As opposed to Audi Sport and Mercedes-AMG, the peeps at BMW M still offer a manual in the M3. Only the base variant is available with the row-your-own stick shift, which is understandable if you look at the specs.
The Bavarian automaker quotes 480 PS (473 horsepower) and 550 Nm (406 pound-feet) of torque at the crankshaft, figures that are pretty high for the width of the rear tires. We should also remember that BMW M underrates the twin-turbo six by a very considerable margin, as proven by AutoTopNL.
Before you check out the brown-painted M3 in the following video sing the song of its people in a high-speed test, it’s necessary to mention that it actually develops 503 PS (496 horsepower) and 607 Nm (448 pound-feet) of torque on the dyno in fifth gear. That’s enough to light up the rear tires into a cloud of smoke, and if you can keep the car straight for long enough, the base M3 can hit 287 kph (178 mph) on the Autobahn.
With launch control turned on and just under 4,000 revs, the manual-equipped sedan shoots to 100 kph (62 mph) in 4.44 seconds based on GPS telemetry. For reference, BMW M quotes 4.2 seconds with the bone-stock rubber, minimum wheel spin, and if you shift into second gear flawlessly.
During the high-speed run, the G80 doesn’t allow much in the way of engine sound and wind noise to enter the cabin because the M3 blends premium-segment luxury and creature comforts with the performance that you would expect from the best-handling sedan currently on sale. Priced $11,000 higher than the M2 Coupe in the United States, the G80 can level up to the eight-speed automatic Competition for an extra $2,900 excluding freight.
Be warned that a well-optioned car is a lot more because the Bavarian automaker has a habit of charging a lot of money for goodies that should’ve been standard at such a high price point. The power trunk and Wi-Fi hotspot, for example, are bundled in the Executive Package that costs $3,000 extra.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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