Inevitably, though, it lacks the outright aural intensity of the unit it replaces, despite the inclusion of Active Sound Design, which reproduces the sound of the M4 coupé’s new six-cylinder through the audio speakers at various volumes and frequencies based on engine revs, throttle load and speed.
With two mono-scroll turbochargers, variable valve timing and continuously variable camshaft control, it revs quite freely, extending to 7600rpm before the onset of the limiter. This is quite high by turbocharged engine standards, but 600rpm less than the old naturally aspirated engine achieved.
The optional dual-clutch automatic gearbox provides the M4 coupé with the ease of usability to match its fervent on-boost accelerative ability, leading to a highly impressive set of performance figures: 0-62mph in 4.1sec and the standing kilometre, now very much accepted as the modern day acceleration yardstick, in 22.2sec. This is a respective 0.5sec and 0.7sec faster than the old M3 coupé.
As a further indicator of just how much the new engine has transformed the performance, BMW claims the M4 coupé is capable of accelerating from 50mph to 75mph in fourth gear in just 3.5sec. By comparison, the M3 coupé required 4.3sec. Top speed remains limited to 155mph, although buyers can have it raised to 174mph with an optional M Driver’s package.
It is not just the sheer potency of its straight-line acceleration and heaving in-gear qualities that makes the new BMW M4 coupé so exciting to drive hard, though. Few cars anywhere near the £56,635 starting price of the M4 provide such dynamic finesse or engaging qualities. There is a perceptible completeness to the engineering of its chassis that serves to provide the new M-car with a wonderfully fluid feel over challenging sections of blacktop.
Directional stability is exceptional, even at very high speeds. The electro-mechanical steering system also delivers excellent response, impressive directness and more constant weighting through its entire range than the old hydraulic arrangement it replaces. It could do with a little more feedback, but with Sport or Sport+ modes engaged, it delivers suitably urgent turn-in traits.
The front end offers exceptional grip without any premature breakaway provided the surface is relatively smooth. With stability clutch control, which opens the clutches when sensors detect the loss of imminent traction and briefly reduces power to bring the car back on line, it resists understeer in a masterful manner, resulting in wonderfully neutral properties even in tight second-gear corners.
Body control is also superb, providing the new M-car with a reassuringly flat cornering nature even when you begin to nibble at the very last remnants of available purchase. There is a wonderfully composed feel to the handling all the way up to the point where the dynamic stability control (DSC) intervenes.
This is partly down to it boasting a lower centre of gravity than the car it replaces, but, I suspect, more because of the work that has gone into providing its largely bespoke suspension with ultra-stiff anchoring points.
BMW M division’s decision to provide it with a new steel rear suspension sub-frame that bolts directly to the body structure without any rubber bushings gives the M4 tremendous on-the-limit clarity. The lines of communication are amplified to a whole new level, revealing its willingness to oblige beyond the dynamic boundaries of the M3 coupé.
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Norma Smellons
more cylinders please
NY_69
The M3 was never suppose to
ou701
Why don't I want one?
Yet, they seem to also to lack the purity of the earlier models. To my eyes, they look fatter and fussier and the sound of the engine, no doubt unimportant to some, just won't be as thrilling. The sound of my long replaced E46 M3 at 8000rpm always gave me goosebumps.
Like so many recent sporting cars, the M4 promises more of everything, which looks good on paper, but doesn't always mean more fun behind the wheel.
Motormouths
ou701 wrote:Is it just me?
Couldn't have put it better. This M4 would probably be good in a game of top trumps, but it completely lacks desirability.
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The Special One
This seems to be another
Tom Chet
ou701: It's not just you
I really don't care about most of the positive points in the conclusion of this review. The relative improvements cited for the new M4 in terms of lapping the Nurburgring, its 'broad spread of ability' and greater ability on a track day could equally be written in a comparison of the latest 320d versus its predecessor. In its essential nature this M4 sounds like it has become less distinct from the rest of the 3-series range.
Read these comments by Autocar on the E46 M3 CS: "The noise starts with a deep, cultured rumble, but suddenly at 3000rpm it wakes up and roars an ugly, almost rattly sound – like a wrench running along the bars of a lion’s cage. Gradually the induction roar and hiss from the four stubby exhausts overwhelms everything and the note hardens until it’s screaming round to the cut-out. If ever you needed to explain to a little green man with three eyes and a nifty silver space suit why diesels, turbocharged engines and electric motors simply don’t do it like a highly tuned naturally aspirated petrol engine, point them to this straight six." "Searingly quick along the straights, the CS is a delight to heel and toe down the ’box when the endless hairpins with their cold Armco loom out of the darkness. And there’s so much power oversteer available, too. This CS still isn’t a great communicator through the steering wheel – rather it’s a seat-of-the-pants sort of car – but the easily judged balance lets you play with the angle of the car on the throttle, even when the stakes are high, as they are now between narrow cordons of Armco with a nasty drop over the side. Here you need a confidence-inspiring car and the M3’s chassis gives you just that."
Lupe
Autocar can't be pleased
Lanehogger
Offer a wider range of M4s
madmac
I think all the changes are
Madmac
david RS
RIP the NA M engines...
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