Quote:
Originally Posted by brett8210
Therefore, the 135i coupe at $35K with options over $40K and a 135i convertable at over $45K? This makes no sense. They won't do that. I have no doubt that the TT will probably be in the 1 series, but only as the M. Then they can charge what they want because people will pay it.
Additionally, they will probably detune the 128 and retune the 130 so that there would be a marketable difference in performance to justify a $4-5K difference.
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I'll have to disagree with you. I am not an expert in BMW history, but when was the last time the M division used a regular BMW engine on one of its cars? As far as I can remember it always used separately developed M-specific engines, which has been an important part of M-mystic. So I don't really see the M division using the N54 on the M1, tuned or not. (and it's a turbo on top of everything, and it was none other than the M division that smack-talked turbo engines not long so ago)
Also, then why are the engines in the 3 series not detuned compared to the 5 series? The price differential between 3 and 5 is most likely greater than that between 1 and 3, but BMW has no problem putting the exact same engines in 3 and 5. Why not 1? Trust me, even with the exact same engine, with $4~5K difference a lot of people will not even look at the 1. The 3 series name carries a lot of money with it.