Find Reviews by Make:
A handful of BMW 3 and 4 series models will receive new designations to go with their new engines when they arrive in U.S. showrooms beginning in 2016.
An ongoing forum post on Bimmerpost reports the following for the F3x models:
- 4-cylinder B58 will have the 330i/430i designation, instead of 328i/428i
- 6-cylinder B58 will use the 340i/440i designation, instead of 335i/435i
- F30 PHEV will be dubbed the 330e, instead of 328e
The list continues to update, and has info only on U.S.-bound models.
78 Comments on “BMW 3, 4 Series To Get New Designations With New Engines...”
Read all comments
Flooding the market with different models and confusing names while still making people pay top dollar to be seen in a “BMW” with no V8 and often times no real leather…
BRILLIANT!
“Top dollar”? Have you priced out a BMW lately? You can practically buy one on a Fiatsler budget.
you mean you can lease one for Chrysler money.
The purchase prices on these things are getting way out of hand.
I meant both, actually. MSRP may be ego-reassuringly high, but so are the incentives on offer.
Not everyone wants to drive a 4000+ lb car with a cast-iron pushrod engine.
You say “cast-iron pushrod engine” like its a bad thing.
I say it like not everyone wants to drive one. Me included. Of course others may have different preferences.
Just buggin’ ya.
@th009:
What serious objection do you have against pushrod engines? They are more compact per unit of displacement, lighter weight per unit of displacement, and have a lower center of gravity than their overhead cam counterparts with equal reliability and fuel economy. A pushrod engine will almost always sound throatier than the whine of the overhead cam drive.
I’d take a Dodge Challenger Hellcat over a BMW ten times out of ten.
I’ll get started growing that mullet you’re imagining me with.
Too true – better to buy a blinged out Chrysler for BMW money.
@BTS: If you think that cylinder count is a measure of vehicle value then that explains a lot.
The FASTEST, MOST POWERFUL, Production car in the world is the Bugatti Veyron SS with a W16 engine.
Drop down to the other “fastest” cars and you find Lamborghinis with V12 engines.
That says a lot.
Actually…no.
A buddy at work has a 6.1 Challenger with the 5 sped auto and is slightly slower at the drag-strip than an F30 335 family sedan. The 3 series also gets 20 MPG in town and 30+ on the highway and leaves the SRT even further behind at the first corner.
But I see your attraction to the Veyron – its also overpriced and overweight.
@BTSR…
Yes it does say a lot about the lunacy of good Deutschlander engineering. Take several pallets of leftover VW VR6 engines, slice , dice and weld ’em up until you come up with 16 cylinders , throw in 4 turbochargers for good measure, then call in the Francophiles for some tires That won’t come apart at 250mph, then give it to the aero department so it doesn’t become airborne. Price it at millions of dollars and voila! — you get rich men with compensation issues to buy it, and wannabe’s on internet blogs to rave about it.
Meh…big deal…Don Garlits and the boys in the NHRA took 1950’s era technology (real Hemi’s). Bolted on a supercharger designed for a diesel (6-71). Using home built chassis’ theyscrewed the tires to the rims , fueled ’em with liquid dynamite to make 8500 to 10000 hp, by 1992 they were doing over 300mph..( in 1/4 mile)….with only 8 cylinders…
“Yes it does say a lot about the lunacy of good Deutschlander engineering. Take several pallets of leftover VW VR6 engines, slice , dice and weld ‘em up until you come up with 16 cylinders , throw in 4 turbochargers for good measure…”
Technology is about pushing the limits. I always wondered if I could build a project car: WORLD’S FASTEST HYUNDAI SONATA with a supercharged or twin turbocharged W8 engine.
I did research and realized that the W8 was already tried by VW in a Passat.
For someone to even try that and spend money on it is noteworthy.
If you want to see LUNACY, wait until I install a 440 Stroker with a Supercharger on one of these SRT cars.
I will give you blackened roads.
Dragsters are fun and all, but personally I prefer engines that last longer than 5 seconds between rebuilds.
@Dartman,
We have about the same attitude towards the Veyron. There’s really not much to it, it’s fairly conventional, and has been build by throwing tons of money and VAG leftovers at it, until it worked.
And it’s still barely faster (in the ‘Super Sport’ version) than the Lingenfelter/-Callaway Sledgehammer from 1988, that had half as many cylinders and turbos.
carguy: Cylinder configuration means a lot. High strung four cylinders cannot and will not last longer than cross plane eights, I-6, and V12 engines.
I’m not going to pay extra money for less car.
Are BMW owners really this fragile with their egos?
I’ll pay more so that people who haven’t paid attention to BMW in 10 years will think I got the “good” 3-series with my new 330i.
I’m not sure how this news equates to having fragile egos. BMW owners just found out about this and are going to have to roll with it. This is the gospel as determined by Munich.
But let’s be honest, 330 is two better than 328. (trying really hard not to make a ‘this amp goes to 11’ reference)
To be fair, automakers rarely make decisions about model names without having some solid market research behind it. There was probably some pretty serious backlash about calling the 3 series the 320ti especially since they rolled out two different power levels on that 2.0T. How would you differentiate between the low power (current 320i) and high power version (current 328i)? 320ti and 320tis?
I wonder how well received the Lexus turbo naming will be. NX200t and IS200t share the same “number” with the CT200h… and have around 100 more HP.
Once they made the decision to have model names bear no relation to engine capacity, the game was up. Doing it to greater extremes (bigger numbers all round!) just confirms it as nonsense.
I’m looking forward to 2018’s 1.5 Litre 350i with bated breath.
So in the early to mid 80s?
MB has been guilty of it for a while also. The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what numerical jargon they use, they’ll get leased like hotcakes since they have the spinny blue and white emblem on the hood. BMW enthusiast will flock to the 2-series (as a true 3 series successor) and Ms, all while bitching about the number system. I believe it’s ridiculous also, and this is coming from someone who has an M4 on order.
Why stop at 340i? Just make it into a 350i so there is no need to tweak names for a while.
So that the next generation can be the 345 and 350 after that. That way a current 340 owner can feel very inadequate about him/herself and have to go buy the new one.
I am surprised they didn’t just change them to 3Gazillion and 3GazilBazillion. And updated the math books to make their owners feel better about themselves.
How insipidly stupid. It’s not like a 320tii is a bad designation, nor is it like their 2.0 turbo is something to be embarrassed about.
Or customers could cut to the chase and buy an Infiniti.
As maddening as the sheer number of different BMW model names can be, this kind of makes sense for what is BMW’s biggest US volume lines.
1. The 320 stays the same. No loss, since it is the basest of base 3-series and I’m guessing lower margin.
2. The 328 is now a 330, and the 335 is now a 340. Bigger number = perceived to be better = customers willing to spend more on basically the same car.
3. The even spacing between model numbers makes it easier to distinguish one model from another. Very similar to the MB C-class models 250, 300, 350.
Now, I wonder if this will continue into the other series? Will the 528 become the 530? Is the new designation only for models receiving the new B48/B58 engines?
New BMWs should integrate bluetooth and LCD technology into their branding, so that when they come into proximity with an older BMW with a higher number, the car increments its own number to be one higher, which immediately updates itself on the trunk-lid.
Equal BMWs of the same year can fight over the letter at the end, based on which car is ahead of the other in traffic. Cars earning the prized-verging-on-legendary Z letter will have the car’s messaging system give them positive affirmation messages like “You’re the best driver in the world” and “Weaving dangerously through traffic like a coked-up sociopath makes other drivers envy and respect you”.
I thought they’d get real names, not more of the same alpha-numeric stuff.
BMW Cutlass Supreme, BMW Intrigue, BMW Alero
International Edition™ Brougham Regency Ultra Limited
Presidential edition by Cartier.
Opera windows and fake coins embedded in the bodywork.
Rich Corinthian Leather!
Congressional Town Sedan Philharmonic.
D’Elegance
Taurus SHO Very Very Limited.
I do like the idea of fake coins embedded in the sheet metal or maybe a top made of Zimbabwe million dollar bank notes.
Is M-Sport still German for Brougham?
I thought M-sport was the JCWhitney add on package.
According to the BMW website:
“The exterior components of the M Aerodynamics package reinforce the sporty appearance of the BMW 5 Series Sedan. Powerful air inlets give the flow-optimised front apron more presence. Side skirts with additional contour lines sharpen the vehicle profile; this is perfectly rounded off by the rear apron with exhaust pipe finishers in Dark Chrome and a striking diffusor in Dark Shadow metallic.”
Yes
bball40, the M Aerodynamics Package is one part of the more comprehensive M Sport “package” (BMW calls it the M Sport line), which is not purely cosmetic. You may or may not be able to order the M Aero Pkg independent of the M Sport pkg.
From what I read, it doesn’t seem to be stand alone on the 5er. Its bundled in with the M-Sport package. If you get a 5 series with AWD, the M-Sport package has only cosmetic upgrades. On the RWD 5 series, the suspension gets tweaked.
On the BMWUSA site this is the M-Sport package:
•M Aerodynamic Kit
•19″ light alloy wheels, double spoke design
•M Steering Wheel
•M wheels
•Exclusive M colors and trims
bball, under the 3-series page, the M Sport package actually includes suspension upgrades. I guess it means different things on different models.
From what I can gather, M-Sport gives you no suspension upgrades if you get a AWD BMW. You can choose the dynamic handling package for the Adaptive M suspension for $1000 more. If its a RWD model, you cannot have the M-Sport package AND the adaptive suspension. You get the regular M-Sport suspension.
When can I get the BMW 340 Iroc-Zi?
Dante’s Inferno mentioned a specific circle of hell for such an abonination.
Go for the Pace Car edition with enormous stripes and a Three Wolf Moon decal on the hood.
I always wanted an Iroc in high school. I’m going to order some stickers and slap ’em on the Miata. Hell, I’ll order a set for the 3 too!
I’ve been waiting for some company to make a full IROC custom stripe/decal set for the current Camaro, but as far as I know it’s never been done.
Yawn. Once upon a time BMW meant something.
You mean ’cause of the Bavarian Mexico Werken?
I am surprised they didn’t use Jack’s idea of just putting the MSRP on the badge.
I forget: Did Jack have a solution for distinguishing the people who lease from those who buy? Or do all BMW drivers lease?
My neighbour doesn’t.
I didn’t lease mine, though I cannot imagine what possible difference it makes. If you are going to buy a new car every few years anyway, it only makes sense to lease. I plan to keep mine a long time, so I bought it.
I thought they already did — “320” and “528”. But how about an asterisk?
Or the second two digits can be a percentage representation of the vehicle’s depreciation from MSRP, to be updated by the dealership every time the vehicle is in for $300 windshield wiper blades.
The power outputs are changing, hence the numerical changes. I know all the “BMW purists” out there are waxing nostalgic that the numbers have to be the engine displacement, but that’s revisionist history in the first place, since that was never actually a steadfast numbering scheme. The purpose of the numbers are to show where the power outputs relate to other BMW models.
340 > 335 > 330 > 328 > 320
It’s not rocket science. If you can figure out Mercedes, you shouldn’t have any problem with BMW.
It never was? 1600, 1800, 2000, 2500, 3000, 1602, 1802, 2002 were all based on displacement. So were the original 316, 318, 320 etc.
There has been no consistent link between displacement and the number on the back since the e21 320i got a 1.8L motor in ~1981. It wasn;t even consistent between models with the same engine – the e30 325e and e28 528e both had the very same 2.7l engine. So ancient history, please get over yourself.
How does the power output of the B48/58 compare to the N20 and N55? I thought they were very similar.
What? Did someone actually decode the Mercedes badging ? I guess they need to fire their cryptographer…
Boy, the BMW fan-boys really don’t have as sense of humor when you go after their “ultimate poser machines” like this.
I tried, I really did, but my sense of humor wasn’t big enough to buy a BMW.
BMW proves that slapstick can be both deadpan and dark.
Yeah, it’s weird that people get offended and defensive when you call them posers, right?
I don’t see anyone getting bent out of shape. I see vast numbers of the same tired “BMW leasers (because they never own) are poser-douchebags who only care about status symbols” and a handful of commenters actually considering the actual change and why they might be doing it.
I have a 2001 E46. Perhaps the last of the honestly named bimmers. In the end, when a decently equipped 4 series ‘grand coupe’ with x drive and the big six is almost sixty and a 335 x drive is well north of 50 the market may well correct.
I have high hopes for Caddy doing more development on the CTS, but will not be surprised if it never fulfills it’s promise.
OTOH Ford and Lexus – a nice Fusion with a Lincoln badge for 46 – some R&D and it should be nice.
An IS 350 with F sport and Toyota fuel injection with both port and direct fuel injection eliminating the carbon build up that BMW direct injection can not avoid for 50.
And the Lexus wouldn’t break either.
Dropping the 328/428 designation for 330/430? Someone in marketing obviously doesn’t understand how superstitious the Chinese are about the last number on things (car models, phone numbers, apartment floors, etc). 8 = wealth, 4 = death, so at least they didn’t go to 334/434 and Porsche definitely can’t revive the 944.
They probably expect to educate the chinese in the error of their thinking, just as they continue to educate their US customers about the error of desiring functional cup holders.
Given how much of their income comes from China these days, I was taken aback at the intro of their 4-series.
This is like the Chevy “Nova” thing, but potentially x1000.
I know, right? You’d think they’d have learned from Ausi after the A4 completely tanked in China and didn’t sell for…oh, wait. The A4 is a huge success in China. Well never mind then.
Oh, and the whole Nova-Spanish thing? False as well.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
Well, it’s good to see BMW cleared all that up.
Now they have to work on the 2 series, carefully integrating the model numbers so that there’s no confusion between RWD and the new FWD models, which are actually 3 cylinder MINIs in BMW disguise.
I can hardly wait.
This does make sense. The 328 was more powerful than the previous 325, and now the new 4 cylinder will be more powerful than the 328 so 330 is logical. The numbers give you an indication of relative power : 325<328<330<335<340