The 2014 North American International Auto Show kicks off this week at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. BMW will officially introduce to the world what the world has already known about for months: the new M4 Coupe, M3 Sedan, and the M235i and 228i Coupes. We have known what was coming, and we’ve seen the photos; now it will be official, the date when fans and owners of the previous four generations of two-door M3s will have to take a mental chicane onto a slightly different naming track as their cars’ lineage jumps from 3 to 4. Meanwhile, owners of E36 M3 four-door sedans will finally be vindicated, claiming they were right all along.
BMW almost always has a good reason for everything they do, so—naming quirks aside—the new M3 and M4 will be impressive. First of all, they are lighter than the previous generation of 3 Series-based M cars—and lighter is good. The V8 is out, and the I6 is back in—with a couple of turbochargers to keep things interesting.
Another highlight of the show will be the introduction of the first-ever BMW 2 Series Coupes, presented as the M235i and 228i. The BMW M235i M Performance model sits on 18-inch M light alloy wheels and comes with xenon headlights, M Sport brakes, and a pair of dark chrome exhaust pipes. The M235’s TwinPower Turbo inline six-cylinder engine is reported to produce 322 hp and the car can be had with Launch Control.
When visitors to the BMW booth have had enough of the M cars (as if that were possible) they can be electrified (pun intended) by the BMW i3 electric car and BMW i8 plug-in gasoline/electric hybrid sports car.—Scott Blazey
Find out more about the M4 Coupe.
