Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £50,935 to £50,935
Rev-happy V8, styling, carbon roof, manual gearbox, minimal electronic interference.
Expensive, artificial steering feel doesn't inspire confidence, too refined.
An excellent 21st century interpretation of the M3 - not perfect, though.
This M3 is the fourth generation of a hugely successful model for BMW's M division, with nearly 180,000 sold since its launch in 1986. It's based on the 3-Series Coupe but shares just 20% of its components with the regular car - namely the doors, lights, bootlid and windows. Everything else has been tweaked or tuned specifically for the M3, including a roof made of carbon fibre to lower the car's centre of gravity.
An eight-cylinder engine features in the M3 for the first time - a 414bhp 4.0-litre V8 with 295lb-ft of torque. It's capable of revving to a high 8,300rpm and is engineered to ensure power is available across the rev range. Although larger than the previous M3's 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine, the new engine actually weighs 15kg less - although as a whole, this M3 is 160kg heavier than its predecessor.
Priced on par with the Audi RS4, but cheaper than the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, the BMW M3 is available as a two-door coupe, with coupe-convertible and saloon models in the pipeline. A Touring estate will not be offered. A more extreme CSL version may follow, but not for a few years yet.
The M3 is available as a two-door coupe, with a folding metal-roofed convertible and saloon models in the pipeline - a Touring estate will not be offered. A more extreme CSL version may follow, but not for a few years.
Latest Readers' Drives About the BMW 3 Series Coupe
wrote on 21 09 2007