BMW, the German luxury carmaker is planning to launch a series of new cars and facelifts in India to take on its global rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The car manufacturer has also invested Rs. 210 crore to increase its production capacity to 14,000 units. Among the series of new vehicles, the all-new BMW 3 Series GT will be the next big product to be introduced in India by early 2014. Moreover, it will be a locally produced product, which helps the company to keep its costs down.
The all-new BMW 3-Series GT will be the seventh car to roll out from the company's Chennai based plant. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India, said, "We are putting a new assembly line at our Chennai factory exclusively for our sedans that command a premium status in the Indian market. The all new 3 Series GT would roll out from this new line by next year for which additional capacity is being created by this year end".
BMW had unveiled the 3 Series GT at the 2013 International Geneva Motor Show, and will be positioned between the 3 Series and 5 Series models in India. It is 200mm longer, 50mm taller and 17mm wider than the current 3 Series model. The wheelbase has also been stretched by 110mm, making it more spacious. The driving position has also been raised, thanks to the increased height. The increased legroom and headroom also offers more comfort for the rear passengers. It offers a 520-litres of boot capacity, and the split fold rear seats down has helped to raise the boot capacity up to 1600 litres. However, the 3-Series GT will retain the run-flat tyres instead of full-sized spare wheel.
The 3 Series GT gets similar styling cues to that of regular 3 Series sedan, however it also gets some changes which distinguish it from the regular one. It comes equipped with a taller and wider front facade, which ultimately forced the maker to redesigned the front end ingredients like headlights, lower bumper and others. The 3 GT features air curtains under the front wheels to help the flow of air and air breathers behind the front wheel helps extract air from the wheel arches. It also sports an active rear wing that pops out when you reach 100kmph. The interiors of the 3 GT is expected to remain the same.
The all new BMW 3 Series GT is likely to be powered by the 2-litre diesel engine that develops 184bhp, while the petrol model has a 2.0-litre motor that churns out 245bhp, and a performance oriented 3-litre engine that puts out 306bhp. For international markets, the BMW 3 Series GT is available in both six-speed manual and an eight-speed automatic. However, we expect that for India, the vehicle will get the eight-speed automatic only.
Source : CarDekho - BMW 3 Series - BMW 3 Series GT launch by early 2014