what does "e" in e92 and "f" in f30 mean?

[Jerez]

I thought it was the german name for project,thats when the "e" was about.Now theyve introduced the "f" - any ideas?

 

[petrivanzyl]

Probably e was a code for a project name but then they ran out of numbers and didn't want to go in 100s and f is the next letter in the alphabet? :dunno:

 

[Jerez]

Perhaps .... I also heard that it was the first letter of the German word for developments

 

[prado]

e for 'entwicklung.' A German word which referred to 'development.'

It seems even BMW didn't realise they would have so many developments all those years ago but they reached the E90s and didn't seem to want to go into three digits. (Not official data from BMW of course!)

So instead of E100, they simply moved to F.

Maybe they tried to avoid sounding like Merc's E-class with three digits! (e200, e230, e240 etc)

 

[Thunder]

Extract from Wikipedia.

Series Generations

Internally, BMW associates an "e-code" for each generation of a series ("E" stands for Entwicklung, German for development or evolution). These "chassis codes" only change to signify a major redesign of a series, or the introduction of a new series. BMW AG reported in September 2006 that BMW will switch to the letter "F" for their future models, beginning with the F01 7 Series replacement.

 

[Jerez]

Codes explained

BMW F CODENAMES
F01 5th-gen 7-series, 2008-
F02 5th-gen 7-series LWB, 2008-
F03 5th-gen 7-series armoured, 2008-
F10 6th-gen 5-series saloon, 2010-
F11 6th-gen 5-series Touring, 2010-
F12 3rd-gen 6-series convertible, 2011-
F13 3rd-gen 6-series coupe, 2011-
F15 3rd-gen X5 replacement, 2014-
F16 2nd-gen X6 replacement, 2014-
F20 2nd-gen 1-series five-door, 2011-
F21 2nd-gen 1-series three-door, 2011
F22 2nd-gen 1-series coupe (badged 2-series), 2013-
F23 2nd-gen 1-series cabriolet (badged 2-series), 2014-
F25 2nd-gen X3, 2011-
F30 6th-gen 3-series saloon, 2011-
F31 6th-gen 3-series Touring, 2012-
F32 3-series coupe replacement (badged 4-series), 2013-
F33 3-series convertible replacement (badged 4-series), 2014-
F34 3-series Gran Turismo, 2013-
F35 4-series four-door coupe, 2015-
F44 1-series Gran Turismo, 2014-
F45 1-series Touring, 2014-
F46 1-series City, 2015-

BMW E CODENAMES
BMW E3 2500/2800 saloons, 1968-1977
BMW E9 2000-2800 coupés, 1968-1974
BMW E12 1st-gen 5-series, 1975-1981
BMW E21 1st-gen 3-series, 1976-1983
BMW E23 1st-gen 7-series, 1978-1987
BMW E24 1st-gen 6-series, 1977-1989
BMW E25 Turbo concept car, 1972
BMW E26 M1 supercar, 1978-1981
BMW E28 2nd-gen 5-series, 1982-1988
BMW E30 2nd-gen 3-series, 1984-1992
BMW E31 8-series, 1989-1999
BMW E32 2nd-gen 7-series, 1986-1994
BMW E32/2 2nd-gen 7-series LWB, 1987-1994
BMW E34 3rd-gen 5-series, 1989-1995
BMW E36 3rd-gen 3-series, 1992-1999
BMW E36/5 3-series Compact, 1994-2000
BMW E36/7 Z3, M Roadster, M Coupé, 1995-2002
BMW E38 3rd-gen 7-series, 1994-2001
BMW E38/2 3rd-gen 7-series LWB, 1994-2001
BMW E38/3 3rd-gen 7-series armoured, 1998-2001
BMW E39 4th-gen 5-series, 1996-2004
BMW E46 4th-gen 3-series, 1999-2005
BMW E46/5 2nd-gen 3-series Compact, 2001-2004
BMW E52 Z8, 2000-2003
BMW E53 1st-gen X5, 2000-2006
BMW E60 5th-gen 5-series, 2004-2010
BMW E61 5th-gen 5-series Touring, 2004-2010
BMW E63 2nd-gen 6-series, 2003-
BMW E65 4th-gen 7-series, 2001-2008
BMW E66 4th-gen 7-series LWB, 2002-2008
BMW E67 4th-gen 7-series armoured, 2001-2008
BMW E68 4th-gen 7-series hydrogen
BMW E70 2nd-gen X5, 2007-
BMW E82 1st-gen 1-series, 2004-
BMW E83 1st-gen X3, 2003-
BMW E85 1st-gen Z4, 2003-2009
BMW E90 5th-gen 3-series saloon, 2005-
BMW E92 5th-gen 3-series coupé, 2005-