We have a quick chat with the man behind the BMW 4 Series, Martin Schweinhüber, on what cars we might see the number 4 adorning in the future.
[Not a valid template]Forget all the talk about the BMW 4 Series behind merely a rebranded 3 Series Coupe. Martin Schweinhüber, 4 Series project leader at BMW, is adamant that it’s more different than any other BMW coupe, and he says there will be more BMW 4s to come.
Futher variants of the 4 Series are only logical. “The 4 Series will not have just one car,” Martin confirmed. “I mean, look at the 6 Series: we have not only the Coupe but the M6, the Gran Coupe and the M6 Gran Coupe.” The next likely version is the convertible – don’t be surprised to see that appear at the Geneva Motor Show next year.
There’s also talk of a racing version of the car, which Martin admits is likely.
“There is a possibility of that,” he says. “For the moment, this is a good platform in which to move forward.”
Martin had some words for those unconvinced by claims that the 4 Series stands on its own, away from the 3 Series.
“On this 4 Series Coupe we have more differentiation [from the 3 Series saloon] than we have on any other BMW coupe before,” he said. “We wanted to give the car more presence. We did this by making the car wider and lower. The length is almost exactly the same as its predecessor, give or take 28mm. What is important though is that we have a longer wheelbase, which therefore means the car has more presence. We also have a completely different design. The C-pillar and the rear window are much flatter than they were in the past. And then there’s the driving performance. This is not a differentiation to the 3 Series, but it was a main issue on this car.”
“We have the same wheelbase on the sedan, but we have a wider track [on the Coupe]. It was a very important for the character of this car that we make it wider. Compared with the predecessor we have 45mm difference at the front and 80mm at the rear. We also have a stiffer front axle, and there’s been a lot of work at the front.
“In terms of price, we haven’t changed much from the 3 Series Coupe, in that the difference between the sedan and the coupe is almost the same. We didn’t see this as an issue. We think we’ve given the customer a new car and more car for no extra price.”
