| January 13, 2008 / BMW announces pricing for the all-new BMW M3 Coupe and Sedan at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit |
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During its press conference today at the 2008 North American International
Auto Show in Detroit, BMW announced the pricing for the highly anticipated 2008
M3 Coupe and M3 Sedan. When the vehicles go on sale in March, the Coupe will be
priced at $57,275 and the Sedan at $54,575. Sharing the high-revving
414-horsepower V8 and balanced chassis designed to be "faster than its engine,"
this March, BMW M GmbH will offer the most powerful, best performing series
production M3s to the North American market.
The all-new 2008 M3 Coupe and M3 Sedan-the fourth generation of compact sport
vehicles which set the standard in minimizing any compromises between
race-inspired performance and luxury and convenience-feature the first V8 in a
series-production BMW M3. They also feature driver-adjustable settings for
crucial dynamic controls encompassing engine response, steering, damping and
stability (with an available steering-wheel-mounted "MDrive" button to store the
preferences) and a sumptuous interior which can be optimized to the driver's
desires including the comprehensive entertainment/navigation system operated
through BMW's latest iDrive controller.
Additionally, the 2008 M3 Coupe is the first production vehicle in its segment
with a carbon fiber reinforced roof. The material shares the same safety
properties as steel, but is four times lighter. Weighing around 11 lbs. less
than a standard steel roof and approximately 44 lbs. less than a steel roof
incorporating a moonroof, the carbon fiber reinforced roof provides significant
weight saving at the highest point of the car-lowering the car's center of
gravity-to increase agility and responsiveness while limiting dive and roll in
turns.
Racing provided the reason for the original M3's 1986 creation as the company
had to produce road-going homologation versions of its 3 Series Coupe to enter
the motorsports version in the German Touring Car Championship. The original
M3's popularity provided the impetus to continue developing the M3, making it
both a better performer and more inviting road car. The M3 has continued to
evolve along with the underlying 3 Series, the company's most popular, upon
which it is based.
In 1987 North Americans received their first taste of the high-rpm, naturally
aspirated 2.3-liter four-cylinder M3 Coupe's 192-hp and thus was born a legend
on this side of the Atlantic. The next generation arrived in 1995 with a
3.0-liter (and later, 3.2-liter) 240-hp inline-six powerplant. In 1997 the first
M3 Sedan joined the family and the first M3 Convertible followed shortly
thereafter. The most-recent version, available from 2001-2006 as either a coupe
or convertible, again was offered with six-cylinder power, this time providing
333 hp from its 3.2 liters. This vehicle was BMW's first use of SMG (Sequential
Manual Gearbox) for the U.S. market.
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Text Source - BMW Press Club
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