2008 BMW M3 ALL NEW

2008 BMW M3 ALL NEW

2008 BMW M3

This is it. The car the BMW faithful have been waiting for. The 4.0-liter V-8 up front barks as the tach needle zings around the dial — 6000, 7000, 8000 rpm. I grab fourth just before the 8400 rpm redline — no, that’s not a typo — and turn into the fast right-hander.

The nose pushes gently. Feather the gas momentarily to get the bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport tires up front to bite, then back on the go pedal. Hard. The rear end starts to drift, but that’s okay — your backside feels hardwired into this thing, and you know within a quarter inch how far it’s going to step out. Sliding… sliding… There! The tail brushes past the cones on the outside of the track before the red coupe straightens up for the short chute into a tight right hairpin.

Mash the brakes. The track-spec pads — available over the parts counter at your friendly BMW dealer — grab the massive vented and cross-drilled rotors front and rear. There’s some momentary chatter from the ABS, but it stops like a cat on Velcro as you grab second gear. Then it’s off the brakes as I dive for the apex, getting on the gas early to bring the tail around. The stability control — in track mode — wags an electronic finger, but gets the car straight and aimed at the next turn in point with minimal loss of momentum.

It’s quick and precise; beautifully balanced and brilliantly responsive; deeply confident and inspiringly competent when you ask it the big questions. Yep, the new BMW M3 is everything the BMW faithful have been waiting for — and then some. But ironically, it’s the “then some” bit that might have a few of those faithful scratching their heads.

2008 BMW M3

You see, at first acquaintance the new M3 appears to have — whisper it, now — gone soft. It feels remarkably refined as it loafs along the freeway in sixth gear, even with the optional 19-inch wheel/tire combo fitted to our tester. And although that screaming V-8 develops more than 100 horsepower per liter, it’s a pussycat around town, pulling cleanly from as little as 1500 rpm. The four-cylinder E30 that founded the M3 dynasty 22 years ago was as rowdy and rambunctious as a punk rocker in a ripped T-shirt; by comparison this fourth generation version is as smooth and suave as a banker in a Brioni suit and $1000 wingtips.

REVIEW-2

The new M3 Convertible from the BMW stables feature a retractable hard-top roof and is powered by the new V8 engine, which has won the ‘International Engine of the Year’ award.

The new BMW M3 Convertible has been optionally equipped with the very first double clutch transmission designed for a high revving V8 engine.Compared with the two previous generations of the M3 Convertibles the new E93 generation boasts a retractable hard-top, 4.0-litre V8 engine and manual six-speed gearbox as standard.

2008 BMW M3

Mechanically identical to the hugely popular M3 Coupé, which was introduced last October, and voted Car of the Year by drive.com.au in December 2007, the new BMW M3 Convertible also introduces the new seven-speed M double-clutch transmission with Drivelogic. This advanced, electronically controlled transmission is available in the M3 Coupé from next month.

The new generation BMW M V8 engine was awarded Best Engine in the 3.0 - 4.0-litre class by the global judging panel of the International Engine of the Year Awards 2008.The convertible has been designed from the ground up as an open-top four-seater equipped with supercar performance and everyday driveability.

The 309 kW V8 engine produces 400 Nm of torque and sprints from 0-100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds in the six-speed manual transmission guise, while the double-clutch gearbox with its seven speeds and seamless gear shifting allows this sprint time to be reduced to an amazing 5.1 seconds.

The Formula One inspired V8 engine comfortably exceeds the BMW M division’s internal 100 bhp per litre target, and has a 10 percent better power to weight ratio than its E46 generation predecessor, the previous benchmark open-top sports convertible.

2008 BMW M3 INTERIORS

The new M3 Convertible produces more than twice the power of the original 1988 E30 model, yet the spirit and design philosophy remains the same.

While the original E30 M3 Convertible was the epitome of exclusivity, greater numbers of successive generations have been sold as the word spread about how much fun the M3 Convertible was to drive. Thus around 13,000 examples of the E36 generation M3 Convertible were built, increasing to 30,000 copies in the E46 generation.

The new M3 Convertible is both more fuel efficient and produces less C02 than its predecessor, despite this breathtaking V8 performance. In typical BMW style, running costs and emissions are kept to a minimum. The car returns 12.9 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle (12.3 litres per 100 km for the double-clutch gearbox).

A new option for all M3 buyers is BMW’s new seven-speed double-clutch transmission (M-DCT). Offering drivers the chance to enjoy seamless gearshifts with no interruption in power delivery, this state-of-the-art transmission is so efficient that it outperforms the manual gearbox car in terms of acceleration, fuel economy and emissions.

This is the first M car to feature a retractable hard-top as standard. The electro-hydraulic roof is fully automatic and can be lowered in just 22 seconds. The M3 Convertible is also fitted with SunReflective leather, allowing owners to leave the top down for extended periods without the risk of the seat leather overheating. SunReflective leather was initially developed by BMW Motorrad to keep motorbike riders cool in hot climes. The surface temperature of the upholstery can remain up to 20 degrees Celsius cooler than conventional leather.

Underneath the M3 Convertible’s muscular torso lies a chassis and suspension system tailor-made for the demanding requirements of an open-top car. Torsional rigidity has been significantly improved over the previous model, while the suspension has been fine-tuned to take into account the specific weight distribution of a convertible.

The combination of a strong structure and advanced occupant restraint systems means the BMW M3 Convertible offers the highest possible standards of passive and active safety for occupants. Like the 3-Series Convertible, the M3 version is equipped with a rollover sensor system that constantly monitors the vertical and horizontal movement of the car. If the sensors (which are located in the centre of the car, on the B pillars and in the doors) detect that a rollover is imminent, roll bars located behind the rear headrests pop up. At the same time, the front seatbelt pre-tensioners are activated and the head/thorax airbags are deployed.

Get answers for all your queries about automobiles and further discussions at Xroadies Forums