04 Jul 06
Following on from the saloon and estate, the BMW 3-Series Coupe joins the range from late September 2006.
With a long wheelbase, laid-back A-pillars and a stretched, flowing roofline giving the coupe a genuinely graceful profile, it's a car that looks better in the metal than in pictures - primarily because the rear flanks have stronger 'shoulders' than they appear two-dimensionally. The car just looks tougher, stronger and better planted in the metal. Indeed, viewed from the rear three-quarter, the coupe has shades of the old 8-Series about it, particularly with those large wraparound tail lights.
When it goes on sale, the coupe will be offered with two straight-six petrol engines, a 218bhp 2.5-litre or a 306bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo. The former will cost £28,090 and the latter £33,420, putting the latest BMW coupe directly up against Nissan's 350 Z, Alfa Romeo's Brera Q4 and V6 versions of Audi's next TT, which goes on sale around the same time as the BMW.
There's big news under the bonnet, too. It's the first time BMW has offered a twin-turbo straight-six petrol, albeit not the first time the company has offered a turbo petrol (1973 2002 Turbo). The 335i uses a 3.0-litre power plant, with each of the two turbos feeding three cylinders. Maximum torque of 295lb-ft is developed from a remarkably low 1,300rpm. The headline figures are 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. Fuel consumption is a claimed 29.7mpg overall, which is pretty good going for a 300-plus bhp engine. And BMW says that its six weighs 70kg less than a typical V8 with similar power.
