New BMW M3... will be offered in blue - update
Final set of spies (we hope!) before the reveal show a G80 M3 in almost all its glory
We don't like this any more than you do, honest. We're desperate to see the new BMW M3 and M4 shorn of any disguise and freed from the confines of testing. Until then, the gradual strip tease of the new car continues, with a debut still set for next month and the camo gradually being peeled away.
These pictures, as was probably said last time, are our best look yet; interestingly, it's just the M3 four-door that's been photographed, where previous images have been more focused on the two-door M4. With the door disguise gone we can see one of BMW's 'frozen' matt paint finishes, the blue looking similar to that seen on the old M3 CS. Note, as well, the new rear doors for the M car, there to accommodate the blistered arches and wider track that became a trademark of the F80 M3 and which looks set to continue in this one. From the rear there's much to be encouraged by; those arches combine with the rear lights to accentuate width, and the four exhausts leave those behind in no doubt as to what this 3 Series really is. But then the back end has never been the problem area...
While the grille and supporting front end are still under wraps, there certainly isn't going to be any mistaking the M3 for anything else besides perhaps a 7 Series. That the numberplate appears to be held on with straps is doing the BMW no favours, either. Hopefully it'll work better in person, and without the disguise, and in production specification. Because there's not been a bad-looking M3 or M4 in 35 years - and nobody wants this to be the start.
Of course, a BMW M car is about so much more than how it looks, the potential problem BMW has with this latest pair is all that M3 heritage. They've so often combined smart styling with dynamic excitement and a great engine to set the standard for sports saloons. The competition is so richly talented - see the latest Giulia Quadrifoglio and AMG C63 - that anything less than excellence across the board won't be good enough. Not long until we find out.
Image credit | S.Baldauf/S.B.Medien
UPDATE, 07/07/20:
Given it's now July, that means the new BMW M3 and M4 will make their debuts the month after next. Which is pretty exciting, all things considered, given there hasn't been all that much in the world of automotive to be encouraged by recently. And, y'know, there have been one or two half decent M cars over the years...
Today's update - and you can expect more to follow, even with September now close - is to have the G80/82 and their respective snouts out in public. Certainly there will be no missing either if they're charging up behind you on the autobahn, numberplate swallowed up by the grille and slender headlights doing the BMW aggression. Notable here as well is seeing the four-door M3 with the grille treatment; we've only known the 4 Series with its controversial visage, whereas the standard 3 Series launched with a more conventional look. It'll be interesting to see how the two compare, especially as the regular G20 3 Series has been generally regarded as a pretty handsome saloon car (unless it's the M4 Gran Coupe we're seeing here, of course).
Where there will surely be less debate is in the rear end design, of which only the M4 is seen here. There are the trademark quad pipes, bigger bumpers that exaggerate the rear axle, lights that wrap all the way around to further accentuate width and a teeny-tiny spoiler incorporated into the boot. With the provisos that this is still disguised prototype and that everyone will still be obsessed with the front end, this M4 is looking pretty good from the rear three quarter. Note that this car features Michelin tyres (the previous model had a bespoke Super Sport compound for it, so the same again seems possible), the gold calipers that denote ceramic brakes and an alloy wheel design seemingly inspired by the M8 Competition.
And if any more can be said about the new cars than that, then you're a better spy sleuth than any of us. No doubt the entirely exposed interior pic will leak out soon, plus maybe an engine bay shot as well. And you can be damn sure we'll be talking about it! Those that don't like BMW M cars might wish to browse elsewhere as September approaches...
Image credit: S. Baldauf/S.B.Medien
ORIGINAL STORY, AS REPORTED 06/06/2020:
It's hard to overstate the importance of a two-door BMW M3 on PH, given its popularity in all avenues of the site. So, when there's a new M4 about to launch, based on a 4 Series that's been received - how to put it - frostily at best, it becomes pretty major news. Even if the news is a grainy image from Reddit.
This solitary snap is the first time we've seen a whole G22 M4 without disguise. Predictably, there's a strong 4 Series influence to the M car; most notably you know where, but also the headlight design as well - though note on this car a reprofiled front bumper, with a splitter that juts out further than simplified vents ahead of the wheels. In an M3/M4 tradition that now extends back to the E92 of 2007, there looks to be slight bonnet bulge atop the 3.0-litre straight-six, though it's probably the two nostrils either side of the roundel that will take more attention. Presumably it's an aerodynamic device, though it's not clear just yet.
Elsewhere the wheels look similar in design to those seen on previous M2, M3 and M4 Competition, the colour is very reminiscent of M4 CS Lime Rock Grey and the rear arches, like the F82 M4, don't appear all that butch - hopefully we get the M3 looking suitably ruded up again as M4 parts are stuffed into (much better looking) 3 Series.
And, really, that's about as much as it's possible to say about one poorly lit picture of a car at night outside a warehouse. We know it'll use the S58 twin-turbo seen in the X3 M, we know it'll be xDrive (with a rear-drive model as well) and we know there'll be a manual option alongside the DCT. Hopefully there are some presentable pics - along with that much sought-after extra info - later in 2020. We'll be there as soon as there is!
- Read the 4 Series reveal story here.
- Read BMW M4 CS | Review here.
- Read BMW 320d (G20) | Review here.
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