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      07-10-2019, 12:37 PM   #74
mkoesel
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Drives: No BMW for now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miko M View Post
Someone will always have to pay the price of waiting.
Not strictly true. The M5 and M8 each came within a year of their Series counterpart, and those Series products were separated by years. Even though they share the same drivetrain and many chassis components, their styling is completely distinct from each other so the sedan needn't be constrained by the coupe's delayed timeline.

If the M3 and M4 were similarly separated, the M3 would be good to a launch at any moment. Now, it's true the 8 Series and M8 are on another tier compared to the 5 Series and M5, but that is a branding technicality - for all intents and purposes the 8er/M8 is the successor the 6er/M6. Even when the latter branding was in use, the coupe and sedan were completely distinct aesthetically.

Quote:
Unfortunately they don't release them like they did with X3M and X4M
Actually, the X3/X4 M are a poor counter-example since the X3 has been on the market for years now, and even the X4 is a few months past its first birthday. Yet, their M counterparts just hit the market.

For tight turnaround from Series to M, the new X6 and X6 M might be poised to set a record. The former just debuted and the latter is tentatively rumored to debut along with the X5 M sometime before the end of the year. This, combined with the fact that the X6 itself has come very close to the X5 is set to make these family members something of model citizens within the BMW hierarchy for how to get all product variants out the door relatively quickly.

Sadly, the 3 Series Coupe (now called the 4 Series, obviously) has always trailed the 3 Series Sedan by a little more than a year and a half, and that's not likely to change. However, it is still at least possible that we see the debut of the M3 and M4 quickly after the 4 Series Coupe arrives next July. Even in that event, however, I would still not bet on being able to drive either of the pair home from a dealership until early 2021 at the earliest.
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