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5 Things You Should Know about the 2014 BMW M3/M4

As we’re getting closer to the official launch of the new M3 and its coupe brother, the M4, you’ll see more and more people listing them together and talking about them in a similar way.
2014 BMW F82 M4 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
That’s because the two will share a lot of parts but will remain two different models. Since the world is still a bit confused about what happened in BMW’s stables this year, we though we should point a few things out.

1. The two are different from the F30 3 Series and F32 4 Series models. That’s emphasized not only by the different codes BMW assigned them but also the different chassis and engines they will be using. The high-performance models, as usual, have been designed and developed by the Motorsport division and are stand alone versions.

2. Focus is on torque, not horsepower. The engine the two will be using is not an upgraded version of the N55 unit that is so popular amongst all of BMW’s models. The new engine was developed completely from scratch and has a larger bore and a shorter stroke than the N55 counterpart. Furthermore it has 2 turbochargers that make sure lag is reduced to a minimum and torque levels will reach paranormal levels (somewhere around 560 Nm or 413 lb-ft). And torque is what makes you feel every fiber in your backseat, remember that.

3. Carbon fibre will be used everywhere. In the past, we’ve been used to seeing carbon fibre bits on limited-run M3 models. Not anymore. With the advancements in CFRP production and with the cost cuts managed through the development of i3 technology, the new models will be using a lot of the light material. It will be used for the roofs, the boot, the prop shaft and even as a brace between the front strut towers and the radiator support. That’s right the new cars will be...

4. Lighter. The Coupe will be around 200 lbs (90 kg) lighter than its predecessor. It doesn’t seem much at first but corroborate that with the extra torque and HP and you’ll start to notice that things are actually looking good, especially after everyone started complaining that the new cars are too heavy to even be called BMW.

5. The manual gearbox will still be available. Need we say more?
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