BMW M3 2008 News

Looking rather resplendent in its bright orange paintwork, this final performance two-door marks the end of a truly wonderful era. Why is this the last coupe? Because the brand will apply the M moniker to the upcoming 4-Series coupe going forward. M4 certainly doesn't have the same ring to it, but we will all get used to it in time. It will likely still be one of the best driver's cars on the road, and remain a performance target for other manufacturers. Still, it's a bit sad that we can't speak about the latest M3 coupe anymore. That's been a favorite bit of news to look forward to over the last few decades, and each iteration provided something new and special for the next generation of enthusiasts who were lucky enough to afford the highly capable machines. From E30 through E92, the generations of the BMW M3 coupe still find fans of all ages. Will these folks covet the M4 in the same way? Most likely... but we still prefer the old badge, and we wouldn't be surprised if a few 3 badges wind up on the tails of the 4. Kicking it older school with some new school tech is a way to celebrate the future while remembering the past. www.motorauthority.com  

Bernard Tomic's orange BMW coupe continues to follow him around the world - with the Aussie tennis star coming in for more police questioning at his new Monte Carlo base. Tomic's hoon-mobile caused a Gold Coast stand-off back in January, when the 19-year-old was stopped twice on Australia Day by cops over alleged sneaky drives while on a restricted P-plate licence. Despite Tomic's unsuccessful attempts to flog his motor back in Queensland, the roar of the V8 engine has followed him to the tax-free European principality, home to dozens of his fellow ATP players. One Monte Carlo policeman even put the hard word on the teen over his car. "A policeman here, he pulled my dad over while walking. The guy asked him for his licence. Just a random check," Tomic revealed after reaching the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-4 6-3 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. "The guy followed tennis, and he asked: 'How is it going with the car?'" While Tomic may be moving on from his notorious Beemer, temptation stares him in the face, with the motor-mad teen living not far from a Maserati dealership in Monte Carlo. So far he has resisted the urge to buy a car. But like a sleazy, insincere car salesman, it's maybe time for mX to suggest a couple of nice little runners that might better suit the tennis teen.  

The family yesterday turned down a bid of $146,000 for the orange high-powered sports car. The 2010 BMW M3 has only 6926km on the clock but yesterday failed to meet a secret reserve set by Tomic's father John during a Brisbane auction. Pickles Auctions manager Robert Webster said the Tomic family had negotiated with the highest bidder, a mysterious interstate buyer, but had failed to reach an agreement. "It will be up to the Tomic family whether or not they re-list the car for auction. They may sell privately or through a dealer,'' he said. "They spent around $200,000 for the car in 2010 and they were expecting a higher return.'' The failed sale comes just two weeks after the 19-year-old was pulled over three times and fined twice by police in less than two hours on Australia Day. Police also charged Tomic with three traffic offences, including evading police. Talking at a media conference this week Tomic said he might never drive in Australia again. Pickles Auctions national manager Steve Allen said Tomic had said he now wanted to focus on his tennis career without distractions. "He's had his fun and he's ready to focus on tennis now,'' Mr Allen said. "We thought it would fetch a high price given the publicity surrounding the car and its performance enhancements. "There are only five of these BMWs in this colour in Australia.'' John Tomic attended the auction and appeared disappointed with the final bid. Punters said they were shocked the top bid was turned down. Bidder John Marshall joked he wanted to buy the BMW for his granddaughter. "I was thinking about it but she's only on her P-plates,'' he said. "It's an outrageous price for a car but I guess with all that comes with it . . . "I am here looking for a more sensible car but it was great to witness the auction. I thought for sure it would sell today.'' The Tomic family has until tomorrow morning to reconsider the $146,000 bid.

There is plenty of go left in the BMW M3, based on the way it's being teased and tizzied for extra showroom appeal. The newest tweak is an M3 sedan that fits between the regular model and the GTS coupe, a space previously reserved for the lightweight CSL. The newcomer was teased at the Shanghai Motor Show with the promise of around 325 kiloWatts, bigger brakes, firmer suspension and lightened exhaust - without the wild rear wing on the M3 GTS.

The track-ready version from BMW’s M division doesn’t meet the Australian Design Regulations for ground clearance or decibels, says the carmakers Australian spokesman Piers Scott.  “We’re not sure of the exact specs of the M3 GTS, but apparently it’s lower and louder than the limits,” he says, referring to the ADR’s restrictions for 100mm clearance and 83 decibel noise limit. “However there will be a right-hand drive version, and although it looks like we’re not able to have it at the moment, it might change -- we’re still discussing it.”  Scott says that if any of the 120 cars being built do arrive, it will be with a pricetag nearly double that of its $163,000 M3 Coupe sibling. “I’d think it would be in the region of about $300,000, based on a rough comparison with what the price estimates in Europe have been,” he says.  What it offers for the price premium is a bigger, gutsier engine – a high-revving 4.3-litre V8 that develops 331 kiloWatts of power and 440 Newton-metres of torque (the M3’s 4.0-litre offers 309kW and 400Nm) – mated to a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox that allows shift without losing traction. At 1500kg – about 80kg less than the Coupe -- the orange GTS  is aerodynamically helped by a front racing apron and rear wing, and with features like the grille, roof trim, alloy wheels and gills finished in matt black and dark anodised chrome, the GTS is clearly track-oriented. “Obviously it is designed so that you can drive it to the track as well, but it’s very much for the track day enthusiast,” Scott says.  “It’s the essence of M. The M3 is right at the core of what the M division does best and this is the M3 in its purest, most race-ready form.” Scott acknowledges that over recent years some attention may have drifted away from the M3 as other high-powered premium cars entered the field – most noticeably from Mercedes-Benz and Audi – but says this was not the motive for building the GTS, despite the brand’s triumph over its German rivals at this week’s 24-hour Nurburgring race with the M3 GT2. “New high-performance entrants have raised the stakes, but the M division has always pursued their own strategy.  However, certainly there is a halo effect with the GTS. To some degree it’s a message for purists … stripping the car down to its most basic form, and showing the superiority of rear wheel drive over four-wheel drive as a track day car.”

The direct Audi competitor to the V8-powered BMW M3 is still some time away. Audi Australia marketing general manager Immo Buschmann says he doesn’t know when the RS4 would be coming.“We’re very happy with the RS6 and we generally have only one halo RS model at a time,” he says.Meanwhile, fans of the RS4 — which is credited with forcing BMW to move from a traditional in-line six to a V8 for its new M3 ($152,300) will have to satisfy themselves with the much more expensive RS6 ($263,500) released last year or the new supercharged V6 S4 at $118,900.The S4 features much the same engine as the supercharged 3.0-litre TFSI in the A6, but with reduced power and better fuel economy.Power is down from 253kW in the previous model S4 to 245kW, but Buschmann pointed out that the new model had more torque and, more importantly, better fuel economy.“Generally Audi wants every new model to have about a 10 per cent improvement in fuel economy, but this one is 24 per cent,” he says.Audi claims fuel economy is 9.4 litres per 100km.“A lot of customers would like a V8, but the supercharged V6 is the best for this time,” Buschmann says.“There might be some loss of sales by not having the V8 but the V6 will gain sales because of its fuel efficiency.”Buschmann says the benefits of supercharging over turbo charging are that it is smaller, runs cooler, has no lag, better economy and maximum torque.The S4 features a roots blower Eaton supercharger with two intercoolers, one in each cylinder bank.It has a seven-speed S-tronic transmission with Quattro all-wheel drive and an optional sport differential which splits the torque between the rear wheels for improved cornering, like the BMW X6 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

The new car market is facing the doldrums, but BMW will inject some red-hot summer sizzle to the family sports saloon mix next weekend (SUBS Nov 22) with the launch of its first - for Australia - M3 with four doors. The sports saloon market has been dominated by the potent 6.2-litre Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG saloon, leaving rival BMW out in the cold with nothing in its weaponry to counter. But that's all about to change. BMW's 4.0-litre V8-packing M3 sedan will join the M3 coupe and cabriolet to give its German rival a serious run for its money. The M3 saloon will hit the streets running with, according to BMW, a price advantage over C63 AMG - but that depends on how you look at it. The Benz sells for $144,365 and comes with a seven-speed auto G-tronic transmission. The base M3 with a six-speed manual box has been priced at $145,000 which is $17,901 under the M3 coupe and $31,142 cheaper than the M3 cabriolet. But the M3 saloon fitted with BMW's new Getrag seven-speed dual clutch robotised sequential manual/auto is priced at $152,309. BMW charges a hefty $7309 just for the sequential box. BMW spokesman Toni Andreevski says the M3 manual still holds a price advantage over the C63 AMG: "The M3 saloon comes standard with a rear locking axle which Benz sells as a $5826 option and our saloon has keyless entry; Benz charges $1800 for that as an option and there's no 19-inch alloy wheel availability on the Mercedes." BMW sells the optional larger wheels for an extra $4000. The five-seater M3 offers serious performance from its 309kW V8 with 400Nm on tap which redlines at 8400rpm. Andreevski expects most buyers will opt for the dearer version of the M3 because it packs more performance for less fuel usage over the manual. The dual clutch model is marginally quicker, if set in launch mode, taking a claimed 4.7 seconds to hit 100km/h; the conventional manual takes 4.9 seconds. BMW says the semi-auto is rated at 11.9l/100km, while the best the manual can do is 12.4l/100km. Standard gear includes a brake regeneration system which recharges the battery on overrun or braking, and 18-inch alloys shod with 245/40 ZR-rated rubber up front and 265/40s in the rear. The optional 19-inch alloys have an even lower profile, with 345/35 up front and 265/35 in the rear. The saloon also boasts a full satellite navigation system with 8.8-inch colour monitor, TV, LOGIC7 hi-fi, bi-Xenon headlamps, Novillo leather upholstery, and M-seats which are power adjustable and heated.    

The explosive growth of the BMW model range is about to be defused in Australia, with the line-up being trimmed to cut competition and duplication, making it easier for customers in showrooms.The plan is to have only three choices of any individual model, with two petrol engines and one diesel.The current list includes 36 individual models in the 3 Series sedan line-up ... without counting the coupe, convertible or station wagon.“We get a lot of questions about whetherwe have too many models,” BMW Australia managing director Guenther Seemann says.“I think we do have too many.”He believes BMW must cut the choices to streamline business, though he says there will still be all-new models in future — with the X6 four-wheel-drive and M3 sedan up next — asthe German company looks for customers.The work has begun, though there are a dozen individual BMW lines, from the baby 1 Series to the four-wheel-drive X5 and flagship 7 Series, with 50 official engine choices. BMW has 189 individual models on the list.“We've already begun tidying up. The 116i hatch has been removed from the range, there are the manuals in the 3 Series and one of the X3 manuals,” Seemann says.“In the 5 Series range, one of the V8s will go.I believe for each and every model line-up in the future, as we add models, we need two petrol and one diesel variant in each case. No more. We have so many different model lines, it is not practical or possible to display them all in a showroom.”He says it will take time to get things sorted, partly because there are so many models.“It will happen in the next two years. Globally, there are five petrol and five diesel engine choices. And that is just in the 3 Series range,” Seemann says. But there is definitely space for some additions, like the four-door M3 sedan.“We will bring the four-door version, but I do not know at what price. We have to price it lower than the M3 two-door.” 

The explosive growth of the BMW model range is about to be defused in Australia. The line-up is being trimmed to cut competition and duplication, making it easier for customers in showrooms.The plan is to have only three choices of any individual model, with two petrol engines and one diesel. The current list includes 36 individual models in the 3 Series sedan line-up . . . without counting the coupe, convertible or station wagon.“We get a lot of questions about whether we have too many models. I think we do have too many,” BMW Australia managing director Guenther Seemann says.He believes BMW must cut the choices to streamline business, though he says there will still be all-new models in future — with the X6 four-wheel drive and M3 sedan up next — as the German company looks for customers.The work has begun, though there are a dozen individual BMW lines, from the baby 1 Series to the four-wheel-drive X5 and flagship 7-Series, with 50 official engine choices. BMW has 189 individual models on the list.“We've already begun tidying up. The 116i hatch has been removed from the range, there are the manuals in the 3 Series and one of the X3 manuals,” Seeman says.“In the 5 Series range, one of the V8s will go. I believe for each and every model line-up in the future, as we add models, we need two petrol and one diesel variant in each case. No more. We have so many different model lines, it is not practical or possible to display them all in a showroom.He says it will take time to get things sorted, partly because there are so many models.“It will happen in the next two years. Globally, there are five petrol and five diesel engine choices. And that is just in the 3 Series range,” he says.But there is definitely space for some additions, like the four-door M3 sedan.“We are starting the business case. It looks good, I must say,” he says.“We will bring the four-door version, but I do not know at what price. We always follow the normal BMW pattern, where a two-door is more expensive than a four-door. We have to price it lower than the M3 two-door.”