… Hello BMW 2 Series coupe!
While all the attention has been on the new BMW 4 Series coupe, details about its smaller sibling – the replacement for the 1 Series two-door family – have quietly been released.
And, it seems, that it is here that the biggest differences between the earlier cars – where hatch, coupe and convertible all formed one big single numeral family – and the new split line are the most obvious.
Rather than looking remarkably like a two-door version of the higher door count cars, the 2 Series looks far more like a scaled down 4 Series (that used to be called the 3 Series coupe, remember?).
Not that this is a bad thing, as the 4 Series is a very smart looking car indeed, and now the 2 Series follows in its tyre tracks.
According to the press release, the new 2 Series is 4,432mm long, making it 108mm longer than the current 1 Series and 72mm longer than the outgoing 1 Series Coupe.
The 2 Series is also 26mm wider than its predecessor (at 1,774mm), and has a 30mm longer wheelbase (2,690mm) and wider tracks (front: 1,521mm, up 41m and rear: 1,556mm, up 43 mm).
At the same time the vehicle height has been lowered by 5mm to 1,418mm. The result is an increase in interior space and 20 litres of extra boot capacity (now 390 litres). Added to which, the BMW 2 Series Coupe also boasts more efficient aerodynamics than both the BMW 1 Series and its predecessor, as reflected in a Cd of 0.29 for the BMW 220i Coupe.
There is no word on engines or local specification yet. The BMW 2 Series will be launched in New Zealand in the first half of 2014 and details of the local model range will be nearer this time.
