The 2020 BMW M3 is set to have an automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive for the first time in the model’s history.
In response to a question asking if the new M3 would retain a dual-clutch gearbox, BMW M boss Markus Flasch told MOTOR: “You can assume that we will carry over the working system from the M5”, all but confirming the smaller super sedan will mirror its big brother’s mechanical specification.
While not set for a public reveal until 2020, there are enough pieces to put together for the new M3 picture to become clear. Under the bonnet will be the new S58 3.0-litre twin-turbo six first seen in the new X3 M and X4 M, producing 353kW/600Nm in standard guise, the Competition model lifting power to 375kW.
Expect this tiered range to continue with the G80 M3, Flasch saying: “We have been very successful with this strategy and we will continue with these Competition models.” Inside information suggests a three-tier range may be offered, with a 331kW Pure, 353kW base and 375kW Competition available.
However, while the engine will be familiar, behind that will be all change. Self-shifting M3s have been available since the E36 but have either been robotised manuals (E36/E46) or dual-clutch (E90/F80).
The G80 will feature a torque-converter automatic, presumably a derivation of the eight-speed found in the F90 M5, Flasch explaining: “We get feedback from customers and journalists that the transmission from the M5 is excellent so there is no huge need to change everything.”
From there power will be fed to all four wheels courtesy of BMW’s xDrive system, though purists need not despair, as rear-wheel drive will be available at the press of a button with the electronic stability control deactivated.
While automatic and all-wheel drive is likely to be the default specification, Flasch revealed: “We can do whatever global markets demand. We are able to take over the entire drivetrain concept that we offer in the M5 and we’re able to do a rear-wheel drive version as well plus a manual transmission.”
Inside information suggests the three-tier range may also be differentiated by drivetrain layout as well as power output, the Pure offering RWD and manual with the higher grades reverting to auto and all-wheel drive, possibly with the option of three pedals.
Of course, should this come to fruition there’s no guarantee all models will be available in all markets. Australian performance car buyers tend to favour high-spec models, but BMW Australia has had success as the instigator of the Pure strategy; offering a base rear-drive manual and top-spec Competition all-paw auto would appear to satisfy the needs of most customers.
The new M3 will be revealed in 2020 ahead of an Australian launch in early 2021.
The thing that differentiates a lot of the best products in the world is how good the warranty is.
Buy a German tool and you’re likely to get a longer warranty over something built in many other parts of the world, or shop kitchen appliances and the same rule applies.
Look at cars, however, and the opposite is true.
It’s mostly emerging car brands that advertise long warranties and low fixed-price servicing costs in order to get market share. Kia built a reputation with its seven-year, unlimited km coverage in Australia which has now been adopted by entering Chinese brands Haval and MG, and reborn South Korean outfit Ssangyong made headlines by touting its own seven-year peace of mind deal.
Meanwhile, premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Jaguar still offer a three-year warranty. Most mainstream brands have gone to five-year programs, but premium offerings are just not budging.
For Volvo Australia managing director Nick Connor, it represents an opportunity for the Swedish maker to stand out against premium rivals.
“We have [investigated a five-year warranty] and I see it as an opportunity for Volvo,” Connor told Wheels during an event in Sweden last week.
“We haven’t made a formal decision to do it because I can’t tell you the many hoops we have to go through,” he admitted.
Volvo does not offer anything longer than a three-year warranty in any of the markets it sells in and is backed by an even shorter two-year arrangement in its home country. That’s a slight roadblock for the Australian arm to overcome, but Connor is optimistic the maker will go to five years locally.
“None of the premium brands have moved on this around the world, really, so the question is ‘what is our incentive to do it?’ Our incentive is that it doesn’t actually cost us very much to do it because our warranty claims are very low.”
According to Connor, there is a lack of pressure from consumers on any of the premium brands to go longer, despite Australian consumer law making three-year warranties circumventable.
“I think it’s because they [premium brands] haven’t had to do it,” he said.
“You look at Audi’s sales and go, ‘Do they need a five year warranty?’ – no one needs a five year warranty. I think the question for me is actually how much does it cost us? Well, not a lot of money. Is it a differentiator for us? Definitely.
“They’ve [consumers] got legal rights to this anyway, so we’re not giving them something they’re not entitled to by law anyway.
“We get the argument, we’d like to do it, we’re in the process of doing it, but we’re not quite there yet.”
Beyond investigating its current warranty offering, Volvo says it will also reduce servicing costs, citing historically high fixed and a la carte programs compared to most rivals. Connor says that could be putting buyers off the product.
“It’s something we’re definitely aware of,” he said.
“I got slightly frustrated last year because we’d look at great reviews and the only caveat was, ‘but the servicing costs are high’. I don’t want to read another review that says servicing is too expensive.”
“You can rationalise it [with the cost per part] but the consumer does not understand it, so it is an issue and we are aware of it and we are doing something about it. Basically, we are lowering the costs and we will be offering better fixed-price servicing too.
BMW’s i Division has unveiled its new safety car for the FIA Formula E in the form of a modified BMW i8 Roadster.
Looking like it could be a racecar itself, the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car sports a large rear wing and its windscreen has been significantly shortened, leaving rollbars, a flashing light mount, and the wing as the only points of the car taller than the haunches behind each seat.
Speaking at the reveal during the recent Formula E round in Monaco, BMW’s i Division boss Robert Irlinger says the i8 is the obvious choice for BMW to supply as a Formula E safety car, having also supplied several other vehicles in different roles as the series’ official vehicle partner.
“BMW i and Formula E are synonymous with innovation, making them excellently suited to each other,” says Irlinger.
“This project is another very good example of the pioneering spirit at BMW i and in Formula E.
“In implementing the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car, the BMW i engineers, designers and communications crew have dared to explore new horizons and create an absolutely unique car.
“The development team behind the Safety Car is akin to a start-up.
“Our engineers got creative within their own ranks and assembled it on top of their regular jobs. In doing so, they have achieved something completely new.”
Now in its fifth season, the FIA Formula E is no stranger to BMW’s electric cars. Not only does BMW compete as a factory backer for Andretti Motorsport (as BMW i Andretti Motorsport), but its previous safety car was a slightly tamer looking i8 Coupe.
BMW also supplies an i3 as a race director’s car, and a BMW 530e as the medical car.
At the pointy end of the Mercedes-AMG line-up, the GT-R represents the peak of what road-legal three-point badged cars can do and we get behind the wheel to explore the limits of its ability. But there’s no ignoring the Porsche 911-shaped elephant in the room – the one to beat for decades. Alex and Ryan introduce the arch rivals and bring you the action as it unfolds.
While elegant coupe rooflines and low-slung bodies might embody high-performance, it’s less clear why Ford has slotted the Ranger Raptor into its ‘performance’ line-up alongside more obvious models such as the Focus RS and Mustang. To answer the paradox, Scott has to leave the notion of conventional on-road performance for an altogether dustier world.
Rounding out the show this week, Matt meets 4×4 Australia editor at large Ron Moon who proves that ‘performance’ can be a much longer game. His heavily modified machine has clocked up more than 400,000km and all in his hands. Find out which corners of the globe Ron has conquered overland and what’s on the cards for his next adventure.
On-air: Channel Ten, May 19 (AU) / May 26 (NZ)
Catch-up: Watch at tenplay.com.au (AU) or primetv.co.nz (NZ)
If you thought our Ford Endura punk rock band test was tough, just wait until you see how its Everest big sister goes with Tim’s family. Hell hath no fury like a disgruntled teen so let’s hope for his sake that the Ford has some decent features.
See the full episode: Watch at tenplay.com.au (AU) or primetv.co.nz (NZ)
Dan and Andy head for the hills in a pair of $100k coupes to see if your money is better spent on a fresh new French wildcard or an established German quantity. Spoiler alert – the spectacular alpine scenery wins but is the Alpine a close second?
Click the video gallery above to view part 1 & 2 of this epic Victorian adventure
See the full episode: Watch at tenplay.com.au (AU) or primetv.co.nz (NZ)
For the first time in this series – and hopefully the only time – we deliberately crash a car. Go behind the scenes with Tony as he follows the process for assessing a new car’s safety rating with the ANCAP team of scientists and engineers.
See the full episode: Watch at tenplay.com.au (AU) or primetv.co.nz (NZ)
WHEN PORSCHE launched the four-cylinder 718 Cayman and its Boxster soft-top sibling back in 2016, most Porsche fans shrugged and viewed the downsized turbocharged engine as a necessary evil.
Sure, it made the numbers in terms of both performance and emissions, but something significant had been lost in terms of purity and charisma.
It seems Zuffenhausen was listening.
While the four-cylinder engines will continue to make up the lion’s share of 718 sales, for those buyers who crave an atmo six-pot, Porsche reintroduced the powerplant in the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, the basis for racing cars which used a 313kW/425Nm 3.8-litre flat-six massaged up 30kW over the old 981 Cayman GT4.
A six-speed twin-clutch transmission with a mechanical limited slip differential, 380mm front brake discs and 911 GT3 Cup suspension made a mouthwatering ready to race package.
The costs involved in creating this limited-run track-only vehicle also made it clear that a road GT4 was in the works.
Now it seems that there’s set to be another spin on the six-cylinder Cayman theme – the 718 GT4 Touring. Just as the old 991 GT3 Touring was a GT3 that had all of its aggressive track-refugee styling pared back, Porsche is likely to offer the Cayman GT4 with a low-key styling optic.
Ask many Porsche fans what they’d want from their perfect Porsche sports car, if they could design it from a clean sheet of paper and it would be a mid-engined chassis, rear-wheel drive, an aggressive diff and a naturally-aspirated GT powerplant that revved to the heavens.
And a fair degree of them would like that recipe clothed in something that wasn’t the colour of a packet of Skittles, that didn’t have a rattling roll-cage and wasn’t encumbered with a rear wing that could looked as if you’d just driven off the grid at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
That car is the 718 Cayman GT4 Touring.
Spy shots from testing at the Nurburgring show a car with much the same rear diffuser and exhaust setup as the forthcoming Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder models, but with a front apron that’s Touring-specific.
The cars circulating at the ‘Ring were also all fitted with carbon ceramic brake discs. Similar cars were seen in Sweden undergoing cold weather testing in February, so this latest sighting would seem to rubberstamp our suspicions. Porsche is building the wish-list Cayman.
Taking your sports car to the track isn’t as scary as it may seem, with the open environment perfect for letting loose and learning more about your car. Chris Thompson heads to Haunted Hills hillclimb to explain that there are a few simple check you can do to extend the track life of your tyres before hitting the tarmac. See the video above for more.
BMW M Division says it has no plans to produce a faster Z4 M roadster.
M boss Markus Flasch confirmed reports from MOTOR’s European Editor Georg Kacher that a dedicated M version of the Z4 wasn’t part of the development program.
According to Flasch, a reborn Z4 M would require the installation of the new S58 3.0-litre twin-turbo six, which is set to power the new X3 M and X4 M and is expected to appear in the new M3, and that doing so is a complex engineering challenge.
“We thought about [a Z4 M],” said Flasch, “however putting in a different engine in a smaller car such as the Z4 means a lot of effort. So far we have not found a way that is possible.”
Installing the S58 would give the Z4 a serious speed boost, the engine currently available with up to 375kW/600Nm, but Flasch says the current 250kW/500Nm Z4 M40i provides M-car levels of performance.
“The Z4 M40i has so much performance, it even gets close to an M2, so the Z4 already is a true M car, very competent, very fast.” In the hands of German outlet Sport Auto, the Z4 M40i lapped the Nurburgring three seconds quicker than the standard M2.
This news has ramifications beyond BMW. The Toyota Supra shares its basic platform and powertrains with the Z4, so any go-faster version will have to be the work of Toyota not BMW.
Only the first-generation Z4 spawned an M version, the 2006 Z4 M appearing in Roadster and Coupe forms using the 252kW/365Nm 3.2-litre atmo six from the E46 M3.
