Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Remember the BMW Concept 4 from the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show? That car is a preview for the 4 Series, and the bad news is that the kidney grille is bigger than ever before. Even the 3 Series suffers from this goofy choice in terms of exterior design, and the M brothers will only aggravate the stylistic mess-up.
The latest pre-production test mule for the M4 Cabriolet shows the extent of the problem, made worse by the elegant-looking headlamps and mostly beautiful proportions of the vehicle. The soft-top roof can be described as graceful as opposed to the kidney grille, and at the rear of the car, the bumper doesn’t appear to be as aggressive as you’d expect from a full-on M with two doors.
The clearance between the super-sticky tires and fenders is a testament to the segment-best handling you’d expect from the M4 even though the cabriolet plays second fiddle to the coupe because of the additional weight. Spied testing near Munich in Germany, this fellow here is complemented by a four-tipped exhaust that allows the S58 engine to sing the song of its people loud and clear.
Just like the S55 before it, we’re dealing with a 3.0-liter straight-six with twin-turbo technology and tons of low-end torque. BMW M GmbH tuned the engine to 510 PS and 600 Nm in the X3 M Competition, translating to 503 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. In other words, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 and C 63 S remain the torquier options in the segment while Audi doesn’t even matter.
The entry-level version of the M3 and M4 should produce 480 PS (473 horsepower), which is still a lot given the size of the two high-performance brothers. BMW is understood to throw in a six-speed manual in there somewhere, but the more desirable iterations of the M4 and M4 will receive the ZF 8HP automatic transmission from the M5, X5 M, X6 M, and M8 series.
The biggest change from yesteryear, however, is the M xDrive system. It is a controversial addition to the recipe, make no mistake about it, but AWD should also help the car handle better in cold weather and on wet surfaces. Acceleration from naught to 100 km/h (60 mph) should also be improved, and we’re expecting under 4.0 seconds thanks to more traction.
The clearance between the super-sticky tires and fenders is a testament to the segment-best handling you’d expect from the M4 even though the cabriolet plays second fiddle to the coupe because of the additional weight. Spied testing near Munich in Germany, this fellow here is complemented by a four-tipped exhaust that allows the S58 engine to sing the song of its people loud and clear.
Just like the S55 before it, we’re dealing with a 3.0-liter straight-six with twin-turbo technology and tons of low-end torque. BMW M GmbH tuned the engine to 510 PS and 600 Nm in the X3 M Competition, translating to 503 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. In other words, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 and C 63 S remain the torquier options in the segment while Audi doesn’t even matter.
The entry-level version of the M3 and M4 should produce 480 PS (473 horsepower), which is still a lot given the size of the two high-performance brothers. BMW is understood to throw in a six-speed manual in there somewhere, but the more desirable iterations of the M4 and M4 will receive the ZF 8HP automatic transmission from the M5, X5 M, X6 M, and M8 series.
The biggest change from yesteryear, however, is the M xDrive system. It is a controversial addition to the recipe, make no mistake about it, but AWD should also help the car handle better in cold weather and on wet surfaces. Acceleration from naught to 100 km/h (60 mph) should also be improved, and we’re expecting under 4.0 seconds thanks to more traction.
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