Another BMW model to have its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, was the facelifted 3 Series Convertible.
Let’s take a moment and highlight some of the exterior enhancements. The front lower fascia is now presented with subtle winglets on the air-dam, but more than that, the actual area for air flow is slightly larger than the outgoing design, also allowing for larger splitters at each end of the fascia.
One more styling difference from the previous design iteration; the corona rings are now bright LED units, with the updated E90 3-Series headlights making a coupe appearance.
The rear-lights are also modified LED look and finish. Though they were LED lights before, BMW added their new ‘L’ shaped design theme to an all new, almost E46 LED taillight, underneath the Ls. Holding the exhaust ports is an all-new bumper with a horizontal expressive line that shows the wide back end.
The real news with the 3 Series Convertible and Coupe LCI is the N55 inline-6 engine that first appeared on the new 5-Series GT. It features a single turbo with twin-scroll technology, direct-fuel injection and Valvetronic variable intake technology, along with being all aluminum. The engine still makes 300hp and 300lb-ft of torque with a 7,000 rpm redline.
However, the engine now builds peak torque at 1,200 rpm all the way to 5,000 rpm, where the N54 builds peak torque at 1,400 rpm. Peak horsepower is still produced at 5,800 rpm. So not much has really changed, just BMW making more torque available from startup, which is great. Also expect a slight increase in gas mileage due in part to valvetronic. The N55 weighs roughly 427lbs, according to BMW. The 328i’s N52 inline-6 goes unchanged with its 230hp and 200lb-ft of torque.
In the U.S., the 328i Coupe and 335i Coupe start at $37,075 and $43,525, respectively, including $875 Destination & Handling. The all-wheel drive models 328i xDrive Coupe and 335i xDrive Coupe start at $38,975 and $45,425 respectively.
Both cars will have their U.S. debut at the New York Auto Show in April.
