Auto Channel

Page 1: Short story
Page 2: Concept
Page 3: Power unit
Page 4: Chassis & suspension
Page 5: Design
Page 6: Body
Page 7: Safety
Page 8: Features
Page 9: Production

Body

Uncompromising Driving Pleasure of the Highest Standard.

• Top performance also in occupant protection.

• Seat upholstery made of leather all round, interior lights package and genuine wood trim.

• BMW Individual High-End Audio System for a perfect experience in sound.

Featuring its high-performance eight-cylinder power unit, fading-free compound brakes, and modern dynamic driving systems, the new BMW M3 offers a truly exceptional standard of driving dynamics as well as supreme reserves in active safety.

The fascinating agility guaranteed by this two-door sports car ensures not only particularly dynamic, but also absolutely superior handling in every situation. Hence, the driver of the new BMW M3 is able to keep his car safely under control at all times even when venturing into new dimensions of driving dynamics – clear proof, again, of the mature overall concept of this high-performance driving machine.

Bi-xenon dual headlights ensure safe motoring in the dark, while the special corona rings around the headlights provide an ideal daytime light function: As soon as the driver activates the daytime driving lights, two light rings come on in the two headlight units, the inner ring being illuminated from within, the outer ring incorporating light rods to provide a particular touch.

This light effect creates that striking look so typical of a BMW and makes the car not only easily recognisable, but also quite unique as a genuine representative of the BMW brand.

As an option, the new BMW M3 is available with Adaptive Headlights, the headlights swivelling to the side as a function of steering wheel lock, the yaw rate and the speed of the car.

The big advantage of Adaptive Headlights is precise illumination of the road ahead in bends and on winding roads, significantly increasing the standard of safety when driving in the dark.

Two-stage adaptive brake lights – referred to as BMW Brake Force Display Lights – add a further improvement in driving safety helping to prevent accidents from the rear: Whenever the driver presses down the brake pedal particularly hard the brake lights come on over a larger area, giving motorists following from behind a clear signal and telling them to brake harder, too.

Torsionally-stiff body as the foundation for superior occupant safety.

The torsionally-stiff body structure as well as retention and belt systems activated electronically according to individual requirements ensure a high standard of passive safety and all-round occupant protection within the new BMW M3. The use of high-strength steel on the extra-large load-bearing structures, together with exactly defined crumple zones, guarantees appropriate absorption and diversion of impact forces in the event of a collision. The space available for deformation is thus used in full in order to avoid any damage to the passenger cell and keep the effects on the body of the car to a minimum even in a severe collision.

In a head-on collision deformation zones right at the front of the car keep the impact energy safely away from the bulkhead area and, accordingly, from the footwells. The specially designed floorpan, in turn, passes on the forces in a side-on collision to the opposite side of the car in a controlled process. The overall combination of the doors, reinforced B-pillars, the seat structure and the instrument panel between the A-pillars, finally, ensures maximum stability of the car’s side structure.

Carrier profiles extending along the car from front to rear, various reinforcements and the solid construction of the luggage compartment floor, rear panel and side walls offer ample protection from the consequences of a rear-end collision. Stable pillars and crossbars, finally, keep the passenger cell intact and properly in form even in a rollover.

A further objective pursued from the start by the safety engineers at BMW M GmbH was to keep the need for repair after a minor collision to an absolute minimum. Precisely this is why the front side panels of the new BMW made of a special synthetic material are largely resistant to minor damage, the panels returning to their original shape after slight deformation. Collisions at very low speeds, for example when manoeuvring in a car park, therefore hardly leave any lasting traces.