BMW is working on a new 4 Series to serve as a more style-focused and dynamic alternative to the bold Neue Klasse 3 Series - and it's set once again to spawn a potent M4 coupé.
The 4 Series was launched in 2013 as a more rakish take on the stalwart 3 Series, with the option of two-door coupé and convertible bodystyles as well as a four-door fastback called the Gran Coupé. It entered its second generation in 2020 and went on to provide the basis for the i4, which is essentially today's electric alternative to the 3 Series.
It has consistently been a strong seller for BMW, albeit with an inherently more niche market position than its more mainstream saloon/estate sibling. But the future of the model line had been unclear, given the 3 Series on which it is based is about to enter a new generation, gaining a pure-EV option that weakens the i4's business case.
However, Joachim Post, who oversees the engineering and development of all new BMW models, told Autocar that there is a place for the more rakish derivative in the forthcoming Neue Klasse line-up.
"The 4 Series is an important car for us. It's more sporty, and BMW is a sporty brand which has a clear heritage also on the performance side. It will play an important role also for the future," he said.
Post's comments are the first indication BMW has given of plans for a third-generation 4 Series, and with test mules yet to break cover, it is unclear whether the company would seek to offer the same variety of bodystyles as today. However, bosses in Munich could have spotted a sizeable commercial opportunity created by the gradual exodus of rival firms from the coupé and fastback segments.
Even if different-shaped derivatives are not as popular or profitable as the mainstream model on which they are based, BMW's Joachim Post said it is relatively easy to sign off the business case because of the vastly reduced development costs they incur.
"It's not [as] expensive [as] making a completely new car and whenever we make a 3 Series or X3, we still think about the 4 Series or X4, to make it with synergies so that a derivative can be easily built out of the base," he said.
Indeed, BMW is just months away from unveiling a new-generation X4, spotted in prototype guise recently (pictured) and expected to have ICE and EV powertrains shared with the X3 and iX3 - and Post said the larger X6 is likely to make a comeback in the same vein.
He said: "Coming to the X4, for example - and X6 is the same - they will play important roles in the future. That's why we make cars with huge synergies: from X4 to X3, X6 to X5, X2 to X1...
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