The luxury car market of India is heating up with new offerings from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Benz. Yet another offering for the domestic market from BMW is the LWB 3 Series, which is all set to enter the country after being introduced at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The BMW 3 Series Longer Wheel Base (LWB) version will offer extra leg space to passengers seated in the rear seats.
The wheelbase of the BMW 3 Series model presently sold in China is 110 mm lesser than that of the newly unveiled edition of the car. Overall length of the car is 4734 mm, while its wheelbase stands at 2920 mm. As per reports, the 3 Series LWB will come to the domestic market in three versions, namely 328 Li, 320 Li, and 335 Li. A 2 L, four cylinder engine will be provided in the base 320 Li variant of the series.
As for the engine line-up, the base 320 Li will get a 2 L, four cylinder engine that delivers 179 bhp of maximum power. On the other hand, the 328Li will come with a 2 L TwinPower Turbo four cylinder engine with over 238 bhp of power. Lastly, the top-of-the-line 335Li variant will get a 3 L twin-turbo inline-six cylinder that churns out peak power of 300 bhp. All of these units will be supplemented with an 8 speed automatic transmission system for smooth gear shifts. Moreover, considering the steadily increasing demand for diesel-powered vehicles in the domestic market, BMW India may also consider launching the 3-Series with diesel engines in the country as well.
Like the Chinese, Indian buyers also demand additional space in the rear seats of the car. However, only a few cars with Long Wheelbase variants are presently available here, such as BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ, primarily due to the low sales volumes. It is expected that the country may see the launch of the LWB variants of many other premium sedans if the luxury car segment of India maintains its current growth rate over the next few years.
