The names of those BMW beauties have always charmed me. But still those code words were a mystery for me. If there’s anyone amongst you, who is also wondering what those codes mean, I recently came to know their meanings.
The naming is a 3 digit number being followed by 1 or 2 letters. The initial digit is the series number. The subsequent two numbers conventionally stand for the engine volume in cubic centimeters divided by 100.
The letters may mean an array of information. It may indicate the type of fuel; g = biogas operated, d = diesel driven (of course, the rest are gasoline operated which do not require being indicated). The code letters may mean something special about the improved technologies being used. For example, i = fuel-injected system, x = all wheel drive (xDrive), L = long wheel base, si= sports injection (the new series of x5, x3 and z4 type engines).
Sometimes the letter indicate the structure, like; C = coupe (not anymore in use), T = touring (wagon type vehicle), t = hatchback type, s = sport package series (in the front they have sports seats, on the rear the spoiler, also have improved gearbox and custom rims).
Economic models may bear the letter symbol “e”. And a combination of economic and sport model will bear the code “es”.
There are some exceptions, too. The 2007 BMW 335i has a 3.0 liter engine instead of a 3.5 liter. Moreover it is a twin-turbocharged which is not acknowledged in the code name.
The famous Motorsport – Series bears the letter 'M' where M3, M5, M6, etc means the vehicles are the improved versions of the respective 3, 5 or 6 series.
The 'Z' categorizes a BMW two-seater. However, vehicle may belong to both the M and Z category, thereby indicated with both the letters, example Z3 M (means a series 3 vehicle, two-seater M variant.
You may find an 'X' prefixing the series code (e.g. X3); this signifies the Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) category.