Photo: Autogespot
We’re either 3 weeks or 3 months away from seeing the production BMW M4 Convertible in the flesh. That’s because, at the moment, two different rumors are going on online, saying that the car will make its world debut either at New York in April or Goodwood in June.
Looking at how carefully covered was the car that we just spotted on public roads in Germany, you’d be inclined towards the latter option, if we’d have a choice. However, we’ve seen the F83 model testing on various occasions, wearing less camouflage than a bikini model. One of those occasions was on the Nurburgring, just last week.
Even so, seeing it testing on public roads points to a couple of immediate observations. First: the engineers must think it’s safe enough to drive amongst other traffic participants. That, of course, is not as hard to achieve as you might think.
Second: the tests need real-life situations which in turn means that the prototype is nearing the end of its testing cycle. That also means we’ll be seeing the new Convertible at the New York Auto Show, most likely.
Under the bonnet, expect absolutely no change. The same S55 3-liter 6-cylinder inline twin-turbo engine will be used, making 431 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque. The big difference will be the weight, as the drop top will have a couple of extra kilos to carry around due to all the complicated mechanisms that retract the roof.
That means we’ll be seeing different times in the benchmarks, as expected. If we’re correct, the difference should be of 0.2 seconds at most, making the Convertible a 4.3-second car to 100 km/h (62 mph) with the DCT and 4.5-second one with the manual.
Photos via Karsten
Even so, seeing it testing on public roads points to a couple of immediate observations. First: the engineers must think it’s safe enough to drive amongst other traffic participants. That, of course, is not as hard to achieve as you might think.
Second: the tests need real-life situations which in turn means that the prototype is nearing the end of its testing cycle. That also means we’ll be seeing the new Convertible at the New York Auto Show, most likely.
Under the bonnet, expect absolutely no change. The same S55 3-liter 6-cylinder inline twin-turbo engine will be used, making 431 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque. The big difference will be the weight, as the drop top will have a couple of extra kilos to carry around due to all the complicated mechanisms that retract the roof.
That means we’ll be seeing different times in the benchmarks, as expected. If we’re correct, the difference should be of 0.2 seconds at most, making the Convertible a 4.3-second car to 100 km/h (62 mph) with the DCT and 4.5-second one with the manual.
Photos via Karsten
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