Can’t actually remember when was the last time a new BMW M3 has caused such a bipolar public reaction. Oh wait, I can… Never. As far as I remember, the year 2020 was the first time ever that news about the next generation of M3 stroke automotive audience with such a sharply polarized opinion. There were no grey zone when first pictures were released, just a black and white, love or hate kind of relationship.
There were two things that caused such chaos in an automotive world. Firstly, the obvious one: The G80 has one of the most intriguing and questionable design languages in the world of sport sedans, period. Secondly, there’s a weight increase attached to it for a car with such history and pedigree. Since the new M3 is more powerful and BMW kept power to weight ratio about the same as with the F80, what’s the fuss then?
Mostly because when it comes to an M cars, it’s never been about sheer power. The story of the BMW M3 started in the demanding and unforgiving world of motorsport. So that means that the company needed a car that could compete in DTM meeting the FIA’s Group A regulations. But you could not simply just produce a one-off car for racing purposes. To meet the FIA’s homologation requirements, BMW needed to make 5,000 road going versions of the competition car. This lead to development of the E30 M3, the first M3 car and the start of a legend.
Today, vast majority of manufacturers make their cars faster by simply adding more power. It’s just easier. For the cars derived from motorsport departments, it’s the other way around: you have to play with the weight, physics, geometry, and more. It’s tough but that’s what makes these cars the best driver cars.
So since I have always admired BMW for were being able to create a vehicle that with every generation is maybe less powerful than its competitors, but lighter and nimbler. Thus faster on the track. My main concern since day one was that weight specification more so than controversial design. Early M vehicles always had a lightweight DNA. So, after 35 years, the expectation bar was really high. But when…
