Hmm....I'd guess.... (archive)

A detuned version of the 340hp engine...maybe
something around 280hp? It seems that the car
would have to have well over 220 hp of the
upcoming 330i/330Ci: It would be a little
odd to have an M-car without more horsepower
than a similar non-M-Car (though the 318 ti M
technic sport seemed to go against this thought).
At the same time, the car will be lighter than
the M46, so not soo much power as to outrun
it's big brother. Maybe there is a way to
detune the more expensive engine (which I would
love, since a mechanic could feasibly retune it)
or subtract some of the bells and whistles
at the expense of 50 or so hp. Would this
be more economical than producing a totally
new displacement? Maybe.

I'm curious what the price of the 325ti will be;
it migt be a better buy--
while $35k is a great price for an M-Car, I'm
not sure that I'd go for it If I could get
an S4 for $38-9 k. A lot(!) would depend
on what the M-Compact will come with, but the
S4 offers a lot of bang for the buck--especially
if the M-compact comes in at or under $250hp
[though I suppose being lighter, it will
be faster....]. If it is under 250hp I'd
also think that people will flock to the
last 240hp editions of the M Coupe, which
will probably devalue to $37-8k new when the
new engine appears.

Agree? Disagree?

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