Thursday 31 October 2013

New BMW M3 saloon: is this you? Intrepid biker captures footage of upcoming 430bhp super-saloon. Doing a three-point turn!


The upcoming BMW M3 saloon has been captured on helmet-cam during what looks like a filming session for a promo video.

How do we know it's the M3? Well, the blue car in the video has four doors, a body kit, M-Sport alloys and those famous quad exhaust pipes at the back. Plus, if you listen very carefully, doesn't it sound very much like the faint burble of that turbocharged straight-sixer as it pulls away?

So what do we know about BMW's next super-saloon? Well, it'll be badged M3 in saloon form only, as BMW has now turned the M3 Coupe into the M4 Coupe. Both will feature a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-pot engine producing 430bhp and peak torque in excess of 369lb ft. Despite the drop in displacement, that torque figure trumps that of the outgoing M3's 4.0-litre V8 by some margin. Thank the turbo for that.

Both M3 and M4 shall mercifully be offered with a standard six-speed manual gearbox - with the double-clutch DCT auto ‘box as an option, of course - together with an active M differential and much carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The boot, roof, prop shaft and strut brace are all made of CFRP. As a result, BMW claims the new M3 and M4 will both weigh in at around 1500kg, around 80kg less than the outgoing car.

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