Our younger audience may not be familiar with the John Player Special livery unless they are into Formula 1 from the golden days of motorsports when cars were radically different.
Nevertheless, it is one of the most iconic liveries ever designed, and it is high on the podium with the iconic Martini and Marlboro. It graced multiple F1 cars throughout the '70s and '80s, and it was the one applied to the Lotus 98T put through its paces by the late Ayrton Senna.
This black and gold theme has made a few comebacks over the years, albeit with an aftermarket twist, and was likely the inspiration for DarwinPro Aero's BMW M4 Competition. The premium compact sports coupe is one of the tuner's latest project cars, and besides the John Player Special, it also sends some mixed Tron vibes. Guess the controversial company couldn't decide which one works best.
Arguably an OTT proposal, it looks better than it actually is due to the black finish sprinkled with gold here and there. It has multiple flicks up front right below the headlamps with yellow DRLs, a chin spoiler, a new hood, side skirt attachments, and fender flares. Additional elements, including the new diffuser and that large trunk-mounted wing, define the back end of the car, which rides on concave wheels with a black finish.
Photo: Instagram | carlifestyle
The add-ons were likely made of carbon fiber to keep the weight in check, and we think the BMW M4 Competition is best left stock. After all, it already has a controversial design at the front due to the bucktooth grille, so having one equipped with a custom body kit and multiple other elements, including an intricate livery, wouldn't cut it for most enthusiasts. A look inside would have been nice, but it is unavailable in the images released on social media by carlifestyle.
Controversial looks apart, the latest generation BMW M4 is a great daily driver for those who do not need the two extra doors of the M3 or the larger cargo area of the M3 Touring. It is available in our market in three flavors, kicking off from $78,100 for the M4 Coupe, which uses a 473 hp (480 ps/353 kW) 3.0L six-pot unit that enables the 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.1 seconds.
Next in line is the Competition flavor, which brings more power to the table. It has 503 horses (510 ps/375 kW), is three-tenths quicker to 60, and starts at $82,200, excluding destination. The rear-biased all-wheel-drive version, the M4 Competition xDrive, has a $86,300 MSRP, is equally punchy to the mid-spec, and drops the sprint time to 3.4 seconds. The M4 is also available in the Competition xDrive Convertible configuration, priced from $93,300.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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