BMW M3 Coupe
BMWs M3 has long campaigned on offering the pace and poise of a Porsche 911 at two-thirds of the price. Now BMW has really gone to town, with a 420bhp V8 engine thats not only lighter than its six-cylinder predecessor but which punts the M3 into a new performance realm.
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The aural signature from this engine is like no other road car powerplant. To sit beside Germanys Nürburgring race track and hear development cars screaming past was otherworldly. Every single time the engine note came bouncing off the Eschbach trees, it sounded as if a sawmill had just cranked into operation somewhere in the valley. The cause is the induction system which features an oscillating tube fed by eight lightweight intake funnels. Add a fruity exhaust blare and you have a car that will swivel heads from a long way out.
BMW quotes a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top end of 155mph although it is said to nudge 180mph with the software nanny shackled. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard with a seven-speed SMG sequential box available as an option. With a stiffer body, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic roof and an even more aggressive version of the legendary M-diff hydraulic centre differential, the M3 isnt just all about that astonishing engine.
"The aural signature from this engine is like no other road car powerplant.."
The E92 M3 is packed with intriguing design features but the most important one for many is that it looks the part. There was barely a dissenting word uttered after its unveiling and most observers judged that BMW had got it spot on, providing a canny balance between sophistication and testosterone-fuelled aggression. The blistered wheel arches house 18-inch rims as standard although many owners will doubtless upgrade to 19-inch CSL style rims. The front bumper is punctuated by a gaping honeycomb centre grille, flanked on either side by intakes that help cool the engine bay and front brakes.
A power dome on the bonnet hints at what lies beneath. Move around the car and there are intricately formed side sills, while at the back, theres ventilation to draw hot air away from the differential. Four chrome-tipped exhaust pipes leave others in no doubt as to whats just blown by. In profile, the M3 features 18-inch double-spoke light-alloy wheels as standard, with a striking 19-inch wheel available as an option.
Another BMW M trait, a side gill in the front wing, also includes the side direction indicator and the M3 logo. Such is the performance of this car that even the exterior door mirrors enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the car and provide a degree of downforce. Weight has crept up slightly compared to its predecessor but a 77bhp increase in power more than makes up for this. The fact that the power output is now identical to the Audi RS4 is significant as BMW will be keen to demonstrate that it makes better use of its available horsepower than the upstarts up the road in Ingolstadt.
Like the larger BMW M5 and M6 models, this M3 also features an MDrive button that brings together numerous personalised functions of the car. The settings for the optional Electronic Damper Control (Normal, Comfort and Sport), three DSC+ traction control settings and three specific engine control maps, plus the response rate of the Servotronic power steering can be controlled with one button on the steering wheel. Once the desired settings are created in the iDrive menu, part of the standard Professional navigation system, one push of the MDrive button transforms the M3 from a car to drive to the shops to a track day special. Although BMW aims to flesh out the M3 range with a folding hardtop cabriolet and, for the first time, an estate, initial early buyers will have to content themselves with the coupe we look at here, likely to be the biggest seller overall, and a saloon version.
BMW expects 60 per cent of orders to be for the SMG sequential gearbox-equipped car. The £50,625 price tag represents a marked step up from the outgoing cars £42,540 closing price. Perhaps in continually sliding the M3 upmarket, BMW has created room in its line up for a more accessible M-car, perhaps based on a 1 Series? Time will tell. Expect to average not much more than 20mpg in normal motoring.
Plus youll be hit hard in the wallet by your insurance broker (expect a group 20 classification). Some compensation however, should come with low depreciation, particularly in this models first couple of years of life when its likely to be a must have upwardly middle class life accessory. Some rather questionable convertible choices aside, BMW has yet to build a bad M3. Even the E36 generation, derided at the time for having gone soft, appears with the benefit of hindsight to have been a cracker.
There were no disappointments with the successive E46 model and that set the bar extremely high. Few doubt that this E92 model M3 will be up to the challenge. Packing 420bhp and developed by a team of enthusiast drivers, the M3 looks the sort of performance coupe most petrolheads would design given a blank sheet of paper. Sophisticated, capable, savagely quick and with a soundtrack to die for, it promises much.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: BMW M3 coupe
PRICE: £50,625 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 295g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 4.8s / Max Speed 155mph (electronically limited)
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Combined) 22.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, twin front side airbags, twin ITS side window airbags / ABS /DSC
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4620/2005/1365 mm [est]
