Video: 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible

This is essentially a two-door version of the 6th generation 3 Series that was redesigned for the 2012 model year, and it's a spitting image of the 4 Series concept that showed up at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. The 4 Series comes as a coupe or a convertible, it essentially replaces the 3 Series coupe and convertible in BMW's lineup. Let's take a closer look. The 4 Series coupe has a fastback roof line that recalls BMW's larger 6 Series. The convertible drops it more abruptly toward the tail, but both car's tail lights, closely resembled those of the 3 Series sedan. Now BMW says the 4 Series coupe is lighter, lower, it has a lower center of gravity than the outgoing 3 Series coupe. In fact, it has the lowest center of gravity of any BMW car on the road right now, BMW says. Like the 3 Series sedan, the 4 Series will come in Luxury, Sport, and available M Sport Versions each with their own styling. Behind the front doors are what BMW calls air breathers, those actually reduce aerodynamic resistance, and in fact, BMW says the new 4 Series resist lift, as well as the outgoing M3, the high performance version of the 3 Series. The power-folding hardtop continues from the last 3 Series convertible, it works in about 20 seconds going up or down, BMW says. It also works at speeds of up to about 11 miles per hour when you're driving down the road, that may not sound like much, especially, compared to power soft tops in various competing convertibles, but actually, it's a lot more than what you typically get in a power-folding hardtop, which doesn't allow you to put it up or down if you're moving at all. Typical of a power-folding hardtop, there isn't a whole lot of cargo space here, but BMW says it has been improved over the 3 Series convertible. With the top down, you're looking at about eight cubic feet of cargo volume, when it's up, about 13 cubic feet of volume in the trunk here. There's a single folding seat, if you need to put in longer items here, that replaces the 40/20/40 split folding seat in the 4 Series coupe, but still a reasonable amount of room to pass things through. Like on the 3 Series, drivetrain options on the 4 Series include a 300 horsepower turbocharged 6-cylinder on the 435, and a 240 horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder on the 428. No word yet on a diesel offering or a 420, although that might be popular in states like California and Colorado. Still, transmissions include an 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual with rear or all-wheel drive on the 4 Series coupe. The convertible, unfortunately, only comes with the automatic, although it does offer all-wheel drive now, which is new on the 428. Something we've noticed in the 3 Series is that the 328 is pretty quick, enough that you might question justifying the extra money for the 335. The same is true for the 4 Series. BMW says the 435 hits 60 miles an hour in about 5.3 seconds, but the 428, not far behind at 5.7 seconds. The 4 Series coupe is already on sale with a starting price of just over $40,000. The convertible goes on sale in early 2014 with a starting price of right around $50,000. Stay tuned for our driving impressions closer to the on sale date. (car engine revving)