First official look: BMW’s next 3 Series

INSTEAD of provoking the knockout reaction car-makers hope for when they release new models, BMW’s official reveal of its next generation 3 Series will cause a sense of deja vu among automotive aficionados around the world today.

Pictures of the very same model – the German giant’s crucial new medium sedan – were leaked out of an eastern European printing press and onto the internet in late August, causing mayhem inside BMW’s Munich HQ.

Two months after the embarrassing leak, BMW has taken the unusual step of revealing official details and pictures of the replacement for its most important model more than four months before it goes on sale in Germany in March next year.

Due to make its public debut at the Geneva motor show just days earlier, the E90 3 Series has not received the introduction its normally highly regimented manufacturer had hoped for.

The series is the backbone of BMW’s business, currently comprising a mammoth 60 per cent of sales globally and in Australia, where the redesigned model is expected to go on sale in mid-2005.

As the prestige market leader, however, 3 Series faces more competition than ever.

A facelifted version of its most direct rival, the Mercedes-Benz C-class, was released last month and a substantially upgraded Audi A4 – bringing a range of new engines and a striking new look – is also due on sale here in the middle of next year following its Paris show premiere last month.

After three decades, the all-conquering 3 Series also faces unprecedented opposition from Japan, including premium medium sedans like Honda’s Accord, Subaru’s Liberty and the Mazda6, plus solid offerings from Saab (9-3) and Volvo (S40).

To counter this is the first new 3 Series since the 1998 E46. Larger, lighter and stiffer, E90 features a hybrid chassis and three new petrol engines.

While Australian specifications, prices and options are yet to be announced, European models will receive new six-speed transmissions, an engine starting button, active steering and new climate and infotainment control systems.

Headlining the E90 act is a larger new body that features some of designer Chris Bangle’s con-troversial styling themes but retains a conventional overall shape featuring even shorter overhangs, 5 Series-style headlights and a glasshouse positioned further rearward to produce a longer, more heavily wedged bonnet.

Measuring 49mm longer (at 4520mm), a big 78mm wider (1817mm) and 6mm higher (1421mm), BMW says the new body “harmonises the body design of the Z4 and the 1 Series with the elegance of the 5 and 7 Series”.

Riding on a 35mm longer wheelbase (now 2760mm), the E90 bodyshell is claimed to be 25 per cent stiffer – due to “a new joint and crossbar design for the car’s load-bearing structure” – without increasing weight.

Although no weights are given, BMW says the new body is lighter thanks to developments in steel and moulding technologies, as well as being “the safest 3 Series yet” in a side impact.

The new 3 Series does not adopt the E60 5 Series’ innovative hybrid aluminium-steel chassis structure, instead employing a double-jointed aluminium front axle specifically developed for E90 and delivering optimal 50:50 weight distribution.

It will, however, introduce active steering to its class. Standard on all Australian 5 Series variants (except M5), active steering will be optional on all six-cylinder 3 Series cars in Europe, and now also includes a steering intervention function claimed to stabilise the car under brakes on slippery surfaces.

The additional feature will be joined by BMW’s latest DSC stability control.

While it appears 3 Series’ MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspensions are little changed, neither is there Dynamic Drive adjustable rollbars or air suspension from upstream BMWs.

But new standard features will include dual halogen headlights, two-stage Brake Force Display variable-intensity tail-lights, front and rear zones for the upgraded climate system and run-flat tyres.

New optional E90 equipment will include bi-xenon headlights, adaptive headlights, iDrive with Business or Professional navigation systems, Comfort Access keyless starting, Logic7 HiFi audio and Key Memory, which adjusts seating, mirrors, climate and radio systems to preset positions in the new, more driver-oriented interior.

At the heart of every BMW is its engine and E90 will not disappoint, with three new petrol engines that are lighter, more powerful and cleaner.

Not only will a new push-button starter activate them, but also in Europe six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions will replace the current five-speed items.

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The six-pack in the E90 330i is also said to be the most powerful, with output increasing 20kW to 190kW

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Top of the tree is a 3.0-litre straight six featuring magnesium crankcases, crankshaft bearings and cylinder-head covers, plus Valvetronic control of intake valve timing and lift. At 30 per cent lighter than aluminium, the use of magnesium for the first time in large-scale series production is claimed to make the new 3.0-litre six the lightest in class.

Combined with double-VANOS variable intake and exhaust valve timing, the six-pack in the E90 330i is also said to be the most powerful, with output increasing 20kW to 190kW, and the same 300Nm of torque available between 2500 and 4000rpm.

Also due from launch is a similarly revised 2.5-litre six for the 325i, with 160kW at 6500rpm (up 19kW) and 250Nm between 2750 and 4250rpm.

While there’s no mention of the current 320i’s 125kW 2.2-litre six being carried over, a third new petrol engine based on the 2.0-litre four currently found in the 318i will power the new 320i. As the most powerful four-cylinder 3 Series, it will employ Valvetronic and double-VANOS to increase peak power by 5kW to 110kW at 6200rpm, with 200Nm available at 3600rpm.

BMW says a “basic” four-cylinder – probably a variation of the 85kW 1.6 that powers the 316ti compact, a model which will be discontinued – will round out the 3 Series sedan range later in 2005.

Unlike rivals from Audi and Benz, BMW Australia says E90 will not be motivated by diesel power. Nor is there any word about a new range of turbocharged inline sixes expected to appear in 2007, or the potential of the 735i’s 200kW 3.6-litre V8 powering a possible 335i to bridge the gap to the next M3, which is expected to pack an M5 V10-based 300kW 4.0 V8.

A five-door E90 wagon is expected to appear six months after the sedan, with coupe and convertible versions – which will definitely not be dubbed 4 Series – due to appear in 2006.