Citric acid

THE MOSTLY HEAVILY DEVELOPED GENERATION OF BMW’S MID-SIZE PERFORMANCE HEROES PROMISE BIG THRILLS AS THEY SET OUT TO PUT THE BURN ON RIVALS

- ASH WESTERMAN

MORE POWER, MORE torque, greater traction, better skids, and, crucially, increased choice. They’re the headline take-outs for the forthcoming M3 sedan and M4 Coupe, both due to launch simultaneously in the first quarter of 2021.

Are we excited? Just a bit. So please, let’s avoid any disparaging comments about that oversize grille treatment; agree there will be zero speculation as to what a couple of kidneys that size would fetch on the dark web.

Instead, we’ll focus on that fact that this pair promise to be the most heavily developed performance variants of donor 3/4 Series in the history of the nameplate(s).

And choice? Well, welcome to the broadest range of variants ever offered to Aussie buyers. At launch, customers will be able to choose from high-output Competition-badged variants of both sedan and coupe, each exclusively offered with eight-speed autos. Regular-output versions of both body styles sit below, each with six-speed manual gearboxes. Later next year, BMW’s M X-Drive all-wheel-drive system will be made available for the Competition variants of both sedan and coupe, taking the local line-up to six.

But no need for you wagon lovers to sit sooking in the corner: come 2022, the M3 Touring will lob. Spec is still to be confirmed, but our logic says it will likely run the full-beans engine and auto all-paw driveline.

Toss the inevitable M4 Convertible into the mix, and before the Aussie summer of 2022 rolls around, we can look forward to an eight-strong line-up of M3/M4 metal.

LET’S DIVE STRAIGHT into the engine, which, if you’ve been playing along at home, you’ll know