New BMW M3 and M4 Not Getting AWD Until the 2022 Model Year

Both the M3 and M4 will make their debut next month. However, a document obtained by Bimmer Post indicates they will still be rear-driven. The xDrive will only become available after it enters production in July 2021.

The cars are by no means ruined without AWD, but two extra driven wheels would have made Bimmers unbeatable in this class. The RS4/5 makes less power and the C 63 struggles to deliver power with its rear-drive configuration.

Frankly, the decision is puzzling. In the past, BMW had a "we know better" attitude to powertrains. They killed off manual models and shifted the M5 to AWD entirely. In fact, everybody believed the M3/M4 were going to have the same configuration - M xDrive that can be shut off when you want to do a burnout.

This suggests BMW thinks there's still a huge demand for its RWD models, which could be true. However, we struggle to understand how these cars will handle the 503 horsepower of the competition package when the old M3 couldn't put down its 424 horsepower properly.

On the other hand, there are some advantages here. Lighter cars tend to be more agile, and AWD is known for spoiling steering feel, which BMW lacked on some of its M cars in the past. And with the new feature arriving almost a year later, interest in the two models will be prolonged without the need for special editions.

We'll remind you that testing is still going on at the moment, as we've got a fresh spy video just within the last 24 hours. Also, BMW has begun work on the M3 Touring, which we believe can't do battle without the xDrive.