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      09-30-2011, 10:00 AM   #71
mkoesel
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Drives: No BMW for now
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dicker View Post
Wrong. The E46 engines were different than the early E90's

2005 E46 was the M54 with either 184, 225 or 235 hp.

2006 E90 was the N52 with either 215 or 255hp.
Yep, and that's partly why people were caught so off guard by the N54. Everyone assumed that the M54->N52 engine transition would have the latter become the standard motor for years to come. And while that did happen, a lot of people were caught totally off guard by the N54 BMW had waiting in the wings, ready to pounce.

The lesson here is, know what you are getting into. Especially in the case of the F30, don't assume that the N55/N20 will be with us in 300hp and 240hp for years to come. They could easily get tuned to more power soon, possibly coinciding with the release of the F32. Or, they might be planning to debut BMW's brand new engine lineup that has been rumored for sometime, with unified cylinder architecture for I3, I4, I6, and power up to 408hp (in the non-M I6).

Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26 View Post
They need to keep a balance between the upper and lower series of BMW models. If the 3er was to be given the more powerful engine it would be the 340i. And BMW do not want to implement a 340i especially with an M3 on the way.
That's too bad. I suspect they'll need to do something, as clearly Infinti, Audi, Mercedes, even Lexus, appear to have absolutey no plans to limit their 3 series competitors to 300hp. I suppose BMW will try to position the new 3 Activehybrid as the top of the line model and occupy this space. And maybe that strategy will prove to be a winner, but it will still be nice to see a pure gasoline model with 350hp or so.
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