Conventional market wisdom would say yes. The M3 will be 400hp or a bit more. It will also be at least $10K more expensive than the outgoing model. BMW has done quite well in the ~$50K range selling fast 3-series so I think they'd probably like to keep something in their lineup to fill that space.


This could also conceivably be how they plan to differentiate the coupe from the sedan. I remember hearing that BMW plans to sell the coupe at a substantial markup, and may keep all but the higher-end engines out of the US market for the coupe.


Factor in ~300hp competition that seemingly grows on trees (Infiniti - even though it's no faster) and I'd say in all, there's a really strong chance we'll see a 3 equipped with this engine in the US market.

 

According to AMS the 3 litre engine will be a twinturbo with Piezo-Direct injection from Siemens.

Also a 4 litre V8 (and a 2 litre 4 inline) with twinturbo will be offered in the near future.

For MY 2006 the 745d engine (4,5 litre V8-Diesel) will get more hp, increase from 300 to 330.

The link in German: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/d/88304