Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageBMW
A good point, but what if deleting the power windows and locks, A/C, stereo with all speakers and related wiring, plus maybe "lighter glass" (is that possible and still meet the safety standards??? and lighter competition/Recaro like seats and forged factory wheels with carbon hood, roof, and trunk brought it down closer to 150 lbs. off? throw in a few suspension mods and WOW - wouldn't the car handle amazingly well? surely the racing like seats, no speakers, and manual windows will also save a ton of weight? Then, compare this to what most of you will order - Navigation, premium sound, electric sport/comfy seats, premium package/auto climate, etc. - a real 135M ordered by most will be a $58k pig when all said and done with options (I am willing to guess the real weight difference could be 200lbs.) - granted, a pig I would love to own as we do own a loaded out Z4 35i (with mods). Besides, in the end I would have a real Tii. And yes, if you built 1,000 of these they would rot on the lot, but what if you built only 1 to 100. Then you would have a real collector's item, that in time would be worth more than any 135M made. I am willing to put $10k (or more if BMW Munich needs it to get started) down now to find out. I bet the only run of 50 or so would sell out in Europe without ever seeing our shores. The only option should be M DCT or Manual. Color would be the same on all as dictated by the recent Tii scheme or M scheme (white with M color trim).
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The power locks are another one of those things that just don't add a lot of weight. You're probably talking about 4 or 5 lbs for the entire system. Manual windows would save a few pounds, but it's not going to happen because they're just not going to design and produce a crank system for a few thousand cars. The cost would be obscene when compared to the benefits.
All that other weight saving would certainly be nice, but then you're going to end up with an MSRP that's getting into more serious sports car territory, and you're still working from a platform that's designed with economy in mind instead of $60k performance.