BMW’s M3 sedan has never enjoyed the cachet of its larger M5 sibling, which is strange considering its more practical and offers all the M3 coupe’s performance benefits for a list price R64 000 cheaper.
The styling has always been a touch too close to the series production 3 Series sedan; succinctly: M3 four-door lacks visual drama.
M3 GTS?
In an attempt to address this issue M-division boss Kay Segler has revealed an M3 sedan derivative, based on the most powerful road-going M3 yet – the limited edition GTS.
Due to be launched at the 2011 M Festival, which coincides with the Nürburgring 24 hour in June, this new M3 sedan will have a raft of styling upgrades including a blacked-out kidney grille, more pronounced bootlid spoiler and extended wheel arches.
Mechanical upgrades are still a matter of conjecture until the third weekend of June, when this go-faster M3 sedan is officially launched at the Ring.
Whether this pumped-up M3 sedan employs a detuned version of the 4.4-litre GTS specification 335kW V8 (unlikely) or a tweaked incarnation of BMW’s 309kW four-litre V8 (more likely), the peak power figure is expected to nestle somewhere in-between, at around 320kW.
Segler has promised that those hybrid CSL/GTS alloy rims are not the only weight-saving measure this new four-door M3 will debut. Expect the latest composite fabrication technologies from BMW’s partnership with SGL to find their way into various body panels.
The styling has always been a touch too close to the series production 3 Series sedan; succinctly: M3 four-door lacks visual drama.
M3 GTS?
In an attempt to address this issue M-division boss Kay Segler has revealed an M3 sedan derivative, based on the most powerful road-going M3 yet – the limited edition GTS.
Due to be launched at the 2011 M Festival, which coincides with the Nürburgring 24 hour in June, this new M3 sedan will have a raft of styling upgrades including a blacked-out kidney grille, more pronounced bootlid spoiler and extended wheel arches.
Mechanical upgrades are still a matter of conjecture until the third weekend of June, when this go-faster M3 sedan is officially launched at the Ring.
Whether this pumped-up M3 sedan employs a detuned version of the 4.4-litre GTS specification 335kW V8 (unlikely) or a tweaked incarnation of BMW’s 309kW four-litre V8 (more likely), the peak power figure is expected to nestle somewhere in-between, at around 320kW.
Segler has promised that those hybrid CSL/GTS alloy rims are not the only weight-saving measure this new four-door M3 will debut. Expect the latest composite fabrication technologies from BMW’s partnership with SGL to find their way into various body panels.