[0700700]

Hey guys, read the BMWCAR magazine article on the 335i today. Sorry i can scan it as i read it at the newsagent ... since the mag is well to expensive to buy

It came out 3 days ago, so i would assume it has all the latest gossip on the 335i. The article, with inside info from BMW, states that:

the 335i will be around 300bhp
the 335i in coupe form will be around 340bhp
the 335i coupe will come with teh ZSG box from the start

The 3litre bi-turbo engine WILL use sequential turbo technology, as in the 535d. One small turbo for lower revs, one large turbo for higher revs. I thought this wasnt the case ??

Also the 335i will command a premium going for around £38000 stock, which is an enormous amount

They also have some very nice pics of the coupe being tested... I have not yet seen those pics on e90post.com

Please feel free to comment and perhaps post a scan of the article

[Oz]

Sounds good and same as usual but the coupe having 340hp is very interesting indeed..I don't know much about ZSG but I'm sure it will be a great car!

[0700700]

Originally Posted by Oz

Sounds good and same as usual but the coupe having 340hp is very interesting indeed..I don't know much about ZSG but I'm sure it will be a great car!

what about the sequential turbo ??? i was quite convinced by the press articles and greg that the 3.0 engine employed a conventional bi-turbo technology who got it wrong ???

[Oz]

I guess all of us should just wait until BMW releases the official information. I don't know much about turbo's myself so I didn't notice that.. Good info though

[LEDZEP]

I heard there's going to be a 393 with a turbo V12 that puts out 622 HP. Oh, and it will be a coupe convertible. Oh, and it comes in all new really awesome colors. And the interior choices are all new. And it will have head's up display. And night vision. And when you get to work it folds up into a briefcase, with a tasteful Roundel on the outside. Did I mention the gull wing doors (I know, pretty odd for a convertible but I hear they pulled it off).

I think they're supposed to announce the release date any time now. It would be foolish to buy anything else until it comes out.

[Romulus]

38k pounds is what, like 55-60k usd? f that.

[Ed_330i]

66k i just checked.

[jcslp15]

how much is the 330i in the UK? becuase we get the cars for less here in the states

[0700700]

i think the price in the US will be about 58$ ...


but they said that the 335i loaded would cost as much as the e46 m3 loaded... because the 335i coupe was moving bmw into a new higher class

[BMW0]

Thanks for the info.

[lux.sh]

66k. lol. I guess the new M3 is going to be well over 75k?

It can't be 66k. What kind of idiot will buy a regular 3 series for 66k?

[0700700]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

66k. lol. I guess the new M3 is going to be well over 75k?

It can't be 66k. What kind of idiot will buy a regular 3 series for 66k?

dont convert UK£ to us$... it will be cheaper in the USA around 58k$ i guess

[lux.sh]

^ don't you think 58k for base price for the 335 is still expensive?
Add options, it'll be WELL over 60k. thats ridiculous.

I understand the premium for the 335.. but 58k.. give me a friggin break.

[0700700]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

^ don't you think 58k for base price for the 335 is still expensive?
Add options, it'll be WELL over 60k. thats ridiculous.

I understand the premium for the 335.. but 58k.. give me a friggin break.

my m3 cost around 84k$ so im used to being ripped off mate

[Ryan@Motorwerks]

Maybe I'm just in denial, but doesn't a starting MSRP of over 50k not seem likely? The whole idea of having a new engine already was to remain competitive in the market. At that price they aren't going to be able to remain competitive with other cars in its class like the IS(pricewise). I don't think many people are going to be willing to dish out another 10k for a car that they(not us) think is comparable. I'm thinking an MSRP closer to 40k. Trying to stay positive!

[abc]

yep. let's just see how stupid bmw is gonna be.

[bimmer4me]

There is NO WAY BMW is going to increase the price 50% over a 330i for a 335i that has 20% more horsepower.

[0700700]

Originally Posted by bimmer4me

There is NO WAY BMW is going to increase the price 50% over a 330i for a 335i that has 20% more horsepower.

hence the comment that the increase in £represents 23% over the uk 330i price

[bimmer4me]

Originally Posted by 0700700

hence the comment that the increase in £represents 23% over the uk 330i price

Where's that comment?

[0700700]

Originally Posted by bimmer4me

Where's that comment?

damn... i put it when i edited my second post.. must have forgotten to click on submit changes

[akhbhaat]

Guys, the 330i in the UK already starts at roughly $51,000 USD (~29,000 pounds) given current exchange rates. The M-sport model is even more.

Even so, an increase of nearly 10,000 pounds is HUGE. Absolutely HUGE. 38k (GBP) is more than the 535d and 540i!!! Those numbers cannot be right.

Even if they are, I don't think it will go anything like that for the US market. Here's why:

In the UK, the Z4M roadster goes for 42,750 pounds ($74,371). The US prices for this car have already been announced: right around $51,000. First off, absolutely no way the 300 hp 335i exceeds the price of the 330 hp M roadster. No way even a 340 hp 335i exceeds the price of the M roadster, either (consider the premium BMW already places on the Z4 line as a whole). Nobody in their right mind would buy a 335i (coupe or otherwise) when they could have an M coupe or M roadster, which is a true performance car with the coveted M badging. The Z4 is likely to be hundreds and hundreds of pounds lighter, and we already know the Z4 in any guise will rip the E90 apart in terms of cornering speed, slalom speed, and raw agility.

If BMW follows the European/UK pricing model (assuming 38k is right), then the 335i base price should be no more than 43k in the US market. This assuming, of course, that BMW follows the price/model scheme they're apparently planning on using in Europe. You can see there's a much bigger premium in the more powerful models (which doesn't exist in the US) - there has to be some sort of tariff or fuel/power tax or something factoring in here.

I doubt even that will be the case, seeing as how the 525i in the UK costs less than the 330i, whereas here there's something like a $5000 difference (with the 525i being more). The US market is still rapidly growing and increasingly isolated from its European counterparts, so I don't think we can use BMW's actions for those markets as a reliable indicator for what they'll do over here. Remember - the tax structure, even the competition itself is RADICALLY different in the US than it is in, say, Great Britain or Germany. The IS350 and G35 don't even exist in those countries!

Of course, as far as I'm personally concerned - if the 335i doesn't replace the 330i directly, I'm going to buy a slightly used E46 M3 OR the Z4 coupe and call it a day. The current E90 lineup just isn't powerful enough for me (I'm a track junkie) and simply doesn't have the technical or aesthetic merits to justify the huge expense of upgrading from my E46 (which, despite its age, is a brilliantly reliable car and still offers a superior driving experience despite thoroughly uninspiring performance). It's not that I can't afford it, it's that I simply don't want to...quite frankly, I just don't want another ho-hum, run of the mill 3 series after driving this one for over five years (would I take an E90 if it were offered to me for free? Of course. But it obviously won't be...). The 335i changes all that - the E90 suspension is quite good and I really want that engine - but only if the sedan version comes in at under 40k (no interest in the coupe - why pay more for less?). Which I think it will, sooner or later...that is, if BMW is actually taking their competition seriously (and they better damn well be for their own sake).

I'm on the verge of writing off the IS350 because Lexus has been a pain in the ass to deal with (special orders are very expensive and take forever, asinine option package system, etc). If the Z4 coupe is obnoxiously priced and I can't find an M3 to my liking, I might just have to take a look at Infiniti, err, Nissan...

[wyrm11]

If BMW tries to replace the 330 with the 335 and ups the price that much, they're idiots. Everyone will flock to Lexus and Infiniti. The competition is way too close to be raising the price like that.

If they plan to make the 335 that expensive, they had better keep the 330.