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2020 BMW M3 (G80) Expected In Frankfurt With RWD-Manual, AWD-Automatic Options

When the Motorsport division came out with the original M3 in 1985, BMW didn’t expect the sportiest 3 Series of them all to sell so well for a rear-wheel-drive coupe with a four-cylinder engine. Many evolutions later, the German automaker prepares to roll out the G80, the first M3 to feature all-wheel drive.
2020 BMW M3 (G80) 22 photos
Photo: CarPix
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First of all, it should be mentioned that BMW hasn’t made the announcement we’re all expecting. M xDrive is nothing but speculation for the time being, and the hearsay keeps on coming.

This time around, Car Magazine put forward an interesting scenario. More to the point, the G80 would be available with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission (believed to be called Pure) and M xDrive with the ZF 8HP automatic transmission. The question is, why would BMW come up with two drivetrain options?

According to the British motoring publication, “the Pure are the only M3 and M4 offered with a manual gearbox because BMW has no stickshift that can handle more than 480 pound-feet – which higher-grade versions will exceed.” In both cases, the S58 twin-turbo inline-six engine will handle the suck-squeeze-bang-blow.

The Pure is expected to offer 454 horsepower (460 PS) while M xDrive models would level up to 474 horsepower (480 PS). Car Magazine also talks about water-injection technology and a particulate filter, one to keep the air going into the engine as cool as possible and the other to keep CO2 emissions under control.

There’s more to squeeze out of the 3.0-liter blunderbuss, more so if you remember that the S58 willexceed what you know from our competitorsaccording to Frank van Meel, development chief and previous head honcho of BMW M. The X3 M and X4 M will use this engine as well, but it remains to be seen if the time is right for Mercedes-AMG to worry about these developments.

“According to a source from the BMW M department, in 2020 the M range will include a four-door M4 Gran Coupe.” And M3 Touring if off the cards, which is a bit of a bummer considering that Audi is alone in the segment with the RS4 Avant. Last, but certainly not least, look forward to September and the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show for a double premiere. That’s right, Car Magazine expects the M4 to be revealed on the same stage as the M3!
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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