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It has been called to our attention that a number of media outlets, including AutoExpress who first reported on Fröhlich’s quote, have tried to attribute his words to the soon-to-debut F44 2 Series Gran Coupe rather than the future G42 2 Series Coupe. These reports are false.
First, we already know with absolute certainty that the 2 Series Gran Coupe will be FWD due to past quotes made by Fröhlich himself, not to mention test mules confirm it. If that weren’t enough, we also have inside information confirming that the model names will be 228i and M235i, and these are consistent with the F48/F39 X1/X2 and new F40 1 Series (the 1 Series uses 125i instead of 128i because the *28i naming is only used in North America). Finally, no non-M CLAR vehicle has a chassis code starting with “F”. Notice, though, that the existing UKL (FAAR) products I mention do have model names that begin with “F”.
Second, the nuance of his quote - “2 successor” - makes the context clear. That word rules out any possibility that the reference could be to the 2 Series Gran Coupe since it is not a successor to an existing model - it is a new addition to the lineup. He is therefore referring to the 2 Series Coupe. Incidentally, we can also rule out the 2 Series AT, GT, and Convertible since all of those will die once the current generation models end production.
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