The BMW M3 Sedan was recently launched to the Australian market at Phillip Island. I guess the AUSmotive invitation must have accidentally been sent to CarAdvice. That tends to happen a lot. C’est la vie. Here’s the pics all the same.
BMW M3 Range
More info can be read HERE and the release from the launch is shown below.
With the imminent arrival of the M3 Sedan and Convertible, BMW Australia has announced pricing for all three models in the M3 range. Those in the cheap seats will need to start with the Sedan where pricing begins at $145,000. The iconic Coupé starts at $162,901 and only captains of industry need apply for the Convertible—for the wife, of course—with a list price of $176,142.
The Sedan comes with quite a list of goodies, such as, an 8.8″ screen Satellite Navigation system (with TV), voice recognition, bluetooth mobile phone prep, LOGIC7 hi-fi, heated leather seats and adaptive xenon headlights.
Formula 1 technology boffins will delight at the M3’s Brake Energy Regeneration system which channels energy from overrun and braking to recharge the battery, thereby allowing maximum power to be applied. Which is just what you want when you have 309kW of power and 400Nm or torque willing you on to 100km/h in under five seconds.
The M3 Convertible shouldn’t be too hard to find in Australian showrooms as you read this, and the Sedan will be available from 22 November.
Later this month the 2009 model upgrade of the BMW 3 Series will roll out across the country’s showrooms. The range will start with the 320i at $54,100 and, M3 aside, tops out with the 335i at $111,700.
As to be expected the options and standard equipment levels have also been given a tweak, along with the exterior styling. This includes standard leather seats, Park Distance Control, fog lights and rain sensors across the range.
Over 25,000 E90 3 Series models have been sold in Australia to date and the top brass seem to think they are on a winner, “The BMW 3 Series is the most successful luxury compact sport sedan in the world and we have further improved the offering to the market with the new cars,†said Tom Noble, General Manager, Marketing, BMW Group Australia. “The range is extremely well equipped from the start, at a very attractive price point below the Luxury Car Tax threshold.”
Post increases to the Luxury Car Tax manufacturers are quick to grab a marketing edge and BMW is no different, with the 320d being exempt thanks to the car’s 6.0l/100km fuel consumption figures.
Pricing of the new BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring range:
Sedan
Touring
More details in BMW’s release after the jump…
BMW’s most important model, the 3 Series, has recently been given a bit of a spring clean. And look at that, the lads in Munich still had a few extra crease lines in the back of their cupboards that needed some air. Good thing then, that, despite negative hype, BMW actually do know how to design a car. This mid cycle refresh has kept the 3 Series looking sharp, both figuratively and literally.
Other more obvious exterior changes included a revised headlight cluster, now with LED turn signals. The famous BMW kidney grille has been enlarged and better suits the reskinned bonnet lines. The lighting changes continue at the back, too, with a more L shaped design employed, fitting into a restyled boot detail.
Inside there is a reworked iDrive system, an 80GB hard drive for music storage, and perhaps more importantly, it can also be used for map storage to aid navigation capabilities. A few other minor cosmetic tweaks have been made, including a repositioning of window switchgear.
More detail can be read below in BMW Australia’s press release, including a full suite of photos. You’ll be able to see the new 3 Series range in Australia in early 2009.
BMW Australia has lifted the lid off its new M3 Convertible and Sedan models. Both feature the 309kW V8 from the M3 Coupé and the Convertible will be the first BMW in Australia to offer the company’s new seven-speed double-clutch transmission (M-DCT). It will also be the first M3 Convertible to feature a retractable hard-top roof—which takes 22 seconds to fully open. The Convertible will be on demonstration in Australian showrooms in July, with the first deliveries expected after October.
The first 3 Series Sedan to feature a V8, the M3 Sedan, will arrive in Australia shortly after the Convertible and it is expected the first crop of Sedan will find their way into customers’ hands around Christmas time. The M-DCT gearbox will also be available in the M3 Sedan and the four door saloon is capable of doing the 0-100km/h dash in just 4.7 seconds. Watch out Audi RS4! Pricing for the Sedan is yet to be announced, but it should come in under the M3 Coupé.
Full press releases are available for both cars after the jump.