It seems that the luxury automaker from the German soil, BMW, is preparing a plug-in hybrid variant of its bestselling vehicle model, the 3-Series. Only recently, a plug-in hybrid 3-Series facelift from the company was spotted undergoing some factory tests at the infamous circuit of the Nurburgring.
The compact luxury German sedan will allegedly go through what is called as the Life Cycle Impulse (LCI) phase. This can be seen from the minimum camouflage applied onto its body. It seems that the upcoming model is going to have its front and rear bumpers slightly redesigned. In addition to that, for customers that decide to purchase the higher trims of the model, they may as well be eligible for fully adaptive LED headlamps. In case that is not enough, it is said that the car will come with full LED taillights as well. Speaking of the LED taillights, they are to receive redesigned graphics, according to recent reports in the industry.
Speaking of the upcoming plug-in hybrid BMW 3-Series facelift, the car will reportedly bear the 328e moniker. If you remember correctly, this model was actually previewed already by its prototype version last year.
In terms of performance, the luxury sedan from Germany is most likely to pack a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine under the hood, combined with an electric motor as well as an 8-speed Steptronic transmission system that has been reworked to offer better performance. The total power output is expected to lie somewhere at the mark of 245 HP with a torque of 400 Nm. The car is believed to be very efficient as well in terms of fuel consumption, consuming no more than a mere 2 liter for every one hundred kilometers traveled.
Running on electricity alone, the car will allegedly be able to reach a total distance of 35 km with a top speed of 120 km/h. For power, the car should count on a lithium-ion battery that owners of the model can recharge through a regular wall outlet. The car in question may make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September 2015.
