At 1,920 kilograms (4,232 pounds), the M4 Convertible with xDrive is the heaviest car you can buy from the 3 Series / 4 Series family with a combustion engine. Mind you, that’s after shaving off 40% of weight from the previous-generation model’s hardtop. It carries around an extra 55 kg (121 lbs) compared to the new M3 Touring and is only 109 kg (240 lbs) heavier than the purely electric i3 Sedan sold in China. Nevertheless, BMW still says it’ll do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds.
Putting that acceleration figure to the test, Australian magazine Performance Drive grabbed the keys to an AWD-equipped M4 with a folding soft top and conducted a series of evaluations. To the surprise of no one, the car was actually quicker than advertised as it completed the sprint in three and a half seconds, thus making it 0.2s quicker than the official specs sheet.
Switching from xDrive to rear-wheel drive obviously had a negative impact on performance as the car wasn’t able to deliver the 510 horsepower and 650 Newton-meters (479 pound-feet) generated by the inline-six as efficiently as it did with AWD active. The M4 Convertible needed 4.14 seconds to get the job done, meaning it was roughly six-tenths of a second slower from a standstill to 62 mph (100 km/h). Even so, that’s plenty quick for such a heavy ICE car sending power only to two wheels.
Additional acceleration tests were conducted in xDrive mode and the roofless M4 did 0 to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 11.82 seconds. More relevant for a day-to-day driving scenario is the time it took from 60 to 110 km/h (37 to 68 mph), which is the interval many if not most overtakes are done. Impressively, the car took only 2.24 seconds to achieve the task.
As for the quarter mile, the M4 Convertible xDrive completed the run in 11.53 seconds and had a trap speed of 122.3 mph (196.9 km/h). In the brake test, it came to a halt from 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.7 seconds after covering a little over 34 meters (111 feet).
Source: PDriveTV / YouTube
