 Ask car lovers which car they would
choose if they can have only one in their garage, I suppose many would
choose BMW M3. Undoubtedly, apart from M3, nothing else provides the
same kind of performance and exciting driving dynamics while being so
practical for everyday use. At a relatively affordable price, M3 offers
tasteful styling, premium build quality, bullet-proof reliability and
4-seat accommodation. No wonder every year it attracted sales in excess
of 10,000 units and easily topped its class. Since its launch in 1986, M3 has never been seriously challenged – not even Mercedes' AMG division could do much to threaten its top dog status. However, the scene changed completely when Audi dropped a high-revving 4.2-liter V8 into its RS4. This engine pumped out 420 horsepower and was capable to rev to 8250 rpm, some 80 horses and 250 rpm more than the 3.2-liter straight-6 of the outgoing M3. Besides, it had the right chassis tuning to deliver equally exciting handling. As a result, many motoring writers put their votes on the Audi. Meanwhile, AMG put an even larger V8 into C55. Furthermore, an even more powerful C63, based on the new generation C-class chassis, is on the pipeline. M3 has never been subjected to so much pressure... Inevitably, BMW now faces a serious question: to go V8, or not to go. I am always a supporter of straight-6 engines, because this configuration is simply smoother, more energy efficient, more musical to ears and cheaper to build than V8s. Moreover, it is the configuration that BMW is best known for. I suppose Munich also knows this, but unfortunately, it just can't accept an image inferior to Audi and AMG, so the power war among the German premium car makers eventually killed the 6-cylinder M3 and resulted in the first ever V8-powered M3 ! It gets more powerful, of course, but it also gets a great deal more expensive. Now it asks for £50,600, a 20 percent rise from the previous £42,500. That make it out of the reach of many previous customers. The days of affordable M3 has gone. Strangely, BMW still targets at increasing its sales to over 100,000 units during its life. How this can be achieved remains to be seen.  The new M3 is of course
based on the E92 new 3-Series Coupe. From its appearance it is easily
distinguishable from the regular coupe. Apart from the usual cooling
and aerodynamic tweaks, several changes catch your attention, namely,
the power dome on the bonnet (to leave enough safety clearance from the
V8), the flared wheel arches (to accommodate the wide rubbers), the
extra hot air extractors at the front fenders and on the bonnet. Oh,
and don't forget the black roof panel. It is made of carbon-fiber
reinforced plastic to lower the center of gravity, a technique learned
from the last generation M3 CSL and then productionized in M6. V8 engine Naturally, we are most interested in its new engine. Calling it the first V8 used in M3 is not exactly true. In fact, a few years ago BMW wanted to race in ALMS and produced a handful of M3 GTR with a 4.0 V8 for homologation. However, the new V8 has no relationship with that engine. Instead, it is derived from the 5-liter V10 powering the M5. Sharing the same 90-degree all-alloy construction with bedplate design, the same cylinder spacing, bore / stroke dimensions and even up to small details like individual throttle butterflies, 32-bit engine management system, ion-current knock control system and super-high 12.0:1 compression ratio, you can see it as the M5's V10 with two cylinders chopped away. It is lightweight for its power, too. Weighing at 202 kg, it is 38 kg lighter than the V10 and even undercutting the old straight-6 by some 15 kg. Admittedly, the old engine employed cast iron block.  With a seriously oversquare profile for
combustion chambers, i.e. 92 mm bore and 75 mm stroke, the M-Power V8
is clearly designed to rev high rather than producing strong bottom end
torque. The use of low-friction Nikasil cylinder coating, Bi-Vanos
variable valve timing and lightweight connecting rods made of
steel-magnesium alloy (titanium is too expensive to BMW) also
contribute to this high revving character. As a result, the V8 can rev
to 8400 rpm cut-out without any hesitation. At 8300 rpm, it releases
the maximum power of 420 hp – that's 77 hp more than the old car and
levels with Audi RS4, though not enough to match the 457hp C63 AMG.
After all, it displaces 2.2 liters less than the AMG mega V8. In terms
of horsepower per liter, however, the BMW V8 is the highest among the
three.Less impressive is torque. The maximum value is 295 lbft at 3900 rpm, less than Audi's 317 lbft and actually no better than the twin-turbo straight-6 of 335i. BMW claims there is at least 90 percent of the maximum, or 265 lbft, from 2500 to 8000 rpm. Sounds good, but the 335i offers maximum torque from just 1300 rpm to 5000 rpm, while RS4 pumps out 285 lbft from 2250-7600 rpm. The lack of bottom end torque means you need to work harder on throttle and gearbox than the other cars to keep pace with them. It also means fuel economy is more likely to dip below the claimed 22.7 mpg, even though it gets the latest Brake Energy Regeneration system like other 3-Series siblings. Weight and Performance However, if we talk about straight line speed or track time, engineers will concern power to weight ratio more than torque. The key difference among the three German cars is weight: 1580 kg for M3, 1650 kg for RS4 and 1655 kg for C63. The M3 is lighter because it employs quite a lot of lightweight materials - aluminum suspensions, aluminum bonnet (like E46), composite fenders and the aforementioned carbon fiber roof - as well as it lacks the Audi's all-wheel-drive system and Mercedes' automatic gearbox. What cannot be explained is why it weighs 85 kg more than the 1495 kg E46 (note: all quoted figures are DIN kerb weight), especially considering it uses a lighter engine. Anyway, the new M3 returns a power to weight ratio at 266 hp/ton, significantly higher than the previous 229 hp/ton. It is also higher than RS4 (255 hp/ton), if not C63 AMG (276 hp/ton). At least we can say it no longer trails its rivals for performance. In straight line, we estimate the E92 M3 can accelerate from rest to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, three-tenths quicker than E46. 0-100 mph should be close to the mind-blowing barrier of 10 seconds. Many pricier sports cars or grand tourers would slip behind it, for instance, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Audi R8, Aston Martin DB9... The new M3 is undoubtedly a very quick car. The rest of the car  As before, channeling the power to the
rear wheels is a 6-speed manual gearbox (BMW may add a new dual-clutch
gearbox later, so the SMG is no more). The E46's Variable
M-differential has been carried over to distribute the right amount of
power between the rear wheels, to enable power slide in corners in a
controllable manner. The standard tires are Michelin Pilot Sport
245/40ZR18 front and 265/40ZR18 rear. They require the composite
fenders to extend 20mm each side to cover them. Inside the wheels are
larger brake discs, 360mm front and 350mm rear, but they are clamped by
single-piston calipers only. As I wrote in AutoZine's News back in
April, I have some reservation about their braking power. The suspension components of M3 are mostly made of aluminum to compensate for the increased strength and firmer setup. A new option is electronic adaptive damping (called EDC), which offers 3 levels of driver setting - Normal, Sport and Comfort. This kind of electronic gadgetries can also be found on the hydraulic power steering, which offers Normal and Sport mode with different weighting. (Thankfully, no Active Steer in the M3) It also alters the throttle response. The stability control offers another 3 modes - On, Off and M Dynamic mode - with different level of intervention. These electronic gadgets means the drivers have plenty of toys to play with. They also partly explain the increased kerb weight. On the Road Enter the cabin, the mass production feel is a disappointment. Facing you is a plasticky dashboard without any bespoke alloy decorations, switch knobs, pedals or control gears, nor there are any extra leather upholstery. Basically it is indistinguishable from a £20,000 318i with the exception of the front bucket seats, but then the latter are not as exotic as they ought to be. You must wonder where your £50K is spent. As expected, space up front is plenty while the two individual rear seats can accommodate 6-footers with decent comfort. The lack of rear doors might be a downside compare with RS4 and C63, but you can wait for the 4-door M3 which is expected next year together with the Cabriolet version.  Fire the V8, the first thing you notice is
how quiet it is compare with the old straight-6. At low rev it emits a
subdued bubble. As rev rise its sound track migrates to something like
a racing V8 with high pitch noise, but it still lacks the addictive,
pulse-raising excitement of the old engine. Those expecting a muscle
car kind of power delivery will be disappointed either, because the
M-Power V8 runs with turbine smoothness and a surprisingly linear
character. 6000 rpm is just the beginning, from there to 8400 rpm lies
the sweet zone and the car is really flying. V8 or not, M3 remains as
rev-hungry as ever. To access its performance, you still need to work
hard on its slightly clonky gearshift and put up with a fuel
consumption of 15 mpg or so.We have no doubt that the new car is faster – BMW said it lapped Nurburgring in 8 min 10 seconds, 12 seconds faster than the old car, 3 seconds quicker than the current M5 and just 1 second behind M6. Yes, it is still some way behind the old M3 CSL, but that car employed semi-slick tires, remember. However, whether it can match the new C63 AMG is quite doubtful to me. As we know, the AMG not only have stronger power but also better brakes. In contrast, M3's single-piston brakes are prone to fade during hard use, especially on tracks. Just don’t know why, BMW has never taken brakes seriously. But that is only the beginning of its weaknesses. Unbelievably, the V8 power is wrongly mated with a chassis setup that gone soft. On mountain roads, the new M3 rides more comfortably, understeers more, rolls more on the turn-in and becomes more difficult to trigger power slide in corners, although once it is sliding the movement is progressive and controllable. However, the most disappointing aspect is steering, which lacks feedback from the front tires, so the driver can only guess how much grip left. That hurts driving confidence and stops the driver from pushing it as hard as previously possible. Even when you switch to Sport mode, the steering is still too light for keen drivers, and the numbness remains unchanged. Sadly, the new M3 has lost the razor sharp character of E46. It becomes more like a M5 rather than a nimbler, more driver-focused and more entertaining machine. It might have a bigger heart, but it lacks a soul. Sorry to the fans of M3, perhaps it's time to try AMG... |
| The above report was last updated on 16 Jul 2007. All Rights Reserved. |
