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Tag: BMW E93

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2011 BMW 335is Convertible

Back in October I took a look at the 135is, the swan song for the E8x chassis. But the “is” package extended to the E92 335, as well. Indeed, since the two share a fair amount of architecture and a similar recipe, on paper it’s a bit strange that they were offered at the same time. But though the 335is and 135is looked similar, there were actually quite a few differences between the two packages.

For starters, though they were both turbocharged and rated at 320 horsepower, the 335is package retained the N54 motor to do so. I’ve never quite understood BMW’s logic on this one, but clearly there was something about the N54’s power delivery that they felt was superior to the N55 single-turbo retained in the 135is and all of the other E8x/E9ss. They reserved the higher-output N54s in late production for the 1M (335 horsepower), the Z4 sDrive35is (335 horsepower), and the 335is (320 horsepower). The N54B30TO also got a 7-second overboost of 40 lb.ft of torque on top of the 332 that was rated in this car as stock. As I described in the 135 post, the easiest identifier for these cars was the wheels, and on the 335is you got massive yet delicate Style 313 M Double Spoke wheels, 8″ in front and 9″ out back, with more aggressive offsets than the E8x got. Hunkered down on M Sport suspension, the 335is also got a unique M aerodynamic body kit, and the transmission was borrowed from the M3, along with additional cooling for the engine. They also carried a less restrictive exhaust system. Coupes went so hardcore that, like the 135i, they dropped the foglight option for additional brake and engine cooling. The convertible variant was apparently judged to be a little less track-ready, as so like today’s Crimson Red example, you could retain the foglights:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2011 BMW 335is Convertible on eBay

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2007 BMW 335i Convertible

When it originally launched, I felt that the E92/E93 looks were too heavy compared to the outgoing E46 model, but I have to admit that I think this car has aged pretty well. One thing that couldn’t be argued was the performance on tap from the new twin-turbocharged N54 inline-6. While it didn’t offer quite the spin of the S54 in the previous generation M3, it had more usable grunt. Coupled with a 6-speed manual transmission, the performance figures in real-world driving generally indicated that the 335i was as fast as the M3 had been. Inside, the E9x was thoroughly modern, too – if the E46 was the last of the classic driver-oriented dash designs dating back to the late 1970s, the E9x ushered in the new era of electronic-heavy dash design to the 3-series. Is it all bad? No, not really. Build quality and materials were as stout, if not better than, previous generations, and often inside and out these cars still look quite fresh.

Couple that with the have-your-complicated-cake-and-pay-for-it-too folding hardtop, the 335i convertible offers a unique blend of performance, style, and comfort that it seems like few cars can match – and they’re relatively cheap on the used market. Let’s check out this Space Grey Metallic over Coral Red first-year example that has just 16,000 miles:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 BMW 335i Convertible on eBay

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