The M3 coupe is finished as we know it. Bring on the M4.
We’ve known for some time now that BMW’s M3 coupe would be a thing of the past, but now we’re finally getting a look at the future of M coupes in the form of the M4 Concept, which debuted this past week at Pebble Beach. It will be strange world we live in with no M3 coupe, seeing as how it’s the car that shaped the very philosophy of the sports coupe with the E30 M3, but progress is rarely a linear path.
So, what kind of progress does the M4 bring with it? BMW released very little in the way of hard numerical figures, but there are some things that can be safely assumed. Some iteration of BMW’s twin-turbo 3.0 liter straight six is a certainty with somewhere in the range of 450 horsepower and a healthy dose torque. There have been no announcements on whether or not a manual option will be available, but recent rumors suggest that the only option will be BMW’s 7-speed SMG III dual clutch transmission. If this turns out to be true, BMW may want to consider bolstering security at M division headquarters in anticipation of the hoards of angry M traditionalists.
BMW calls this color Aurum Dust. It’s definitely, erm, striking, but I’ll just leave it at that. Looking past the color, the M4 is, as you would expect, a pumped up version of the 4 Series. Widened wheel arches give it the more aggressive stance we’ve come to expect from M cars. Every body panel on the M4, except perhaps the doors, appears to be new and the roof, front splitter and rear diffuser are made from carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Also note the cool M striping on the roof panel.
If past M concepts can be used as precedent, then this is about 99 percent true to what we should see when the road car debuts. The production version is expected to debut at either the Los Angeles or Detroit auto show, at which point we should be getting all the fun stats. Hopefully it will be shown in a nice shade of silver too.
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