BMW has come under fire after its designers beavered away at a controversial new face for the … [+]
The backlash against the redesigned vertical grille on the new 2021 BMW M3 and M4 has been so brutal you’d be forgiven for thinking a familiar household face had undergone disastrous plastic surgery.
And BMW saw it coming. It even tried to lessen the blows with some cunningly released spy photos and then the concept version of the M4, but still they rain down.
But while everybody has been talking about the controversial faces of the hotly anticipated new 2021 BMW M3 and M4, they’ve missed the real news is underneath the skin.
For the first time in the 35-year history of the hot mid-sizer, the M3 and M4 twins will have the option to transfer their twin-turbo, six-cylinder power to the road through all four tires when they arrive in the US in mid-summer next year.
The rest of the BMW M4 design is reasonably conservative, with four large exhaust pipes flanking a … [+]
And for perhaps the last time on the M3 and M4 entry versions, a six-speed stick shift remains the standard gearbox, which should delight the gearheads.
Both the four-door M3 and the two-door M4 coupe will arrive in both standard and Competition versions, with 475hp (353kW) or 505hp (375kW), good for either 4.2 or 3.9 seconds in the sprint to 62mph (100km/h).
BMW even lists a 0-200km/h (124mph) at 12.5 seconds and the cars top out an electronically limited 250km/h (155mph), though this can be lifted to 290km/h (180mph).
The engine looks technically sophisticated, with two mono-scroll turbochargers working in concert with direct fuel injection, plus variable valve timing and lift.
The engines are now so strong that the Competition versions have lifted their game by 44kW (60hp) and 100Nm (74 ft lb) over their predecessors.
The engines rev to 7200rpm, with the power peak of both engine variants arriving at 6250rpm.
The significant difference in their deliveries comes with torque, where the stock M3/M4 reaches 550Nm (406 ft lb) at 2650 revs and holds it until 6130rpm, while the Competition finds 650Nm (480 ft lb) at 2750rpm and holds on until 5500rpm.
The BMW M3 and M4 engine remains at 3.0 liters, and with two turbochargers. It’s good for more than … [+]
They are, essentially, the same engines found in the X3M and X4 M performance SUVs from BMW.
Unfortunately for BMW, though, the engineering improvements have been lost in the haze of both the controversial beaver-toothed rendition of the traditional kidney grilles and by a serious leak of the photographs on Reddit site yesterday afternoon.
The controversial grille will be split horizontally by number plates, which will negate some of its impact, but it will still pair up with the second generation of the 4 Series grille, and not the less confronting version on the standard, high-volume 3 Series.
The two BMW M cars are far more purposeful and conventional away from their grilles. Photo: Daniel … [+]
In fact, the pictures show that far from the grille being the most controversial part of the M4 coupe, its glasshouse looks like it could be interchangeable with Audi’s A5 coupe.
The 3.0-litre, in-line six-cylinder engines use two turbochargers to deliver up to 650Nm (480 ft lbs) of torque, while the faster, more powerful Competition versions are, oddly, slightly more economical than the standard versions.
Almost embarrassingly in this day and age, the car lacks even 48-Volt electrified boosting in the car, much less any sign of plug-in hybrid power.
They are, very likely, the last of their kind from BMW M without a hybrid powertrain.
Despite the carbon-fiber (CFRP) roof panels, neither of the new M cars is remotely light. The stock M3 weighs 1705kg (3759lb) and the stock M4 is 1700kg (3748lb), while the Competition package adds 25kg (55lb) to each of them.
Almost all of that weight difference is down to the standard M3 and M4 being weighed officially in their six-speed manual versions, rather than with the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that is stock on the Competitions.
Longer and wider than its predecessor, the 2021 BMW M3 is capable of up to 180mph with its limiter … [+]
While the last M3 and M4 moved away from the traditional position as the fastest BMWs south of the M8, earning reputations as small grand tourers rather than hard-core sports sedans.
Their mantle was taken over by their little sibling, the M2 and the M2 Competition.
That could be about to change.
The interior images show the two cars will follow the M5’s lead with a more integrated multimedia screen and though it remains a touchscreen, it will retain BMW’s iDrive scroller system for ease of use.
There is more strength in the body of the new models, with much wider track widths at both ends, with the M3 growing 75mm wider than the standard 3 Series sedan and the M4 stretching things out by 40mm.
Both of the new M cars are 4794mm (188.74in) long and their 2857mm (112.48in) wheelbases are up 45mm (1.77in) on the outgoing versions.
The BMW M3’s signature quad exhaust pipes remain on the 2021 version, but for how much longer can it … [+]
There is a five-link independent rear end, a 10-step traction control system, an active differential, adaptive damping and every driver-assistance system known to BMW to keep it on the road.
The chassis is helped by massive rigidity improvements, with reinforcing under the cabin floor, in the front subframe, above the engine and in the way the rear suspension subframe rigidly connects to the body, rather than squishing about on bushes.
There are stand-alone rear end designs, complete with unsubtle rear diffusers at the bottom of the bumpers and subtle spoilers on the trunk lip.
As usual, there are four exhaust pipes exiting low and wide.
