New BMW 3 Series Coupe In Depth

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Concept
Page 3: Design
Page 4: Power Units
Page 5: Automatic Trans.
Page 6: Suspension
Page 7: All Wheel Drive
Page 8: Body & Safety
Page 9: Light Concept
Page 10: Features/Equipment
Page 11: Production
Page 12: History

Power Unit

Dynamism and Motoring - Refinement in Perfection

• Debut: straight-six with Twin Turbo and 225 kW/306 hp

• Magnesium/aluminium power units in two power stages

• Six-cylinder diesel with Variable Twin Turbo and piezo-injectors

Choosing a coupé is always a very emotional decision. And precisely this is why the BMW 3 Series Coupé arouses a feeling of thrilled enthusiasm, with the body of the car exuding a feel of forward-pushing dynamism and the drive unit fulfilling the expectations aroused in this way in a particularly convincing manner.

The new BMW 3 Series Coupé is entering the market from the start with a choice of no less than five straight-six power units – three petrol and two diesel engines. And the top-of-the-range BMW 335i Coupé is making its debut with nothing less than the world’s first straight-six power unit with Twin Turbo, High-Precision Injection and an all-aluminium crankcase. As a result, this most powerful version within BMW’s wide range of straight-six engines develops no less than 225 kW or 306 hp from 3.0 litres capacity.

Another highlight in engine technology boasted by the new BMW 3 Series Coupé is the most sporting and dynamic six-cylinder diesel in the world: This 3.0-litre power unit featuring Variable Twin Turbo (VTT) technology, piezo-injection and an all-aluminium crankcase develops an equally impressive 210 kW or 286 hp.

Maintaining the normal-aspiration engine concept, such a significant increase in power and performance would only have been possible by choosing a much larger engine, with a corresponding increase in weight and significant effects on the car’s balance. By contrast, the use of turbocharger technology in conjunction with High-Precision Injection is a particularly efficient method for achieving even higher output and engine torque.

By comparison, the new straight-six Twin Turbo is approximately 70 kilos or 154 lb lighter than an equally powerful normal-aspiration eight-cylinder with 4.0 litres engine capacity. And at the same time the new power unit with High-Precision Injection offers approximately 10 per cent greater fuel economy than an equally powerful turbocharged engine with normal aspiration.

A fascinating example of efficient dynamics.

The new power unit is based on BMW’s straight-six displacing 3.0 litres. The engine’s outstanding qualities in terms of fast-revving performance and running smoothness are also borne out in full in combination with Twin Turbo technology ensuring optimum power and performance. And thanks to High-Precision Injection, the new engine is a particularly fascinating example of efficient all-round dynamics, the second-generation of direct gasoline injection enabling the Twin Turbo power unit to offer all its extra output and performance without a significant increase in fuel consumption.

The use of two turbochargers each supplying compressed air to three cylinders ensures a standard of spontaneity unprecedented in a turbocharged engine. The main advantage of the smaller turbocharger is its low level of inertia, even the slightest command by the driver pressing down the gas pedal serving to build up boost pressure immediately. In other words, this puts an end once and for all to the turbo “gap�' so typical of a turbocharged engine so far, that is the time-lag passing until the turbocharger starts to build up extra power. On the road under practical conditions, therefore, the power and performance characteristics of the new turbocharged power unit are reminiscent of the power output provided by a much larger normal-aspiration engine.

Power and dynamics.

The engine reaches its peak torque of 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft without any noticeable delay, maintaining this high level of torque consistently all the way from 1,300–5, 000 rpm. And even that is not all, with the engine revving up smoothly all the way to the 7,000-rpm range. This offers the driver a particularly superior style of motoring dynamics, enabling him to complete even the fastest overtaking manoeuvres in relaxed style: The new BMW 335i Coupé accelerates from 0–100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds, with acceleration from 80–120 km/h in the car’s second-highest gear taking an equally impressive 6.2 seconds.

This ongoing power continues unabated all the way to 250 km/h or 155 mph, where the speed of the car is limited electronically. Average fuel consumption under the EU standard, in turn, is just 9.5 litres of premium fuel/100 kilometres (equal to 29.7 mpg Imp), that is a consumption level very moderate for a car of this class and with this performance.

Retaining the normal-aspiration engine concept, such an increase in dynamism would only have been possible by significantly enlarging the engine, together with an increase in weight and corresponding effects on the car’s balance. By contrast, the use of turbocharger technology in conjunction with High-Precision Injection is a particularly efficient method to achieve even more power and torque from the engine.

By comparison, the new Twin Turbo straight-six is approximately 70 kilos or 154 lb lighter than a similarly powerful eight-cylinder normal-aspiration engine displacing 4.0 litres. And benefiting from High-Precision Injection, the new power unit is approximately 10 per cent more fuel-efficient than an equally powerful turbocharged engine with normal aspiration.

Unique engine concept.

To combine a truly fascinating driving experience with appropriate fuel economy essential in this day and age, BMW is the world’s first car maker to develop a straight-six power unit with Twin Turbo technology, second-generation direct gasoline injection, and an all-aluminium crankcase. Through its concept alone, the turbocharger technology chosen helps to reduce fuel consumption: With the turbines being made of special steel resistant to high temperatures and therefore able to cope with temperatures of up to 1,050 °C, there is no need for an increase in fuel supply providing a special cooling effect. And this means significant benefits in fuel economy, particularly at full load.

Substantial improvement of fuel economy also in everyday traffic.

The key function in reducing fuel consumption to an absolute minimum nevertheless lies in BMW’s High-Precision Injection philosophy. This, quite simply, is because second-generation direct gasoline injection offers also in practice the greater expectations made of this technology in terms of fuel economy, without requiring any concessions in the engine’s dynamic qualities.

High-Precision Injection allows more precise dosage of the fuel/air mixture as well as a higher compression ratio – ideal prerequisites for enhancing the engine’s efficiency and significantly reducing fuel consumption. This is made possible by the piezo-injector placed in the middle between the valves, where this innovative injector opening up to the outside is able to distribute fuel very consistently and smoothly in a conical jet throughout the combustion chamber.

While BMW’s Twin Turbo power unit with High-Precision Injection is making its world debut in the new BMW 3 Series Coupé, the six-cylinder normal-aspiration engines naturally also reflect the state of the art in drivetrain technology. Indeed, this applies in particular to the power unit in the BMW 330i Coupé, a model designation which has always been the epitome of exceptional dynamics in a particularly attractive overall package. And now, in its latest evolution, the 3.0-litre straight-six in the BMW 3 Series Coupé develops a substantial 200 kW/272 hp, plus maximum torque of 315 Newton-metres or 232 lb-ft.

The 3.0-litre normal-aspiration power unit: powerful and light thanks to magnesium.

The 3.0-litre normal-aspiration engine is not only more powerful than ever before, but also extremely efficient. And weighing just 161 kilos or 355 lb, it is also exceptionally light.

This low weight is attributable above all to the use of a new combination of materials: The crankcase of the engine is made up of a magnesium outer sleeve and an aluminium insert. The cylinder head cover and the bedplate are also made of extra-light magnesium, and lightweight camshafts developed especially for this 3.0-litre straight-six again serve to optimise the weight of the engine. Fully variable VALVETRONIC valve management and the electrical coolant pump operating on-demand (which means only when necessary) are further measures serving to enhance the efficiency of the engine.

In the way it develops its power and performance and in its refinement and running smoothness, BMW’s normal-aspiration six-cylinder is the most sophisticated engine of its kind in the world. And like the Twin Turbo power unit, it is also a particularly fascinating example of efficient dynamics. Compared with its predecessor bearing the same model designation, the new BMW 330i Coupé combines a significant increase in power and performance with a substantial improvement of all-round economy. Acceleration from 0–100 km/h, for example, comes in 6.1 seconds, with the car continuing to press forward dynamically until reaching its top speed limited electronically to 250 km/h or 155 mph. Average fuel consumption of 8.8. litres in the EU test cycle, equal to 32.1 mpg Imp, is 12 per cent better than on the former model, raising the new BMW 330i Coupé to a new level of efficiency.

Optimised power and performance also from 2.5 litres.

Choosing the third straight-six available in the new BMW 3 Series Coupé, the customer is able to enter the model range at a high level right from the start: Like its larger 3.0-litre counterpart, the 2.5-litre power unit in the BMW 325i Coupé boasts a magnesium/aluminium composite crankcase, infinitely variable VALVETRONIC valve management, and an electrically controlled coolant pump. And here again, the combination of all these innovations serves to optimise the engine’s performance and efficiency. The power unit in the new BMW 325i Coupé develops maximum output of 160 kW/218 hp and peak torque of 250 Newton-metres or 184 lb-ft. This gives the car top speed of 247 km/h or 153 mph, plus acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. Averaging fuel consumption of 8.4 litres/100 kilometres, equal to 33.6 mpg Imp, the new BMW 325i Coupé sets the standard in its class also in terms of fuel economy.

A further version of the 2.5-litre straight-six is available until further notice exclusively in Australia: Developing maximum output of 130 kW/177 hp, the drive unit in the BMW 323i Coupé again leaves behind a convincing impression of the qualities this engine principle has to offer.

Four-cylinder versions of the new Coupé may also be expected at a later point in time both in Germany and other markets, when the BMW 320i Coupé and, respectively, the BMW 320d Coupé take on the role of the entry-level models into the petrol and diesel series.

The diesel engine in the BMW 3 Series Coupé – now more attractive than ever before.

BMW has already made the diesel engine an extremely attractive alternative in the Coupé. Indeed, it was the predecessor to the new BMW 3 Series Coupé which, in diesel trim, made an essential contribution in overcoming any prejudice against such a combination. Thanks to their supreme dynamic potential, BMW’s modern six-cylinder diesels are in fact able to raise the character of this new Coupé to an even higher level of class, refinement and performance. Offering fascinating torque and a high standard of free-revving motoring refinement, these state-of-the-art diesel engines combine sports motoring with superior all-round economy. Given these well-known qualities, the harmonious combination of the new BMW 3 Series Coupé and diesel technology is hardly surprising any more.

But this combination remains highly impressive all the same, particularly as the new B BMW 3 Series Coupé is available from the start with two by all means powerful and muscular straight-six diesels. Both engines feature turbocharging, the latest generation of common-rail fuel injection, an all-aluminium crankcase, and the most advanced particulate filters for effective management of exhaust gases.

The most sporting diesel in its class.

The BMW 335d Coupé offers a unique opportunity to experience the dynamic potential of diesel technology. Featuring the most powerful straight-six diesel in the world, the 210 kW/286 hp 3.0-litre with Variable Twin Turbo technology, the BMW 335d Coupé benefits, first, from a small turbocharger cutting in at low engine speeds and, subsequently, from a larger turbocharger building up its pressure once the driver requires more power. This principle introduced by BMW as the world’s first manufacturer in series production guarantees fascinating power and performance in virtually every situation on the road.

The turbochargers in the power unit driving the BMW 335d Coupé feature newly developed blades delivering a particularly large volume of intake air into the compression stroke at all engine speeds. The engine builds up substantial charge pressure right from the start at low speeds, with the small turbocharger, thanks to its low inertia, starting off spontaneously and compressing intake air with maximum efficiency. Then, with engine speed increasing, the large turbocharger also cuts in. Initially it serves as a pre-compressor to maximise the effect of the small turbocharger, but then, starting at just 1,750 rpm, it helps to build up maximum torque of 580 Nm or 427 lb-ft. Maximum output, in turn, comes at 4400 rpm.

New engine electronics controlling the two-stage charge process.

The turbine control flap distributes the flow of exhaust gas variably to the two turbochargers. At high engine speeds of up to 5,000 rpm the large turbocharger serves as the primary boost unit, specially developed high-performance engine electronics precisely masterminding the process of transition and the interaction of the two turbochargers. This electronic control unit thus coordinates the entire system of turbines, the turbine control flap, bypass and wastegate as a function of the engine’s operating conditions.

Referred to also as double-stage turbocharging, this system opens up the door to a level of power and performance only much larger engines were able to provide in the past. But even so, the 3.0-litre diesel offers all the supremacy so typical of a BMW straight-six, combining supreme motoring refinement with a fast-revving response never seen before in a diesel, and thus offering all the qualities particularly a sporting and ambitious driver will hope for in an engine of this class. And last but certainly not least, this new dimension of driving pleasure in the BMW 335d Coupé is teamed up with truly outstanding all-round economy.

Precise injection, low weight, maximum efficiency.

The new fuel injection system in BMW’s straight-six diesel features compact and precisely controlled piezo-injectors. And at the same time fuel injection pressure increased to 1,600 bar ensures an even faster cylinder charge in the interest of enhanced performance. Particularly fine atomisation of fuel serves furthermore to optimise the entire combustion process, with the piezo-element in the injector operating very rapidly and with high precision, responding without delay to the electrical pulse triggering the injection process.

The opening angle of the jet needle is controlled with the same accuracy, providing maximum injection volume very quickly and thus allowing up to five injection processes in each operating cycle. The injection volume, in turn, is adjusted precisely to the power and performance required by the driver, including optimised pre- and after-injection. As a result, BMW’s engineers have succeeded not only in enhancing the all-round efficiency of the engine, but also in once again improving engine sound management and vibration behaviour of BMW’s most powerful six-cylinder diesel.

Developing an all-aluminium crankcase, the engineers have reduced the weight of the engine to just 208 kilos or 459 lb – again a significant feature making the sports diesel particularly suitable for the new BMW 3 Series Coupé. This reduction of weight not only enhances the agility of the car as such, but also contributes to the high standard of all-round economy.

The performance and economy figures clearly confirm this progress on virtually every level, the BMW 335d Coupé accelerating to 100 km/h in just 6.1 seconds. Clearly, very ample power reserves are also available at higher engine speeds, the ongoing performance of the car finally being cut off gently by electronic control at a speed of 250 km/h or 155 mph.

In consideration of these dynamic driving qualities, the BMW 335d Coupé, with average fuel consumption of just 7.5 litres of diesel fuel for 100 kilometres (equal to 37.7 mpg Imp) in the EU test cycle, is a remarkably efficient car.

Increase in power and optimisation of weight also in BMW’s second sports diesel.

BMW’s second six-cylinder diesel also develops its superior power from 3.0 litres engine capacity, and likewise benefits from turbocharger technology, the latest generation of common-rail fuel injection, and an all-aluminium crankcase. Maximum output of 170 kW/231 hp and peak torque of 500 Nm or 369 lb-ft available at just 1,750 rpm clearly prove that this, too, is an extremely dynamic car. And indeed, the new BMW 330d Coupé offers a further significant improvement of performance and an even higher standard of efficiency versus its predecessor.

Fuel injection by means of piezo-injectors guarantees both a rapid and precisely controlled cylinder charge, while the reduction in weight by approximately 25 kilos or 55 lb has a direct effect both on the car’s agility and all-round economy. Further important features characterising the engine of the new BMW 330d Coupé are the newly developed turbocharger with variable turbine geometry and electronically throttle butterflies.

The power unit of the BMW 330d Coupé comes as standard with a diesel particulate filter interacting with pre-catalysts close to the engine to not only absorb even the finest soot particles, but also reduce the emission of nitric oxide. As a result, this six-cylinder diesel once again not only offers enhanced output with a further improvement of fuel economy, but also has all the prerequisites for fulfilling even the strictest environmental standards in future.

More torque and muscle, greater efficiency.

The BMW 330d offers an even more convincing rendition of BMW’s proven qualities in terms of sportiness and efficiency. Acceleration to 100 km/h comes in 6.6 seconds, top speed is limited electronically to 250 km/h or 155 mph.

Again, performance of this calibre places the new BMW 330d Coupé in the group of particularly dynamic two-door performers, while average fuel consumption of just 6.5 litres/100 kilometres or 43.5 mpg Imp in the EU test cycle sets a new standard also in terms of fuel economy.

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