The E46 M3

The Car Magazine "Auto Bild" is one of the first German magazines to show semi-official pictures and info of the new M3. Quotes from the Article The following quotes are taken from an article about the upcoming 2001 BMW M3 in the 21/1999 issue of German magazine "Auto Bild" from May 28th 1999: "Successors have to offer more - more of everything. They have to be bigger, more powerful, better. How else should the customers be convinced to buy a new car? While these tasks are quite easy to solve with bread-and-butter cars, the developers face tremendous difficulties if they have to deal with a thouroughbred like the BMW M3. When in later summer 2000 the new M3 arrives, a hard piece of work lays behind the M-Team around development supervisor Gerd Richter. [...] A front spoiler with mighty intakes, a rear bumper in M5-style with four exhaust pipes, as well as 3 centimeter widened fenders to fit the 18-inch wheels (front 8J with 235/40-tires, rear 9J with 275/35 tires) are the visible differences to the standard Coupe. [...] The most significant problem in the development of the M3 was the engine. The 3.2 Liter with 321 hp is pretty much at the top of it's capacity. ... But the new M3 needs more power, first because of the reasons mentioned above, second because the car's weight increased, and third to not let the gap to the 400 hp M5 become to big. As an alternative, the M-Developers thought about creating a new V8, a small brother of the M5. The considered parameters: 4.0 Liter displacement, 350 hp with the option for more. But when calculating the cost, the idea with the V8 disappeared faster than an M3 accelerates. About 150.000 German Marks the Super-M3 would need to cost. 10.000 Marks more than an M5. Estimated world wide sales: about 20 cars per year. Conclusion: A new M3 with the old engine - or none at all. ... The engine is extended to 3.4 Liters. The output grows to 340 hp, the maximum to torque 370 Nm. [...] The performance is on the level of the M5. Acceleration 0-100 kph in about 5 seconds, the top speed remains being electronically limited at 250 kph. ... When the delivery of the M3 starts in late summer 2000, the price is supposed to be "just under 100.000 German Marks", so about 99.999 ... " Translated from German into English by Benjamin Chams-El-Dine

Ein Angebot der BMW Bank:

HOME | MY M3 | MEDIA GALLERY | M3 LINKS | BMW F1 | TECH. DATA
THE E30 M3 | THE E46 M3 | M3 REVIEWS IN AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINES
IMAGE GALLERY | MULTIMEDIA | GUESTBOOK | BCW3DESIGN.COM



Copyright ©1997-2003 by Benjamin Chams-El-Dine. This site is an unofficial private home page.
The name and brand "BMW" are property of Bayerische Motorenwerke AG, Munich, Germany.