Gerhard Richter is reading our minds: How can the new, fourth-generation BMW M3 get close to matching the outgoing model? BMW’s M division boss has lived and breathed this car for three years and knows it better than anyone. He’s convinced it’s a step forward.
“It’s different in a number of areas, but all the intrinsic M3 qualities remain,” he assures us. “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
With that, he whips the door shut and guides us up the driveway of the Spanish resort in Marbella where BMW is launching the car. “Let’s talk later,” Richter says with a smile.
The 2008 M3 boasts twice the cylinder count and double the power of the first-generation model, but the M3’s appeal has always been its responsiveness, the way its individual components all mesh. Now it seems the engine is taking over. Or is it?
The new M3 was always going to get a V8. “We decided early in development that the only way to move forward was to go with a bigger engine. The inline-six is still great, but it is at its limit from an engineering standpoint. There’s just no way we can wring any more out of it without reliability becoming a big issue,” Richter says.
The 4.0-liter V8 is based on the same 90-degree architecture as the M5’s V10 and produces 414 hp (SAE) at 8300 rpm, 81 hp more than its predecessor, retaining the car’s reputation for delivering more than 100 hp per liter. Torque has risen 33 lb-ft to 295 lb-ft at a high 3900 rpm.
This is one of the most advanced road-car engines ever: double Vanos variable camshaft control, individual throttle butterflies for each cylinder, equal-length stainless-steel exhaust and force-regulated oil supply governed by the most powerful engine-management system BMW has developed—the so-called MS S60. A button located by the driver’s thigh on the center console offers two different engine maps. Normal mode feels strong, until you dial up the sport mode, with more aggressive engine mapping and throttle response. We leave it in sport all day. BMW’s new brake-energy regeneration system tops it all off. It uses an alternator that is disconnected when the engine is under load, with energy flowing to the battery only under braking to keep efficiency high and power focused on acceleration.
Just about everything about the new engine is dedicated to speed, and the car is fast. When you gun it from a standing start with the ESP system deactivated, it will spin its rear wheels in first, second and third. BMW says it will hit 62 mph in less than 4.8 seconds.
The M3’s in-gear performance raises eyebrows. In fourth gear, the car accelerates from 50 to 75 mph in just 4.9 seconds, a hair-raising performance that shames many mid-engined supercars, this in a four-seat coupe weighing 3700 pounds. Top speed is once again limited to 155 mph, but with a 3.846:1 final drive channeling the rear wheels, BMW claims the M3 will reach 200 mph without electronic intervention.
The six-speed manual gearbox’s action is slick. The manual is likely to be the only option at launch, ahead of the introduction of a new seven-speed double-clutch box.
Although peak torque doesn’t arrive until you’ve used up almost half of the revs, the M3 is hardly sluggish down low. There’s genuine shove from 2000 rpm, the advanced electronics altering the intake system, fuel-injection mixture and valve timing to help give it some bottom-end savagery.
Before we even have a chance to sample the brilliant new V8 racing up to its 8500-rpm redline, the M3’s aggressive looks heighten our senses. Okay, so it shares its shape to a large extent with the latest 3 Series coupe, but the styling changes made by M division chief designer Ulf Weidhase give the new coupe a menacing appearance.
Charging up the road, the M3 feels viceless—taut body control, a firm but controlled ride and a level of grip matched only by a handful of front-engined cars. You can carry big speed into open sweepers and rely on the terrific damping and generous traction created by the M-differential to retain your chosen line.
For all this, though, the M3 is not quite as tactile in its actions as the car it replaces. The speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering, which also offers normal and sport modes, is light for a car boasting such performance, giving the impression of being a tad vague. Sport mode reduces the amount of assist throughout the speed range
(without changing the steering ratio à la BMW’s active steering) to provide more steering feel. Still, we’d like a bit more weight. It is only a small factor, but it does detract from the overall driving experience.
You are also aware of the car’s larger dimensions. It never feels quite as wieldy as before when you press hard. It’s not all that much bigger, but it gives the feeling that the M3 has moved up in size. Call it middle-age flab, if you like.
To help make the most of its electronic systems, the M3 receives MDrive, seen previously in the M5. Accessed via a steering-wheel button, it allows you to program your preferred chassis settings, store them and retrieve them; the settings appear on the iDrive monitor. At start-up, the M3 defaults to standard mode, but with a press of the MDrive button, you can sharpen the steering, stiffen the damping and set the ESP to function at a higher threshold. You might not use it every day, but it’s a nice touch for when you want to play.
Driving the M3 has always been a compelling experience, and that feeling remains. The new engine is potent yet doesn’t dominate proceedings in the one-dimensional way we’d feared. That’s because the chassis is well up to the job. It devours corners with clinical efficiency. In making it do so, however, BMW has had to trade off some of the M3’s renowned sensitivity.
Credit by GREG KABLE
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