If you follow the BMW of Silver Spring blog at all, you know how much we love the BMW 3 Series. When we first heard the Bavarian automaker was planning to stretch the luxury car's already lithe body, our curiosity was a little more than piqued. We're willing to bet, a few of you shifted closer to the edge of your seats too.
Well, you can slide right back. It turns out the longer wheelbase will be exclusive to the Chinese market. You might remember a while back, BMW introduced a longer wheelbase variant of the 5 Series to China. It was a huge hit… The long-wheelbase BMW 3 Series is it's encore, if you will.
With another 4.33 inches between front and rear wheels, the stretched BMW 3 Series vehicles are coined 335Li, 328Li and 320 Li.
True, the added length might sound humble - maybe even nearly indistinguishable. Like many things it's more impressive in person than on paper. To accurately represent the significance of the change during the models' debut at the Beijing International Auto Show, BMW also put the traditional 3 Series and forthcoming ActiveHybrid 3 on stage… The ActiveHybrid 3, in case you don't know, is expected to join the BMW 3 Series lineup in the U.S. this fall.
Of course, lengthening the 3 Series for China is just one example of the many more we expect to come. Compared to the U.S. and Europe, the developing market is a pool of opportunity. And given the automakers' hunger for their share of the pie, BMW is only going to have to get more creative as time traipses on.
Be sure to stay tuned to see what BMW comes out with next. BMW of Silver Spring located conveniently at 3211 Automobile Blvd. Silver Spring, MD 20904 is dedicated to keeping you informed. And remember, in the meantime, you can always explore our entire new BMW and used car inventories online.