Although BMW won’t give it the full M credentials, the new 2020 M340i is without a doubt a pretty fast 3-Series. In fact, it will be the quickest-accelerating 3-Series of all time this side of an M3.
Power comes from a single-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six that in this case produces 382hp and 369lb-ft (500Nm) of torque, which are combined with a rear-biased all-wheel drive system in case you tick the xDrive AWD box. Sadly, there’s no manual gearbox on the horizon, with an eight-speed automatic transmission being the only option.
BMW claims that the M340i xDrive is capable of a 0-60mph in just 4.2 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.4), which puts it in (outgoing) M3 territory.
On paper, then, the M340i is about as fast as the last M3, but since BMW stopped making those last summer, Carwow pitted an M2 Competition against a late prototype of the fastest G20 on sale today.
After all, the M2 Competition has the same twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six engine with the last M3, complete with 404hp and 405lb-ft (550Nm) of torque to help it compensate for the grip shortage, while it’s lighter as well.
So, which one of the two is the quickest? We won’t spoil it for you, but we will say that drag races don’t come much closer than this.