BMW won’t unveil the redesigned M3 and M4 until September, but that hasn’t stopped the company from releasing a new teaser video.
Featuring Christian Flessa, the head of driving dynamics systems at BMW M, the clip gives us a look at the M3’s testing and development at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Straight away, Flessa says the upcoming sports sedan will be offered with both rear- and all-wheel drive. He goes onto say rear-wheel drive will be “standard.”
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Despite driving “many laps” on the Nordschleife, Flessa said BMW also tests the M3 on country roads, motorways and roads with bad surfaces. He says the goal of this is to find the “best possible balance between racetrack performance and customer suitability, customer benefit, [and] customer performance.” In essence, they’re trying to ensure the model is capable at the track but also comfortable on the road.
From there, the clip takes a look at the car’s handling and its revealed engineers paid special attention to the M3’s steering and dampers. The video also notes the stabilization system will allow drivers to take the car to the limit and keep it there.
While the clip is light on specifics, executives have already confirmed the M3 and M4 will have the same 3.0-liter M TwinPower Turbo six-cylinder engine as the X3 M and X4 M. As a result, the base model will have 473 hp (353 kW / 480 PS), while the Competition variant will be rated at 503 hp (375 kW / 510 PS).
The clip also reveal M3s equipped with rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission will have a combined fuel economy rating of approximately 10.5 L/100 km (22 mpg US / 26.9 mpg UK). The model will also have combined CO2 emissions of 239 g/km.
The M3 will also be offered with a six-speed manual, but it’s expected to be exclusive to models with rear-wheel drive.