The guys over at XCAR have stated it so perfectly: BMW has literally given up on a huge part of its heritage just so that it can fill a so-called number void in its model lineup. Gone are the 3 Series Coupe and M3 Coupe. They'll never be coming back, despite everything they've done to put BMW on the performance map. So why did the automaker limit the 3 Series and the upcoming M3 to sedan duties only? Because of the number "4."

BMW felt it needed to separate the coupe and sedan version of the same car just in the way Audi has done with the A4 and A5. By giving it a sleeker and wider body, BMW can now claim it has a proper A5 fighter. But was the rebranding worth it?