No other sports or super-saloon is as capable, grippy, tied down, responsive or communicative on a difficult road. The Giulia remains the more magnanimous super saloon, but the M3 is now the crisper to drive.
Also speed – we timed the 4WD car to 60mph in 3.2s (against a claim of 3.5s), making it immensely fast as well as rewarding. It’s settled, determined and engaging – and opting for 4WD does nothing to disturb that, but brings useful added peace of mind if it’s wet or cold. You know exactly what both ends are up to, so you can slice through roundabouts with pinpoint accuracy (and no risk of kerbed wheels). That was a spiky machine, with hard-hitting turbos and a fractious back axle. It’s not friendly exactly, but definitely friendlier than the old F80. That, with exposed carbon and extra stripes, makes a strong statement. Or you embrace the aggression with the CS. The Touring does a good job of balancing out the visuals. But nor are we convinced the new car has the same stance and attitude as its predecessor. Especially when you don’t have to look at it. Which, if we’re being honest, is less of an issue in real life. None of which completely hides the grille. For that you get more metal: it’s 120mm longer and 20mm wider than before with a lot more choice of colour and trim. Not great when you consider the £81,195 BMW is now charging for the M3 (the M4 is £1,300 more expensive). The engine sits noticeably further back in the chassis, although the F80's attractive carbon brace has been replaced with some cheap looking steel components.
Bmw m3 marp series#
Underneath the body has been comprehensively strengthened over the standard 3 Series with extra bracing and new shear panels to help transmit loads. The wheels are 19s at the front, 20s at the back, clad in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, 275s at the front, 285s out back. If you want to save weight with more carbon, the brakes are 15kg lighter all round despite being bigger (a vast 400mm diameter front discs, against a still massive 380mm), and there are optional front carbon seats saving a total of 9.6kg. It’s a ZF with claimed 150ms shift times. There’s a lot of carbon included, from the roof (incorporating twin ridges) to the steering wheel, console and gearshift paddles.
Bmw m3 marp pro#
LED lights are standard, there’s a 12.3-inch dash display and another 10.25-inch centre screen for the infotainment, three zone climate control, 16-speaker Harman Kardon hifi, gesture control – all before you get to the option packs, such as £7,995 M Pro which brings carbon ceramic brakes and a raising of the speed limiter from 155 to 180mph. The standard car has ridiculous grip and traction, so you’ll be buying this chiefly for wintry peace of mind. A huge drift through Quarry corner at Castle Combe – 160 yards at 24 degrees of oversteer, according to the car – was rated four stars.įind that behaviour needlessly childish? For extra security you can have a 4WD M3 for the first time ever.
Bmw m3 marp driver#
In addition to the usual suite of driver safety aids, there’s also M Drive Professional which includes a lap timer, driving analysis coach, data recorder and – we kid you not – an M Drift Analyser to rate your skids. The 4WD version weighs another 55kg, the 4WD-only CS (seems perverse, but it’s the right choice) is 20kg lighter than that at 1,765kg. Higher spec is to blame apparently, the firm claiming like-for-like weight is only up about 60kg. The result is an extra 60bhp and 74lb ft of torque, taking the standard M3 beyond 500bhp for the first time (a feat it shares with its most direct rival, the Alfa Romeo Giulia), while developing a colossal 479lb ft from 2,750-5,500rpm.īut the regular M3 is now 1,730kg – over 150kg more than its F80 predecessor, giving it only a slight power-to-weight advantage and a claimed 0-62mph time only 0.1 seconds faster. On paper it looks like the 2,993cc unit has been largely carried over, and yes, the S58 is a development of the old B58, but check this out: the crank is taken directly from the M4 GT3 race car, the turbos are new, larger monoscroll blowers and the cylinder head is 3D printed enabling it to cope with injection pressures of 350 bar. The straight six has come in for a massive amount of work. BMW’s done nothing so controversial or likely to alienate owners of older cars. It’s been launched as a four cylinder plug-in hybrid, but rumours abound that Merc is frantically backtracking after a very lukewarm initial reception. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is starting to age, the current Audi RS4 has never been great and the next C63… appears to be on hiatus.
0 kommentar(er)
