The new, sixth generation of BMW’s 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30 is almost upon us and as a result, we’re seeing more and more prototype models with less camouflage making their appearance on the road or in this case, testing on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.
Being that the 3-Series has been the backbone of BMW’s success over the years, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise that the F30 remains close to the current model in terms of design.
The most prominent changes take place up front as the F30 adopts BMW’s new family face as seen on the 5-Series and more recently on the 1-Series hatchback, with larger double kidneys and a less complicated design for the headlamps. The car also gets a stronger belt line that runs lower up front and higher at the back until it meets the tail lamps.
But while there’s nothing really revolutionary about the F30’s styling, there’s a lot going on under the hood as the next 3-Series will adopt BMW’s newly launched range of four-cylinder turbocharged engines.
Depending on the market, the lineup will include a 1.6-liter unit delivering around 136HP in the 316i and 170-horsepower in the 318i, and a larger displacement 2.0-liter engine. BMW recently added the 2.0-liter unit to the 5-Series range with the 520i (184HP) and the 528i (245HP).
A turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six with an estimated 313-horses will sit atop of the range until the presentation of the M3 which is rumored to drop the current naturally aspirated V8 in favor of a newly-developed force-fed inline-six churning out more than 400 ponies.
A variety of 2.0-liter inline-four and 3.0-liter inline-six turbocharged diesel engines will also be on offer while BMW has confirmed the development of a hybrid version.
Buyers will have the option of manual, automatic, and dual-clutch automatic transmissions (depending on the engine) as well as rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions.
Look for the F30 3-Series sedan in showrooms next year.
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