BMW South Africa, manufacturers and exporters of 3 Series sedans to Japan, Australia, Singapore and other places, announced today the launch date of the new M3 Convertible.
Long spied and photographed - see side links - , M3 Convertible uses a hard folding top as opposed to the ragtop of previous models. It will launch in South Africa in May 2008, the same month as the appearance of the 1 Series Convertible. Not the best of months to let the cold breeze in, but South Africa does get a little warm around midday in winter in most parts, hence the sweaty convertible drivers who never know what time to close the top. Pricing for the sky-view is an “ouch”-inducing R744 500 (about USD 99,000).
Confirmed for the same time is BMW’s new M-DCT ‘box with its claimed quick changes that launch the vehicle 0.2 seconds faster than the manual. As was widely expected that M-DCT – M Double Clutch Transmission – will change seven times forward, while some competitors (codenamed Lexus IS-F) are even going for eight. M-DCT is a double-clutch system that works by pre-selecting the next gear before a driver selects it, thereby cutting the time it takes for changes to happen. Automatic mode can also be selected for slow traffic driving. The M-DCT option will set South Africans back some R783 500 (USD 106,000) for the Convertible, R702 000 (USD 94,800) coupe and R673 000 (USD 90,945) for the sedan.
We think a lot more South African dads will now be much happier transporting the kids to and from school than before.
- An edit error in the initial press release suggested M-DCT would be 6-speed forward. It has now been corrected.
in south africa a BMW 335i is R400000, yet the equivalent model in australia, which recieves lower spec than south africans do equates to about R710000. so one cannot compare prices, that is why you never see nice cars in Aus they are way to expensive, they only drive rubbish holdens and the like. when i went to south africa last year, 90% of the cars there are top of the range models bmw, mercedes audis, porsche , you name it it is there. i even saw 2 zondas and a koenigsegg, plenty of lambos and ferraris. i think the only BMW i saw in Aus in two weeks was a crappy 116i ha ha ha. and i live in florida, where cars like these are abundant, yet i have not seen a zonda or koenigsegg here?????