3 series coupe spy shots
 

The next 3-series cabrio will get a 3-part retractable steel roof plus a different front end styling.
http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...102.001.1L.jpg
http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...001.Mini2L.jpg
http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...001.Mini3L.jpg

Much more like a CLK profile with that high roofline relative to the hood & deck.

I kinda dig the front of it.

JV

whoa....

that one side profile looks like the old honduh civic...

Overall I like it, but that first pic looks like the front end was photochopped.

I agree....the 2nd pic.

Must be 2 of 'em out there............Also has 2 different types of wheels......

I'm going to hold my judgement until I see the final product.........don't care too much for the looks of it so far.........

Thanks for the post LeMans..........always love your spy shot posts!!!:thumbup:

3 different sets of wheels

You're right Gresch.........3 different sets........Thanks for the extra set of eyes for me........

I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night :thumbup:

The first pic had better be a Photochop 'cause it's ugly. The long flat hoodline, flat trunk and how the glasshouse mates onto it looks like a Buick Reatta. (Okay, may a bit of an exaggeration.)

http://www.carnut.com/show/04/arc/aarc002.jpg
http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...102.001.1L.jpg

The other two pics are better but I too will wait for the final product. The E46 coupé will be hard to beat as a sporty yet elegant design.

I too agree that the lines in the back liken it to the CLK. Overall the just looks....blah. With the autoshows nearing, I'm getting quite anxious for our X5 after looking at these recent spy pics :nervous: .

http://www.lincoln.com/lincolnls/img/main_ext_1.jpg

Roof line reminds me of a Lincoln LS.

Overall this new 3 coupe just looks generic.

The first pic being the cabrio...hmmmm....looks the same way that the current E46 looks with the hard top fitted.

JV

Dont like it at all!But I am sure that its very well camouflaged and the production model will look very different!

Does look "Civic-esque".

Even looks a little like a Scion humped an older Accord.

Still waiting on the new M3........

My brother-in-law had a Reatta :bustingup

:iagree: ...and it probably is a chop.

The second shot looks a little better, and the third, a little better still. But I hope the finished product is a lot better than this, b/c the 3 coupe has always been one of BMW's hottest designs, IMO.

:bustingup

cant say i love it, from the profile looks like the bentley coupe, from the front looks ugly i much rather see the old 2004-2005 style at least on the 330ci

dont know if i like it. I liked the 4door e90 though. mabey in 5000 years i can actually afford one :thumbup:

Saw the new CLK55 AMG yesterday and I liked it very much. The new M3 will be a no brainer, but as far as regular coupe goes, right now I give the edge to the basic CLK.

So, if it's a folding, retractable roof... what happens to the "shark fin" on top of the roof? :dunno:

Juan

Another new pic of 3 seires coupe. Notice the rear view side mirrors. The front grill looks more like 5 series. :confused:
*****
The photo is showing the new model in full showroom trim. Power for the CC comes from a variety of six-cylinder engines ranging from 2.2 litre 180 HP to 3.0 litre 258 HP. The top of the line M3 will get a V8 4.0 litre engine delivering around 400 HP. Furthermore three Diesels will be available performing 163 HP to 272 HP

http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...113.001.1L.jpg

I don't care for the looks, but more importantly, do we get the diesel engines? If the 3 gets it, I'm sure the rest of the lineup will too.

May be I am too old to accept the change but I really have a tough time developing a taste for the new 3 series line, and this new coupe is not going to help.

Any news on which engine? Waiting to hear when the N53 with DI replaces the N52. Supposedly good for an additional 8% fuel efficiency over the N52 3.0, with the same hp, and should be out in mid 2006.

I just got an '06 325i for a loaner for 2 days and let me tell you.......it drove nice, but I felt like I was in a Honda or a Japanese car. It didn't even have that "BMW" smell. It smelled like a brand new Japanese car.......you know how BMW's have that smell.......the leather & all.....it's just different. It just didn't feel like a BMW to me...........it seemed cheaper & I was not impressed by the materials.......It drove very nice, especially in Sport mode, but overall - not impressed for a $36,000 car...........The new coupe looks Japanese designed too..........

I have read that the new N53 DI engine will debut in the upcoming E92 coupe in the form of a 3.5L 335i.

What does DI stand for? Is this some sort of next-gen Valvetronic?

Direct Injection.

And what's the advantage to this? All BMW gas engines are injection already...

I think direct injection engines are the new direction BMW is heading, which offers way better fuel economy and emissions. Look for some turbo DI engines as well.

Right now the only engines that are DI are the diesels, naturally, and the jointly produced pterol I4 from BMW/Peugeot. BMW is heading in the direction of producing more DI petrol engines.

Audi and Lexus are already having good success with their fairly newly released engines. The Lexus actually uses a stratified charge. It has injectors in the manifold as well is in the combustion chamber. I read an excellent SAE article on it recently. I'll try to scan it sometime time in the next few days and post it.

The main advantage with DI is a better mixture, which results in better torque, fuel consumption and emissions.

Direct refers to directly into the combustion chamber, exactly like a diesel.

The Valvetronic six that was released two years ago was an interim engine, as the DI models weren't ready for production. Our current X5 models have the M54 3.0 six, the N52 is the 255 hp 3.0, and the N53 will have the same hp, but another quantum leap in fuel economy (same order of magnitude as Valvetronic gave us), with similar emissions. They could go for very low emissions, but that would compromise the power. They are designing to the same power for equivalent displacement as today's Valvetronic models.

BMW has announced that all models will move to direct injection in time.

BMW has DI engines in production today, just not the I6 or V8. The 760 uses direct injection, but without a stratified charge.

The N54 is the Valvetronic/DI/Turbo version of the I6. All the good stuff.

Apparently, this is a photo-chop.

http://forum.e90fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1027