drove the new M3 today
 

Drove the new 4-door M3 today for 5 hours, on autobahns and on twisties, and I have to say I can't remember driving a more impressive car - and that includes my porsche. Absolutely brilliant car! Redline at 8,400. Incredibly tractable engine - with grunt right across the rev range. Superbly planted on the ground. Steering as nimble as the 911.

Looks brilliant in real life - much better than in photos. Beautifully finished. Seats four or even five and has room for luggage. And it puts a huge grin on your face the whole time behind the wheel. The fun factor is really huge - right up there with the Porsche.

A buddy of mine bought this a few weeks ago and let me play with it for the day.

If I had to have just one car - which luckily I don't - I'm pretty sure this would be it.

It's probably close to heresy to post this on this board - but even as a life long Porsche guy, this car completely won me over.

Kinda made me wonder what other superb cars I've been missing by being loyal to the Porsche marque all of my adult life...

Kinda made me wonder what other superb cars I've been missing by being loyal to the Porsche marque all of my adult life...


One of the more sensible comments I've seen on this board. A great car is a great car, regardless of the badge.

You haven't missed anything like that. It is truly the state of the art at this moment in time, and I believe that the internal combustion automobile may be near or at its zenith as basically a 100 year old invention that has simply been refined.

The V-8 M3 is hottest car out there right now when all things are factored in, and I would include our beloved 911s in that statement. The one thing that surprises me is that you found the fit and finish to be outstanding; I was at BH BMW recently looking at 335s and I remarked to the salesman that the cars had the worst factory paint I had ever seen on a new car. He was embarrassed but agreed. I'm not talking about orange-peel, which new 911s had in the '80s when I sold them, but absolute fogging and what looked like imperfections and contamination that got into the spray somehow. If you ever go to that dealer, look at the new cars packed in the service garage behind the showroom, they are under really bright florescent lights and it's startling. The showroom cars are under the usual "stripper lights" that make Pam Anderson look like she has good skin.

That aside, you are living the dream my friend! Keep the dispatches from the continent coming.

I'd love to try that car out. The V8 is a masterpiece. 8400 rpm, and it is *lighter* than the 6 cylinder engine. AutoWeek wrote that perhaps it has too much power. You don't hear that too often!

What does it have, 400hp? That's a lot in a 3-series, any way you slice it. Must be more fun than a barrel of lesbians.

EDIT: Looked it up, 414 HP. We couldn't dream of european sports sedans like this when I was a youngster back in the '70s and '80s.

WITCH! WITCH! Burn him at the stake!

My Buddy has a 335i with an Dinan chip that is likely as fast as that M3; also a 4 door. Build quality is average! Tons of plastic, not really a sports car, just a sporty sedan for secretaries. MY old '89 Carrera smoked him on Hwy 1 in Monterey.

Now a lightweight 135i tricked out for track (no back seat, wing, etc) would probably be awesome!

Theres a lot of talk on the M3 forums...the consensus seems to be that the new M3 is faster than a chipped 335 (not by much) but that the chipped 335 is faster than the E46 M3.

Nice write-up. I've only gotten to drive the E36 M3. It's fun, but I think I'll take the E92!

Here's some mildly entertaining vids from SpeedTV:

M3 Ultimate Driver's Challenge - Parts 1 & 2
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M3 Ultimate Driver's Challenge - Parts 3 & 4
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M3 Ultimate Driver's Challenge - Part 5 of 5
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It is a great car. My only problem is that with each new M3, they push the performance and price way up. The M3 is on my short list of used cars to get when they come on the market in a few years. Something happened to me a few years back and I just can't buy a new car. I would rather have someone else pay the intial depreciation.:D

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+1
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Only new cars in my family will be for my wife...

The new m3 looks fabulous in the metal.

Speeder; The fit and finish on my friends car is truly superb - so I don't know if there are inconsistencies from the factory. The white paint was really cool. A deep lustrous white - white the smoke grey wheels looks really very good.

BTW: The autobahn between Stuttgart and Basel is one of the emptiest in Europe and well known to car guys whole like to explore the upper limits of their cars.

My friends M3 has a speed limiter that consistently cut out at 273 kmh. Not sure what that is in mph. At that speed I had 6000 rpm in 6th gear. The available 2400 rpm would easily have taken the car to over 300 kmh - but for the speed limiter.

But at 273 kmh the car feels absolutely rock solid. It's an uncanny feeling, like I've never felt in a P car at speed because of the rear weight bias. (Maybe I haven't driven the right P car.)

I'm utterly sold on this car - it has to be said. And it feels a bit dirty - like adultry - given my long relationship with Porsche, but there it is.

273 kph= approx. 170 mph. You've been hauling butt-cheeks, my friend. Do you live in L.A.?

Chris Harris (of Autocar and GT Purely Porsche) has just bought an M3. He loves it.

He has also just finished building his interpretation of the ultimate 911 (S/T look, 3.4 with carbs etc).

In the latest issue of GT Purely Porsche he just says how the 911 leaves the M3 for dead in the real world (himself driving the M3 and a friend driving the 911)....

I will scan the article later.

Back to what Dottore said at the beginning probably the M3 is the best one-car-does-it-all avaliable at the moment.
Still at that price point I would rather own 2 cheaper cars that are specifically designed for the different roles...
I honestly cannot see myself revving that motor to 8,4k with 3 passengers on board, and on track I would prefer something more nimble (even if ultimately slower).

One think I am in complete agreement is the statement that there are incredible cars out there and the Porsche thing has also mad me miss some great ones....

Having said that I could not think of a car that would make me happier when I open the garage door and see my 911....

Chris Harris turns the keys of his 911 project for the 1st time....

http://www.autocar.co.uk/VideosWallpapers/Videos.aspx?AR=225998&Page=2&CT=V&FLT=34%7C

A few more words about the M3.

I took it across the Rhine into France today, to some brilliant long sweeping mountain roads in the Vosges (Alsace). From Strasbourg to Mulhouse and back. And I'm hopelessly smitten.

My guess is the M3 is very similar to my 911S in absolute performance, but there's this intangible sense - that's difficult to describe - that the M3 does everything just a little bit better, with more poise and with less fuss - particularly at speed.

It may have something to do with being able to drive like absolute stink in a small sedan. You feel like you are driving fast in a bank vault somehow (with the M3) whereas the Porsche always feels a little bit like it's strapped to your back.

Then there's the versatility. We use the Porsche largely for touring (not as a daily driver), but because we like to take our dog, and because the dog has a little house, etc etc, every tour becomes an exercise in deciding which piece of luggage to leave behind. No such problem with the M3. And sometimes you just want to take a couple of friends for a tear through the countryside.

There's another factor here too. The M3 is the more honest buy than the 911. The M3 is hand built by BMW, and I read somewhere that BMW's profit on these things is less than 10% a copy - probably much less. Porsche's profit on a well optioned 911, according to the same article is between 40 to 50% - and that surely borders on the mendacious.

My friends M3 has no options except for a high-end sound system. Everything else he wanted deleted. And unlike Porsche, which charges more for stripped out cars, BMW actually charges less. (He paid 80K Euro - but it will be a lot less in the US)

I know of no other car that fills so many roles so perfectly, and that fills each of those roles without compromise. Stealth hot rod, family sedan, sports car, grand tourer, daily driver. You name it. And I don't think there is more useable fun out there.

Oh yes, today I discovered the little "power" button on the console. You push this thing and a different bit of software suddenly alters the cars character completely to a super rorty track car. It's like adding a Steve Wong chip, SSI's and a straight muffler to your SC at the push of a button. A gimmick perhaps, but what a fecking perfect little gimmick!

Now, I've drunk the Porsche cool aid and love my cars. Still, had I known what I know now 6 months ago, I probably would buy the M3 instead of the 911. I bought the 911 because of a life long obsession with Porsche, and because of brand loyalty - rather than objective factors.

This white M3 with the dark grey wheels has taught me a bit of lesson it seems.

This I can understand completely.

Then again your 88 Carrera is not the same car as the 08 C2S.

Have you driven the previous generatio M3? or is this one the 1st M3 you have driven?

Sorry, I was referring to my 08 911 S.

I drove the previous generation M3, and owned a 330Ci Msport, but neither of these rides were even close to the new V8 M3.

Oppsss the reference to the 88 Carrera was part of a much longer reply that I later decided not to send as it did not make much sense...

Sorry....

So where did you find the new M3 better than the older one? I have read some comments about the new car having lost some of the edge.
As if the car is too good now and performance is so easy that is less rewarding....

I have not driven either the new nor the old M3 so I have no idea...