The E in E30?

[monty]

So today my buddy and I were at Mcdonalds and an E36 drove by and he asked "so is that an E36 bodystyle"? I said yup, then he asked "where did the E originate from"? I thought for a minute and said "I have no clue." So does anyone know where E28, E30, E36 ect. came from or what it signifies?

[uofom3]

now that is a fantastic question.

[uofom3]

and google supplies the answer:

The E in BMW's E-code stands for Entwicklung, which means evolution in German.

[Jand3rson]

The E is for "Entwiklung", which means evolution, or development in German.

*EDIT* Dammit, Ted...

[Raxe]

I think it stands for Entwicklung, meaning "development" in German.

Edit: Dammit, beat not once but twice.

[E30_fiend]

Now DCColegrove needs to chime in. He has an entire website devoted to this and he even has Entwicklung in the url.

check it out:

Entwicklung30.com

[monty]

and google supplies the answer:

The E in BMW's E-code stands for Entwicklung, which means evolution in German.

Excuse my searching laziness just thought it may also interest others and spark some conversation, anyhow so where did the numbers start and/or signify?

[Raxe]

The earliest is the E3 7 series, the last is the E93 3 series. Next in line is the F01 7 series.

[Jand3rson]

The earliest is the E3 7 series, the last is the E92 3 series.

Nope. E93 M3.

[monty]

So the E will be replaced by F huh? What does F mean and the E#'s?

[DCColegrove]

I thought it meant

Eeeeemazing car or Eeeeee ticket ride

[Raxe]

Nope. E93 M3.

Yes forgot about the E93, but it's actually the hard top cabriolet. The M3 still goes by the E92/E90 codes.

Basically E90 = sedan, E91 = touring, E92 = coupe, E93 = cabriolet.

So the E will be replaced by F huh? What does F mean and the E#'s?

The number is the prototype that made it to production from what I understand, that's why there's a lot skipped. They're prototypes that never took off and were scrapped. For example, the E30 is the 30th car BMW started developing after introducing the "E" system. This is just what I've been told.

[uofom3]

Excuse my searching laziness just thought it may also interest others and spark some conversation, anyhow so where did the numbers start and/or signify?

I wasn't critiquing your lack of DD, i was giving google credit because I had no fuckin idea what it meant.

[monty]

perfect

[StereoInstaller1]

perfect

Great thread, would read again.