Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
BMW is about to embark on a train powered by controversy when it finally unveils the 2021 BMW M3 G80 since the model is expected to feature an unusually tall and slim kidney grille.
To make matters worse, the Bavarians last used a similarly-shaped kidney grille on a BMW sedan on the 501 and 502, also known as the “Baroque Angels” whose development and production almost bankrupted the company back in 1959.
Bankruptcy is pretty far from the upcoming M3's raison d'être, but its Concept 4-inspired front-end is bound to spur a lot of debates among BMW aficionados.
Not actually related to its design, probably, an M3 G80 prototype was recently crashed during testing on the Nurburgring. Our spy photographers say that the accident happened before lunch, with the driver briefly hitting a patch of wet grass on the side of the track, then losing control of the car and the M3 hitting the barrier with the left side of its controversial front end.
We hear that the driver was taken to a nearby hospital for further examination and that the prototype was transported to the BMW technical center in Nurburg. Hopefully, he is OK, but the car will definitely need some touch-ups before being used for testing again, unless it gets destroyed altogether like carmakers usually do with their test vehicles.
For those who aren't up to date with the sixth generation of the BMW M3 nameplate, the car will borrow some cards from the BMW M5 F90 deck, becoming the first-ever M3 with all-wheel-drive. Fret not, purists, because the system does have an RWD-only “drift mode,” and there are also talks about an M3 Pure version, which will only send power to the rear wheels through a manual transmission.
Powered by the same twin-turbocharged inline-six recently unveiled in the BMW X3 M and X4 M, the new M3 should have no problem hitting the 100 kph (62 mph) mark in around 3 and a half seconds. The M3 Pure, on the other hand, will have less power than its brethren and only RWD, so straight-line performance should be similar to that of its predecessor.
Bankruptcy is pretty far from the upcoming M3's raison d'être, but its Concept 4-inspired front-end is bound to spur a lot of debates among BMW aficionados.
Not actually related to its design, probably, an M3 G80 prototype was recently crashed during testing on the Nurburgring. Our spy photographers say that the accident happened before lunch, with the driver briefly hitting a patch of wet grass on the side of the track, then losing control of the car and the M3 hitting the barrier with the left side of its controversial front end.
We hear that the driver was taken to a nearby hospital for further examination and that the prototype was transported to the BMW technical center in Nurburg. Hopefully, he is OK, but the car will definitely need some touch-ups before being used for testing again, unless it gets destroyed altogether like carmakers usually do with their test vehicles.
For those who aren't up to date with the sixth generation of the BMW M3 nameplate, the car will borrow some cards from the BMW M5 F90 deck, becoming the first-ever M3 with all-wheel-drive. Fret not, purists, because the system does have an RWD-only “drift mode,” and there are also talks about an M3 Pure version, which will only send power to the rear wheels through a manual transmission.
Powered by the same twin-turbocharged inline-six recently unveiled in the BMW X3 M and X4 M, the new M3 should have no problem hitting the 100 kph (62 mph) mark in around 3 and a half seconds. The M3 Pure, on the other hand, will have less power than its brethren and only RWD, so straight-line performance should be similar to that of its predecessor.
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