BMW M3. A legendary name with legendary predecessors. Having said that, this new M3 has some big shoes to fill.
From the E30 to the E46, and from the CSL all the way to the E90, with its phenomenal V8.
I absolutely loved that drivetrain. With the most recent predecessor of this car, BMW was a bit clueless on what to do with the car.
There was a big difference between the regular M3 and the M3 Competition that followed afterwards, which was a lot better.
Now however, the Competition is available from the start with the regular M3 positioned just below that, with a power gap being the only difference.
But, as per usual, we start things off with the most powerful version. This is the new M3 Competition, producing 510 horsepower.
Jan Lemkes already did the introduction, and I implore you to watch that video. That way, I won't repeat him.
However, I want to mention a few things. First of all, the way they widened the body. Because a 4-series is already wider than a 3-series,
it doesn't stand out as much on the M4. However, the big shoulders on this M3 look really good. Just like the stance. I really like it.
Then there's the nose. The regular 3-series is one of the best looking BMW's available today, maybe it is the best looking of them all. But this M3...
has the 4-series-nose. A lot of things have been said about it, and I don't really like it. However, it grows quicker on me than I thought.
Maybe I'm just getting old. The green color is working really well for me though.
I'm only driving this for a short period today, but I already drove this on the track as well. That's why it's a tad dirty, my apologies.
So now, I've got a small review for you.
I can already tell you, it's quite the car again. My neck hairs were straight up today and there was sweat dripping from my face.
I was even cursing on the track today, because it was cold out so my tires didn't heat up properly and the track was quite slippery.
*bleep*
510 horsepower and 600 Nm on the rear wheels on a wet track? The ESP immediately thinks 'I don't think so', and you're powersliding...
at 170 km/h. You're very much confronted that you're alive in an M3, this is nothing like a safe Audi RS4.
Right, the general specs. In the front, there's a twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six, producing 510 horsepower.
That's the Competition. The regular M3 'only' produces 480 horsepower, so this has an additional 30. In real life, that won't really make a difference.
All of that power will be sent to the back of course, but this car will be available with four-wheel drive and as a Touring.
For the first time ever, I might add. And that's a whole other experience, a four-wheel drive M3 Touring.
BMW is renowned for their focus on rear-wheel drive, but like we saw with the M5, four-wheel drive isn't a bad thing.
Not when there's this much power being produced. And as long as the main focus remains at the back and the front only kicks in...
when it's necessary, the balance remains good. And I can imagine BMW will install an M-modus which lets you drift whenever you want.
But four-wheel drive isn't a strange choice anymore when you've got this much power to work with.
The drivetrain doesn't have a DCT-automatic gearbox anymore. Instead, it's a fully automatic gearbox now. A ZF 8-speed, which we already know.
In this case, it's been tweaked specifically for this car. At first, I was kind of sad that they removed the DCT,
because it really made M3's special. A DCT-gearbox is much sportier than a fully automatic gearbox for example.
Anyway, I drove this car on track today, and if there's a place where cars will show their true colors when there's something wrong with it,
it's on a track. But this M3 didn't do anything wrong, on the contrary even. The same goes for the gearbox, which was able to keep up very well.
In the quickest mode that is. Changes up and down were very good, but I did miss the dry blows from the DCT. Those involved you much...
in the drive, but the 8-speed gearbox never failed me. It responded very well to my commands, and in the meantime...
it's much more refined on longer distances. It's easier to park, it's less likely that you'll have wheelspin,
which is usually the case when you change gear in a corner. So I can get behind the new gearbox.
Also, and this is much more of a general verdict, the M3 has become much more of an allrounder.
It's incredibly quick. The acceleration is crazy, but it's much more accessible. Partly because of the upcoming four-wheel drive,
but also because of the comfort it offers when you put everything in Comfort-mode.
Because of that, it isn't such a specific car anymore. For the die-hard BMW-fans, BMW still has the hardcore M2.
The M3 is becoming bigger and heavier, because it easily weighs over 1.700 kg. So it being not as hardcore, won't matter too much for most...
people. In the meantime, it's a car that really involves you in the drive. Much more than an Audi RS4, despite the fact that that's a good car too.
But when it comes to steering and the way adrenaline flows through your body when you drive this M3, you just know it's a good M-car.
Much more than the M5, which is a lumpy big car these days.
And it makes me think. It has a much less dedicated engine than before. It's no V8 anymore, so you might think it's a spiced up...
M440i with two turbo's. Or M340i, my bad. However, when you put your foot down, there's still a good rumble to it.
Also, when you rev high, you really have a lot of power.
It's a sports car, more than a sports saloon. It has so much capacities.
But it comes with all of the luxury as well. Heated seats, automatic cruise control, lane keeping, all of those gadgets are on here.
So that makes for a very usable car.
Fun fact; you can get this with a manual gearbox. Except for the Competition. I suspect that that produced too much torque for a manual.
So if you get a regular M3, you can get it with a manual gearbox. However, despite we all love the manual gearbox of course,
that not a lot of people will select that option. That's mostly something for the American markets or something.
As a complete car, it serves such a big spectrum. You can easily drive 50.000 km a year with this without it becoming bouncy or annoying.
That's very easy. However, if you sharpen up everything and you have the Competition, you'll be able to do things you didn't think were possible.
In a way that Audi isn't able to with their RS-cars. The outgoing Mercedes-AMG C-Class was an amazing car...
with a sublime engine. That lacked the sharpness of the M and it had a tad more kick. Also, it was much more subjective.
But when we're talking about the upcoming C-Class AMG, we're talking about a 4-cylinder engine. Despite the additional electric power...
it won't be able to generate the same vibe as this straight-six does.
So, the final question: which one do you need to buy? The M3 or the M4?
I drove them right after each other, and I thought the M4 was a tad tighter. It's lower of course, but again, that's because I drove them right...
after each other. I'm sure you won't notice any differences if there's a little more time between the two. So now it's a matter of taste.
And it all depends on the amount of usability you want, because the M3 has a bigger boot, a bigger rear seat and two additional doors.