(By Tom Lohnes) – Do you want a nostalgia trip back to the days of old where the M3 was only one model and Naturally aspirated? Well you can’t have that but you can have the new M3 and M4 with forced induction, manual transmissions…and giant kidney grilles for some reason.
Behind the bucktoothed grille of the new M3 and M4, you will find a new engine. The S58, BMW’s flagship 6-cylinder engine, delivers big time. Packing 478 horsepower on the base M3 and M4, and 503 on the competition variants, the M3 Competition has 2.6 times the power of the first M3, the E30.
This one being the G80 isn’t in its retro generation yet but like any long-running nameplate that will be sure to come in the next few generations. The most shocking news is that backing the S58 on the non-competition model is a short-throw six-speed manual. That is 2 new manual cars in a month, this and the Z. The last time that happened COVID-19 wasn’t a thing.
On the competition models, the base RWD gets swapped for selectable M-Xdrive, which can provide complete RWD abilities as well as 50/50 AWD. The AWD one only comes with an 8-speed automatic but that’s ok because only the die-hard racers will purchase the AWD one anyways.
Pricing for the M3 starts at a whopping $72,575 which is about $5,000 more than the old one, but the old one is a dinosaur compared to this thing. If you can get past the horrific grille then you have one great car.
Look, It’s got a taint.
Trying to outdo Lexus? Makes the Edsel look good!
Looks like Warner Brothers cartoon artists did this one. Yikes.