BMW 435i 2013 News

The New York motor show in April will see the announcement of which vehicle has won the 2014 World COTY, and there looks to be a tough -- and very varied -- field of finalists.Last year's winner was the Volkswagen Golf, which also took awards in pretty well every country on the globe. But this year it could be anything from the little electric BMW i3 to the offroading Jeep Cherokee and even the Citroen C4 peoplemover, judging by the shortlist.A panel of 69 motoring experts from around the world -- including Carsguide's Paul Gover and National Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling -- will choose the winner from: Audi A3, BMW 4 Series, BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford Fusion/Mondeo, Infiniti Q50, Jeep Cherokee, Lexus IS, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia.The 10 finalists for the 2014 World Luxury Car are the Bentley Flying Spur, BMW X5, Cadillac ELR, Cadillac Escalade, Maserati Ghibli, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Porsche Macan, Range Rover Sport and Rolls-Royce Wraith.Due to a tie, there are 11 finalists for the 2014 World Performance Car: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi RS 6 Avant, BMW M6 Gran Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ford Fiesta ST, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, Mercedes-Benz A/CLA45 AMG, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 Turbo and Volkswagen Golf GTI.A separate panel of five 'green' experts will choose the 2014 World Green Car from Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas), BMW i3, Honda Accord Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Volkswagen XL1.Similarly, a panel of five design experts will decide on the 2014 World Car Design of the Year, from among: BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen XL1.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The design drops any attempt to link to the regular four-door model.

...new naming game to the former 3 Series coupe, is obvious from this near-production car.It's likely to be larger than the 3 Series sedan and pitched primarily against the successful Audi A5.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

According to Carparazzi, the car has a folding steel roof and is being positioned to win sales against the good looking Audi A5.

With both a coupe and a cabrio to stretch the 3-Series sedan into a pair of new 2+2s.The good looking BMWs get a new name and a new place in the range and the plan is to have them ready for action next year, probably just before the arrival of the new M3.

... pictures of the upcoming coup-convertible model, most likely to be called the 4-Series Cabrio. There is speculation in Europe of both two and four-door 4-Series models.

... comes from Carparazzi with this picture of the 4 Series Cabriolet.The hardtop convertible will arrive in 2013 at about $80,000 and headline a range that takes a new name, instead of living off the 3 Series family.BMW is likely to have a 4 Series coupe, cabrio and GT to go up against Audi's good looking A5 range.