The new BMW M3

1. Description in Brief. 2 2. Short Version 4 3. Concept: Technology
from Motorsport, Aesthetic Beauty for Everyday Motoring. 12 4. Power
Unit: The Thrill of a V8 - Muscle Machine with an Ideal Body. 17 5.
Chassis and Suspension: Turning Superior Performance into Supreme
Dynamics. 24 6. Design: The Expression of Perfect Concept Harmony.
30 7. Body, Safety, Model Features: Uncompromising Driving Pleasure of
the Highest Standard. 36 8. Production: Exclusive Quality Built in
Flexible Production Friendly to the Environment. 43 9. Specifications.
49 10. Exterior and Interior Dimensions. 50 11. Output and Torque
Diagram. 52 The concept looks back at a long tradition, the result is
unique every time: For more than two decades, the BMW M3 has ranked
alone as the epitome of ultimate dynamism derived directly from
motorsport, a car offering powerful and superior aesthetics, as well as
a truly incomparable driving experience. And now the new version of
this high-performance sports car is ready to go - perfectly prepared to
find the ideal line not only on the race track. Like its predecessors,
the fourth-generation BMW M3 sets new standards in technology and
driving dynamics. And at the same time, like all high-performance
models from BMW M GmbH, the new BMW M3 offers all the qualities
required for everyday driving enjoyment of the highest calibre. The new
BMW M3 is based on the BMW 3 Series Coupé, but is nevertheless
quite unique in its looks and technical features. The engine, for
example, is an exclusive development precisely for this model, with the
chassis, suspension and body all based consistently on the requirements
of motorsport. So leaving aside just a few components, the new BMW M3
is a brand-new car from the ground up. The aesthetic design of the body
again typical of BMW M and the drivetrain technology conceived from the
start for supreme performance - clear proof of the competence of the
car development engineers at BMW M GmbH with their close ties to
motorsport - spell out supremacy of the highest standard. In a
nutshell, therefore, the new BMW M3 is a car built to be a winner, a car
always able to prove its superiority also in everyday traffic. Making
its debut in the BMW M3: eight-cylinder power unit with 420 hp. The
truly impressive "heart" of the new BMW M3 is the car's
brand-new eight-cylinder power unit in V-arrangement combining
outstanding power and performance with unique dynamism. Displacing
3,999 cc, the new V8 develops maximum output of 309 kW/420 hp. Maximum
torque, in turn, is 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft at an engine speed
of 3,900 rpm. And perhaps an even more impressive fact is that some 85
per cent of this maximum torque is available consistently throughout
the enormous speed range of 6,500 rpm. The new BMW M3 accelerates from
0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed limited electronically of
250 km/h or 155 mph. The eight-cylinder power unit owes its perhaps
most striking feature to the high-speed engine concept again typical of
BMW M: Maximum engine speed of 8,400 rpm gives the engine supreme
thrust and torque at all times. This power is transmitted to the rear
wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox in conjunction with brand-new
final drive featuring BMW's Variable M Limited-Slip Differential. Over
and above the engine's specific output of 105 hp per litre, average fuel
consumption in the EU test cycle of just 12.4 litres/100 kilometres
(equal to 22.8 mpg imp) bears clear testimony to the supreme
engineering that has gone into this equally supreme car. Know-how
carried over from Formula 1 in production, construction, and the choice
of materials. The engine block of the new eight-cylinder comes from
BMW's light-alloy foundry in Landshut north of Munich, which also
builds the engine blocks for the Grand Prix cars raced by the BMW
Sauber F1 Team. The crankcase is made of a special aluminium-silicon
alloy. It is both compact and extremely strong and torsionally
resistant in its bedplate design. Despite the two extra cylinders, the
entire power unit is approximately 15 kg or 33 lb lighter than the
six-cylinder engine featured on the former model. The V8 power unit of
the new BMW M3 is equipped with variable double-VANOS camshaft control,
a unique technology reducing losses in the charge cycle and thus
improving power and torque in the process. Responding extremely quickly
to the driver's commands, double-VANOS improves the spontaneity of the
engine at all times, thus also helping to reduce fuel consumption and
exhaust emissions. The engineers at BMW M have developed a
low-pressure version of double-VANOS specifically for the new
eight-cylinder, operating at the regular operating pressure of the
engine's oil circuit. A further feature of the new power unit is the
use of eight individual throttle butterflies giving the engine a
particularly smooth and sensitive response throughout the entire speed
range and enabling the driver to call up the superior power of the
engine directly and smoothly at all times. A volume flow-controlled
pendulum-slide vane pump supplies the eight-cylinder with lubricating
oil, the amount of oil delivered to the engine always being geared
precisely to what the engine needs at the given point in time. Wet
sump lubrication optimised for driving dynamics, finally, ensures an
adequate supply of oil to the power unit even in extreme braking
manoeuvres and under high centrifugal forces in a fast bend. New
engine management and Brake Energy Regeneration. Yet another new
development is the electronic management of the V8 power unit
integrating the clutch, gearbox, steering and brake functions tailored
specifically to the requirements of a BMW M Car. And then, as a further
highlight of engine management, ion flow technology serves to detect any
tendency of the engine to knock as well as misfiring and mis-combustion.
Intelligent energy management featuring Brake Energy Regeneration
enhances the efficiency of the power unit to an even higher standard:
This new system generates electricity for the car's on-board network
only in overrun and while applying the brakes, with the alternator
generally being disconnected as long as the engine is in traction,
"pulling" the car. Apart from particularly efficient
generation of electric power, this process also helps to provide extra
drive power when accelerating.