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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

Concept

Technology from Motorsport, Aesthetic Beauty for Everyday Motoring

• Sporting success as the underlying feature of all models from BMW M GmbH.

• Know-how from Formula 1 applied consistently in the V8 power unit of the new BMW M3.

• Superior understatement as an expression of true concept harmony.

The new BMW M3 is the latest product to be introduced by BMW M GmbH, an exclusive specialist carmaker which has been hitting the headlines worldwide for 35 years through its fascinating cars on the race track. And this heritage based on motorsport naturally goes directly into each and every model built for the road. Supreme driving dynamics and performance, therefore, are the result of comprehensive know-how permanently enhanced in sporting competition and substantiated time and again by success on the race track.

The concept of developing high-performance cars with racing-based dynamics for uncompromising driving pleasure of the highest technical standard in everyday motoring comes to bear particularly in the BMW M3. Impressive wins on the race track characterise the history of this sports car based on the BMW 3 Series, just like consistently increasing sales figures.

The first generation of the BMW M3 launched in 1986 created a brand-new car segment never seen before. And while in the meantime this segment has become even more popular, with a number of competitors seeking to gain a foothold in this part of the market, the BMW M3 now entering its fourth generation remains a unique model of success thanks to the sum total of its many features and fortes.

Newly developed eight-cylinder power unit with DNA carried over from Formula 1.

The appeal and thrill emanated by BMW M Cars hail to a large extent from the unique character and performance of the respective power units. And the secret of BMW M Power now already a legend for a long time is BMW M’s high-revving natural-aspiration engine technology: High engine speeds combined with appropriate gear ratios ensure maximum thrust and power, thrilling torque and a wonderful engine sound.

The origin of this drive concept is Formula 1: Right from the start, even the very first four-cylinder power unit featured in the first BMW M3 shared the same engine block as the power unit which enabled Brazilian racing driver Nelson Piquet to clinch the Formula 1 World Championship in his BMW Brabham. And the straight-six power unit featured in the second (starting in 1992) and third (as of 2000) model generation of the BMW M3, initially displacing 3.0, subsequently 3.2 litres, revved much faster than comparable engines in the segment, giving the BMW M3 incomparable power and performance characteristics. Indeed, at the engine’s maximum speed of 8,000 rpm, the pistons moved almost as fast as in a Formula 1 power unit at the time.

Considering all of these qualities, it is no surprise that the eight-cylinder power unit of the new BMW M3 has a close relation proved and tested to the extreme: the V8 Formula 1 power unit raced by the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

The brand-new engine featured in the new BMW M3 replaces its straight-six predecessor lauded several times as the “Engine of the Year”. And the specifications of this new high-performance engine are truly amazing in every respect – 309 kW/420 hp, maximum torque 400 Newton-metres/295 lb-ft, maximum engine speed 8,400 rpm – clear proof that BMW M has found an outstanding and fascinating successor to the former winning engine.

Production of components with know-how carried over from Grand Prix racing.

This competence goes into many areas and activities of series production. On account of the specific demands made of the BMW M model series, the Company’s engineers and other specialists have created numerous innovations in technology paving the way also for other cars within the BMW range. Indeed, the creativity of the engineers at BMW M GmbH is a clear synonym of the innovative power demonstrated by the BMW brand as a whole.

In their work the specialists at BMW M GmbH are able to use all the freedom they enjoy as a quick and highly responsive development team. Accordingly, BMW’s light-alloy foundry in Landshut makes not only the engine blocks for the BMW Sauber F1 Team’s Grand Prix racing cars, but also the block for the eight-cylinder featured in the new BMW M3.

Serving as the benchmark: the Nordschleife of Nürburgring.

It almost goes without saying that the new BMW M3 proudly takes up a heritage which accounts, inter alia, for the outstanding success of the BMW M1 back in 1978, the Formula 1 World Championship won by BMW Brabham in 1983, the driver’s titles in the World Touring Car Championship (1987, 2005, 2006), in the German Touring Car Championship DTM (1987 and 1989), and for outright victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1995). For it was precisely in those years that the BMW M3, winning numerous national and international titles, became the most successful touring car the world has ever seen. The last winner in the guise of the former model was the BMW M3 GTR winning the 24 Hours of Nürburgring twice in a row (2004 and 2005).

Nürburgring and, in particular, the Nordschleife or Northern Circuit more than 20 kilometres in length, also plays a decisive role for the development specialists at BMW M GmbH over and above the Company’s racing activities. Because it is a fundamental rule of BMW M GmbH and the responsible development engineers to test all new developments on this ultra-demanding race track in the German Eifel Mountains acknowledged by virtually all professional drivers the world over as the most challenging and difficult race track in the world. Supported by BMW M GmbH’s Test Centre at Nürburgring evaluating the data obtained from A–Z, the development engineers of BMW M GmbH have already covered more than one million test kilometres on this extremely demanding circuit.

Being tested at Nürburgring, BMW M Cars are required to complete a particularly gruelling test regime, having to prove their racing qualities virtually all the time. On the Nordschleife they receive the fine-tuning and set-up of their chassis and drivetrain, that is the “soul”, as it were, so typical of a BMW M Car. The suspension, springs, steering, brakes and electronic driving dynamic systems are all geared to the special character of a BMW M Car in every respect, since this is the only way to give the cars – and, of course, the driver – the agility you wish to enjoy in motorsport.

The Nordschleife of Nürburgring has thus become the benchmark for genuine progress in technology. And the obvious commitment fulfilled by the engineers at BMW M GmbH is that the new BMW M3 must significantly outperform the already very fast lap time of its immediate predecessor.

High-performance athletes in a supreme, aesthetic look.

Technical perfection and a beautiful, aesthetic look full of character are linked inseparably in the eyes of the development engineers at BMW M GmbH. So working hand in hand, the engineers and designers focus on solutions combining form and function to provide a complete work of art. The understatement so typical of BMW M is thus created by the concept harmony of the car fulfilling the greatest and most exacting demands. Precisely for this reason all aerodynamic components are specially designed not only for their function, but also for a highly attractive, aesthetic look.

Like its predecessors, the new BMW M3 intentionally does not stand out through any kind of opulent spoilers. Indeed, the only reminiscence to the race track is the small spoiler lip on the luggage compartment cover referred to by the specialist as the “Gurney flap” serving to enhance the extremely effective aerodynamics of this high-performance sports coupé ensured by the well-conceived design of the car’s body and the underfloor perfected to the last detail.

Exclusive materials such as carbon fibre-reinforced plastic on the roof of the new M3 contribute to the unique character of a BMW M Car. The carbon roof finished in its typical “visual” look and covered only by clear paint sets an optical highlight, with the focus nevertheless on its functional benefits. This remarkably light material thus makes a significant contribution in optimising the overall weight of the car and at the same time lowering the centre of gravity. Hence, weight saved in the roof area has a particularly positive effect on the supreme agility of the new BMW M3.

Power and character: a combination typical of a BMW M Car.

The new BMW M3 is the ideal car for the genuine enthusiast wishing to experience the supreme potential of the ultimate driving machine not only in exceptional situations, but rather day-by-day. For this supreme two-door sports coupé offers motorsport performance combined with unrestricted everyday driving qualities. The unpretentious, aesthetic design of the body, the huge thrust and power of the new eight-cylinder power unit starting at low engine speeds, and superior suspension technology also offering adequate comfort all come together in the new BMW M3 to offer a particularly attractive rendition of understatement.

At the same time the new BMW M3 comes with an incomparable standard of all-round supremacy enabling the driver to enjoy a unique motoring experience without the slightest stress and hassle. The driving pleasure he or she will enjoy in the process also results from the car’s enormous power reserves available directly and spontaneously at all times.

This superior power and thrust starting quite literally from the ground up and the unique free-revving performance of the engine form an ideal combination with the features of the chassis, Electronic Damper Control (EDC) available as an option automatically adjusting to new requirements also in the Comfort mode, with damper forces instantaneously being set to the requirements of the fast driver under dynamic driving conditions.

Benefiting from this superior drivetrain and suspension technology, the new BMW M3 is comparable to an experienced performance athlete setting out in relaxed style but then, when the big moment comes, showing all his muscle and performance in a most convincing manner.

Given its dynamic driving potential, the new BMW M3 competes with the most exclusive thoroughbred sports cars in the market. So obviously, the expectations of the true enthusiast in the performance the BMW M3 has to offer are very great indeed – and the new BMW M3 meets this challenge in full not only on the race track, but also in everyday traffic, offering a truly unparalleled driving experience.

Unlike most other cars in this performance class, however, the new BMW M3 shows and offers all its abilities in genuine style, combining these qualities with all the additional strengths and features required in everyday traffic and with four comfortable seats, a generous luggage compartment, absolute reliability in every respect, and, last but certainly not least, aesthetic design full of class and style.

All this makes the new BMW M3 the ideal means of transport for the dedicated motorist wishing to combine passion for performance with unrestricted everyday qualities. And the way this combination becomes reality time and again is precisely what makes a BMW M Car so thrilling and convincing, now more than ever before in the guise of the new BMW M3.