.....but Genesis looks sportier....FRS looks sporty this......not soo much.
JoshAlicea Come on it's got fender vents! ;)
JoshAlicea I gotta agree with you. I honestly don't like anything on BMW's line up this time around. Just my opinion.
JoshAlicea I'm sure it will drive like a M... but it just doesn't.. do it for me in the looks department. I'm sure we can count on a indepth review though ;) eh Dino? eh? =)
Slight JoshAlicea Indeed you can :)
speedhunters_dino Slight I looked it up on Supercars.net I bit my tounge a bit.....I saw the interior, and some other angles....it REALLY moves forward in a bunch of departments....I think a photoshoot with the M3 and a 4 series next to eachother would shed a tonne of light. Right now in that photo i have no sense of scale. and what of the monster that is the 135? that would be a beautiful sight of all 3 cars together....
Don't understand why they would want to throw away the history attached to the 3 series name...
I want a GT car of this
I ran the current BMW nomenclature thru JimmyTranslate.com and i got this:
Nu-school BMWese >> Proper BMWese
1 series >> 3 series
3 series saloon >> 5 series saloon
4 series coupé >> 6 series
5 series >> 7 series
5 series GT >> No translation available
x5 >> No translation available
6 series >> Midlife crisis series
x6 >> Wanker series
7 series >> Panzer series
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