Buh-bye BMW 3 Series Coupé. Hello 4 Series.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada According to BMW’s new naming gospel, some four-door models are odd-numbered, while coupés —whether they have two-doors or four— are even-numbered, which means what we used to know as the 3 Series Coupé is now called the 4 Series Coupé for 2014. The decision to rename the outgoing 3 Series Coupé appears to be consistent with BMW’s corporate naming convention that falls inline with the 5 Series Sedan-based 6 Series Coupé/Gran Coupé, the next-generation 2 Series Coupé (today’s 1 Series), the four-door, X5 crossover-based, X6 Sports Activity Coupéand a potential 7 Series sedan-based 8 Coupé, hinted at by the Gran Lusso Coupé Concept that debuted at this year’s Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance. Other than its even numbered name, though, the 2014 4 Series Coupé family is heavily based on the existing, sixth-generation 3 Series four-door sedan, wagon and hatchback, internally codenamed F30/31. BMW says the new 4 Series Coupé (or F32) is wider, has a longer wheelbase, a wider track, lower ride height and roof profile than the BMW 3 Series Coupé it replaces. It’s been a long time since BMW designers took any chances (Chris Bangle, Chris Bangle, where art thou?) So despite the new name, the 4 Series Coupé looks exactly like what you would expect a new 3 Series Coupé would appear as, right down to the controversial front fender air outlets that are now becoming a BMW design trademark and officially called “Air Breathers”. While a future, full-on, high-performance M4 Coupé is a given, when the initial 4 Series two-doors goes on-sale later this year, the familiar Sport, Modern, Luxury and M Sport package trim lines will be available. Similar to the current 3 Series' motor menu, three turbocharged engines, including a diesel, will be available in the new 4 Series Coupé. They include the four-cylinder gas 428i Coupé, six-cylinder gas 435i Coupé and four-cylinder diesel 420d Coupé. Also like the 3 Series, both a six-speed manual and an eight-speed automatic gearbox will be available in the 4 Series. Rear-wheel-drive will be standard, while gas engine models can be optioned with all-wheel-drive. Keep in mind, in the future, these two-doors won’t be the only BMWs with the number “4” in their names. The four-door, X3 crossover-based, X4 Sports Activity Coupé that premiered at this year’s Shanghai auto show is expected to appear in 2014. As well, a four-door 4 Series Gran Coupé has also been speculated. We’ll have to wait to get behind the new 4 Series’ steering wheel to report how it goes, turns and stops. But in the meantime, what do you think about the name change from 3 to 4? How do you feel about BMW’s bending of the “coupé” definition by calling four-door vehicles “coupés”? Source: BMW Canada

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