BMW rumor mills continues to churn and latest and greatest rumor mentions the BMW X3 diesel and 7 Series diesel being approved for the U.S. market. According to a source, the two vehicles have been approved for production and will enter the U.S. market by the end of this year.
No details around the engine offerings have been released to us, but based on a speculative, yet educated guess, we expect to see the same powerplant as found in the X5 xDrive35d and the 335d. The 3.0 liter turbocharged engine is the only diesel approved by U.S. EPA therefore the engine turns into the prime candidate for future diesel models in the U.S.
The X3 xDrive35d is expected to deliver even better performance than the X5d, with faster 0 to 60 mph times and also fuel consumption. The 735d will be placed as an entry-level 7er, next to our top pick 740i. The new X3 is shaping up to be one of BMW’s biggest bets for 2011 in the North American market and based on the successful sales of the X5 diesel, the decision to expand the line-up is more than reasonable.
At the same time, we suspect the 7 Series diesel to be more of a marketing response to the S-class diesel offered by Mercedes-Benz in the United States, a great move to attract luxury vehicles buyers who are looking at more eco-friendly and fuel efficient models.
The 335d and X5d’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six produces 265 horsepower and 425 foot pounds of torque. The powerful clean diesel engine is exclusively mated to a six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. The official mileage estimates for the BMW 335d are 23 city / 36 highway MPG, while the X5 35d is rated by the EPA at 19mpg city and 25 highway.
Pricing and production dates have not been communicated to us.
We are working on confirming these news, but for now, we would like to keep them at a rumor level.
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/01/12/rumor ... o-the-u-s/