March 6, 200719 yr Looks great, looks like an M3 should, IMHO..clean and subtle. Has the plate in the decklid unlike the bumper-mounted plate in the Top Gear speculative article. Love the color and wheels. Still hard to for me to think of an M3 with a V8 though... M3 Concept article on Global Auto Index
March 6, 200719 yr Hmm, not sure what I think of all the extra little add-ons. I think I like the last gen better.
March 6, 200719 yr I like everything but the hood. Also, I agree on the V8, I would love to see BMW keep the M3 powered by an I6, but the times they are a changin.
March 6, 200719 yr I think I prefer the previous gen...but this looks way better than the riced-out IS-F
March 6, 200719 yr love the engineering. the look is meh. depends on the view. like the front on & profile, the rear 3/4 isn't great and the back is ugh
March 7, 200719 yr I'm disappointed about the end of the Inline-6. That was one of the reasons I liked the BMW M3... it made it stand out from the pack.
March 7, 200719 yr Author I'm disappointed about the end of the Inline-6. That was one of the reasons I liked the BMW M3... it made it stand out from the pack. Yes... the 6 was one of my favorite aspects of the M3s, like my former E36 and the newer E46s. The V8, though an excellent engine, seems more...ordinary..than a straight 6.
March 7, 200719 yr Author Granted, the original e30 M3 came with the S14 4-banger. :AH-HA_wink: True...those were fun cars..I had a chance to drive one a few years ago at a club event...great handlers, though the styling was very late '80s overdone (though having an '87 Mustang GT, I'm comfortable with late '80s styling).
March 7, 200719 yr True...those were fun cars..I had a chance to drive one a few years ago at a club event...great handlers, though the styling was very late '80s overdone (though having an '87 Mustang GT, I'm comfortable with late '80s styling).I love the e30 M3's...possibly my favorite M3. I find they often steal the show among enthusiasts wherever they go. I'd love to get my hands on one some day. Though, I have dreams of dropping a S50/52 or even LS engine into an e30 and I'd hate to tear apart a perfectly good M3 to do so. Edited March 7, 200719 yr by Nick
March 7, 200719 yr I don't know about anyone else but I preffer the one from a few generations ago. The e36 M3's are cool...they have great potential as well. It's just a shame we never got the euro S50 motor.
March 7, 200719 yr The V8, though an excellent engine, seems more...ordinary..than a straight 6. I think that's the best way to put it. Everyone in this category has a V8. 'I6' just stood out more, and it was testament to BMW's excellent engineering that they could develop a 333hp I6 that could spank many V8 contenders.
March 7, 200719 yr Except it couldn't...when it first arrived, yes, it was quite the motor. The BMW is still the most well rounded vehicle out of it's current contenders, but it is by no means the fastest...The RS4 just rips it a new asshole. BMW builds the best I6's...its a shame they seem to be straying away from that. I'll just be interested to see the specs on this new engine. supposedly it will be a v8 based off of the M5's V10 making in the range of 400-440hp (and I'd assume torque in the 360-ish range...that's being a bit optimistic). The 335 with a turbo-back exhaust and tune can make that same range of power and most likely even more torque. It will be interesting to see what BMW did with this engine. Granted, the M3 will always be an M, but it would not be hard to make the 335 outpower and outhandle an M.
March 8, 200719 yr I'm disappointed about the end of the Inline-6. That was one of the reasons I liked the BMW M3... it made it stand out from the pack. That's the beauty of it......get a new 335i Coupe with the wonderful twin-turbo inline-6. In fact, most of the road tests show that with the optional Sport Package, it presents handling numbers quite close to, if not matching the previous-gen M3...!
March 8, 200719 yr And it keeps right up with an e46 M3 for the most part in the speed category too. The M3 is a tad quicker and has better top end.
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