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      05-17-2011, 07:16 AM   #41
Mark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edh View Post
I'm a long time reader but a first time poster, been looking at the F20 a lot.

I doubt this is a 135i. Someone else already suggested this might be an N20 powered car so perhaps 128i. There's a few reasons for this:
- The old 1 series only went as far as 130i which stopped production a few years ago. It wasn't that big a seller and given that Europe is the main market for this car, the interest is in diesels, not 6 cyclinder petrols.
- Why would they introduce a range topper that extends significantly beyond the existing range topping petrol (120i) by such a significant margin on the launch of a new model? If they wanted to come up with a 135i hatchback they would do so a year later, as they did with the 130i, launched a year after the rest of the range. A new 135i hatch would also be too close to the E82 135i coupe for comfort within the BMW range.
Well, to be honest, the exhaust layout says it all here, BMW typically uses the same exhaust layout for a given engine, regardless of which model its in. The N20 in the X1 (even with M-Sport as below) uses a two tips on one side exhuast arrangement.

Most of the other F20 test mules we've seen have had one pipe out on one side suggesting those were using the N20 or other 4 cyl. engine arrangements.



As for the range topper 135i not stepping on the toes of the E82 coupe, they are going to build a 135i for sure, and this car is in testing stages, so why not do the testing for the car? How they market it all is a different story for a different group of people to tackle, but the car and its various configurations need to be developed and testing at this stage, especially when engines such as the N54 and N55 are known factors.

We've been consistently seeing this M-Sport equipped car with the dual exhaust setup while the non-M sport equipped F20 mules have the single exhaust. Putting it together it really suggests this is a top end F20 variant, and what would be more top end then the N55? I guess the alternative is it could also be one of the diesels.

Quote:
An N20 powered 128i could do with an exhaust like this to differentiate it from the naturally aspirated petrols in the range. Similarly could we see something like this for the next 123d (due some time later)? There have already been models seen with both single and twin exhausts on the right hand side. I think it likely that with the latest 520d having a twin exhaust (even though the 320d with the same engine does not) the F20 120d would have a chrome twin exhaust on the right side.

Unfortunately we can't get a good view of the tacho or the yellow labels (previous FEP stage cars are sometimes identified on a yellow label, a 184bhp 120d has already been identified this way).

It is clearly an M sport but I would think there are a few options on the interior as well. Can't tell if the screen is navigation or not, it would stand to reason that with the F10 and F25 coming with a screen as standard and the business or professional navigation charged extra that this was also be the case on SE and M Sport specs. Other models have been seen without a screen at all, I would suspect that this is the base model ES.


I don't think this is correct for the MSport. Although the E82 135i does not have them to improve cooling, this is not a standard model. As a junior executive car, vast numbers of E87's are bought in the Euopean market as company cars whereas the E82 135i is overwhelmingly not. Cache is important in this sector, hence MSport is a good thing and so are fog lights, metallic paint, 18" wheels even if your company only lets you have a 118d. For a car in this sector not to have foglights would hit sales.

Just my opinion and a bit of speculation.

The next thing above simple fog lights is LEDs. Maybe on Msport to distinguish itself from SE there could be some 6-series Msport style LEDs? Look at the pictures and you see that above the vents where you might expect the fog lights to be there is a line of camoflage set back from the bumper above it. Looks like a gap about the right size for a strip of LEDs.

Or perhaps as one size is covered off and the other isn't, this isn't a final configuration anyway. A set of standard fogs will appear in the gaps.

Whatever, I seriously couldn't believe that ALL Msport models would not have fog lights of any form.
I agree about the foglights, I'd venture to guess that the foglights simply were not installed on this mule, and will be fit at a later date, or maybee something more exotic like the LEDs you suggested is hiding somewhere under the tape
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