Geneva 07: new BWM M3

[Mäusekino]

this is the new Beemer M3, looks much better than the basic version. it seems like it'll nearly bursts cause of all the 400+ hp of the V8 that seems to have caused all the bumps, cuts and edges in the bodywork, not to forget the 19" inch alloys, the wide opened "i'll eat you all" bumper and the 2 double chrome exhausts.

official the car is concept, but rumours say, it's damn close to the look of the forthcoming M3. very likely the shiny reflective paint will be the only thing to change. the roof is made from carbon fibre to save weight an lower the center of gravitiy and only the doors and the boot lid are the same like on the normal 3 series coupe.

http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1669/images/1/large.jpg
http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1669/images/2/large.jpg
http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1669/images/3/large.jpg
http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/1669/images/4/large.jpg

[RacingManiac]

keep the hood vent, throw away the power bulge....or make it smaller....that thing is like a cancer tumor.....

Its a nice looking car though...

[henk4]

it will be like with the M5, concept Geneva, final version 6 months later at the IAA in Frankfurt. Differences: probably zilch.

[cmcpokey]

i like all of it.. i think the side vents could be a bit smaller, but otherwise nice. the sad part is the V8 though. i still think an M3 needs to be powered by a straight 6. (and i know the E30 was a I4, but i think the bmw straight 6 is probably the best engine ever.)

[jediali]

throw away the power bulge
apparently its needed because engine, dont believe a word of it.

[dydzi]

interesting thing is both bmw and lexus aren't revealing the exact power of M3 and IS-F (both 400 HP+)

[Ferrer]

Could be worse, but it definitely is ugly. I still consider the M3 E46 to be the ultimate non-track related M3.

[fisetdavid26]

I think it looks incredibly good, I especially love the wheels. If the final version looks like this, then I'll put my name on the waiting list. If only I had the money to buy one...

[Coventrysucks]

Utterly uninspiring.

[Ingolstadt]

E46 M3's good. This is good as well. Awesome looks. But don't get me wrong, I don't like neither of E90/92.

[NSXType-R]

I like it. It could turn out much worse you know.... :D

[LandQuail]

I still, (and you've all heard this before) can't get over the visual mass teetering over the rear wheels. Even with 19" alloys, the bodywork visually overpowers the rear wheels, making them look a good inch shorter than the fronts.

I saw a new 325 sedan parked next to a Caddillac CTS last night. They shared roughly similar dimensions, but the caddy's slab-sided appearance made the bulk of the rear haunches seem more balanced than the BMW's. Maybe it's all those (unnecessary?) creases and surfaces working their way to the C-pillar that make the rear wheels look like casters.


Otherwise, the added agressiveness works well for the M3. I especially like the side vents. They're Bangle-ish, but they work in this case.

[092326001]

hideous
no other word to describe the look of the car

[Equinox]

Well its a one of kind... and hopefully it stays that way!

[Egg Nog]

It looks like they wrote down a few hundred design suggestions, put them in a hat, and went with whatever they chose first.

[Viper007]

I personally thought that given the new 3-series design it would look like crap, but I am more than pleasantly surprised. The car takes a really aggressive stance which may take away part of what the M3 used to be, but I sure as hell love it.

[Monty_Burns]

It's not as bad as some of you are making out - by no means is it the prettiest looking car in the world, but it is a big improvement on some other recent Beemers. In saying that, the front is still too busy, but the stance and proportions are actually very good.

[torque55]

i think it looks good, obviously the best 3 series from the current generation. the previous ones looked better though. its probably going to be sweet to drive, i hope they dont fit the 7 speed smg, because it breaks too much. otherwise its a guaranteed success.

[BlueSi]

It looks as bad as all new BMW's.

[aNOBLEman]

i think it looks good, obviously the best 3 series from the current generation. the previous ones looked better though. its probably going to be sweet to drive, i hope they dont fit the 7 speed smg, because it breaks too much. otherwise its a guaranteed success.

Where did you get that from?

[RazaBlade]

The engine has been confirmed, same stats as the one in the Geneva motor show car.

Read here (http://www.autocarmagazine.com/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/224983/)

It actually sounds quite impressive, best stat in my eyes is the fact that the torque appears fairly low down for a high-revving NA engine, which should add another dimension to the driveability.



Forgot to add, I think the car looks quite good, my fav part being the front end seen from the rear 3/4...the way it drops, looks badass!

[quattro_20v]

They officially gave the power output today. It's 420 hp altho they didn't give any performance figures yet.

[Ferrer]

The specific torque output figure isn't very impressive at all. In fact the BMW N53 engine is better in that aspect. Other than that it will probably be brilliant.

[jediali]

The specific torque output figure isn't very impressive at all. In fact the BMW N53 engine is better in that aspect. Other than that it will probably be brilliant.

i get the impression that the breathing is not really set up for low engine speed torque, this is aided by VVT but would anyone complain if they gave it the heterogeneous mixture control and direct injection a bit like the RS4.

[henk4]

i get the impression that the breathing is not really set up for low engine speed torque, this is aided by VVT but would anyone complain if they gave it the heterogeneous mixture control and direct injection a bit like the RS4.

well, if you read this link

http://www.autocarmagazine.com/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/224983/

then you will find the contrary....

[Jack_Bauer]

There are two audio files of the new V8 on an engine testbed doing simulation runs, one of a 0-200kmh run and one of a lap of the 'Ring. It sound OK in my opinion, but doesn't sound half as sexy as the old straight six. :rolleyes:

http://www.pistonheads.com/downloads/0_200km_Test_Bed.mp3

http://www.pistonheads.com/downloads/ring.mp3

The key details are:

* 3999cc
* 414bhp @ 8,300rpm
* 295lb ft @ 3,900rpm (251lb ft available from 2,000rpm)
* 8,400 max engine speed
* Engine weighs 202kg – 15kg lighter than old ‘six’
* Aluminium silicon alloy crankcase, iron-coated pistons run directly in the bores of hard silicon crystals
* Bedplate structure
* Crankshaft weighs 20kg – 5 main bearings
* Oil cooled pistons
* High-strength steel magnesium alloy connecting rods weighing 623g each
* Single piece alloy cylinder heads with 4 valves per cylinder
* Double Vanos variable camshaft control
* Double chain-driven cams
* Oil system works to 1.4G with 2 pumps
* 8 individual throttle bodies. Accelerator pedal position monitored 200 times per second. Takes 120 milliseconds to reach maximum opening point.
* No air mass sensor – ecu does the calculations from the range of data available to it
* Two, 4-1 ‘fan type’ exhaust manifolds
* 4 cats
* MSS60 ecu – development of the one found in the V10 M engine. Three 32bit processors. Can handle more then 200 million individual operations per second.

New M3 V8 engine specs

Fuel - RON 98 (95)
Max output bhp - 414 at 8,300rpm
Max torque lb ft - 295 at 3,900rpm
Max engine speed - 8,400rpm
Stroke mm - 75.2
Bore mm - 92.0
Displacement cm3 - 3,999
Distance between cylinders mm - 98
Cylinder arrangement - 8-cylinder V-engine
Valve plate diameter, intake mm - 35.0
Valve plate diameter, outlet mm - 30.5
Compression ratio - 12.0:1
Fuel injection - Intake pipe fuel injection
Fuel injection pressure bar - 3–6
Average combustion chamber pressure bar - 12.6
Maximum combustion chamber pressure bar - 100
Engine weight to BMW standard kg - 202
Output per litre bhp/litre - 103.5
Crankcase - Aluminium
Valvetrain - Infinite camshaft adjustment and hydraulic valve clearance adjustment for intake and outlet (double VANOS)

[jediali]

thanks Jack, Im assuming it would be a cross-plane V8 crankshaft, however that first clip sounded to me a little more like a flat plane crankshaft V8 (which sounds more like two mated i4's)...i'm probably wrong. Still nice details. The 20kg crankshaft would to me suggest a crossplane crankshaft because it would'nt need as much counterweight mass. I found (in my thesis) that a V8 F1 crankshaft of a similar crossplane nature weighs around 12kg. Just also for comparison..compare the RS4 bore-stroke ratio of 1.1 to the M3's 0.82.

this is what i meant by torque: Mark Wan's opinion:

Less impressive is the torque figures, although BMW said its peak torque arrives at only 3900 rpm, at least 90% of which (or 265 lbft) available between 2500 and 8000 rpm and 85% of which (or 251 lbft) available from 2000-8400 rpm, it is still eclipsed by Audi RS4, which produces 317 lbft at 5500 rpm and at least 90% of the peak torque (or 285 lbft) from 2250-7600 rpm. Admittedly, the RS4 has an advantage of 200 extra c.c. and direct injection.

[NSXType-R]

The engine has been confirmed, same stats as the one in the Geneva motor show car.

Read here (http://www.autocarmagazine.com/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/224983/)

It actually sounds quite impressive, best stat in my eyes is the fact that the torque appears fairly low down for a high-revving NA engine, which should add another dimension to the driveability.



Forgot to add, I think the car looks quite good, my fav part being the front end seen from the rear 3/4...the way it drops, looks badass!

Yes, the torque output does sound a bit low, but it should be plenty. Wait for the CSL to come out (might be just a lightening though).:rolleyes:


The specific torque output figure isn't very impressive at all. In fact the BMW N53 engine is better in that aspect. Other than that it will probably be brilliant.

Is that the twin turbo I-6? It's only got an extra 5 lb ft. Not much more. But the V-8 packs an extra 125 HP. ;)

Back to Jack_Bauer- can you post an audio clip of the straight 6 to compare? Thanks.

I dunno about you, but that raspy V-8 definitely sounds nice to me! It's a nice change from the rumbling American ones that I hear everyday. My neighbor is a Mustang fan. It sounds alright, it's just on the loud side.

[RazaBlade]

Yes, the torque output does sound a bit low, but it should be plenty....
Sorry you misunderstood me, I meant the torque comes from quite low in the rev range, esp as it revs so high as well.

[NSXType-R]

Sorry you misunderstood me, I meant the torque comes from quite low in the rev range, esp as it revs so high as well.

No, I understand what you said. What I meant was that when you compare 295 ft lbs of torque to it's peers, say the RS4 and C class AMG it doesn't look too spectacular anymore.

[Ferrer]

Is that the twin turbo I-6? It's only got an extra 5 lb ft. Not much more. But the V-8 packs an extra 125 HP. ;)
No it is the normally aspirated straight six which has 107Nm/litre. The old BMW M3 engine (S54 code) had 112Nm/litre.

This new V8 has "only" 100Nm/litre.

[MadMax13]

I think the best Beamer of my generation is the M3 CSL...