On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:01 You might not be able to tell from the outside,
00:04 but the fifth generation M3 represents
00:06 a big change for BMW.
00:08 It's the engine.
00:10 Where high-running, naturally aspirated engines
00:12 have characterized the M3 since the '80s,
00:15 the straight-six powering this 2015 M3
00:18 has not one, but two turbos hanging off its side.
00:22 Claimed horsepower increases by 11 to 425,
00:26 but torque makes a huge jump to 406 pound-feet,
00:30 an increase of over 100 pound-feet.
00:33 And it arrives much sooner.
00:35 What's more promising is that despite being bigger
00:38 in every dimension than the car it replaces,
00:40 BMW says this M3 is lighter than last generation
00:44 and significantly stiffer, which will improve
00:46 handling and steering feel.
00:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:15 Driving the M3 was a very exciting prospect.
01:18 So you can imagine our disappointment
01:20 when we arrived at a wet and very rainy road America.
01:24 It's a fantastic course, just over four miles,
01:26 spread over 14 turns and two straights,
01:29 where the M3 can get close to its electronically limited
01:32 155 mile an hour top speed.
01:36 For our introduction of the new M3,
01:38 we went to road America for the press launch.
01:40 And it's been wet all morning.
01:43 And it's been interesting.
01:45 You might think that's bad, but you make lemonade out of lemons.
01:49 It's actually been a really good way
01:52 to learn the car, to learn the differences between this
01:55 and the E90, the previous generation M3.
01:58 And the one that jumps out is power.
02:00 This thing makes over 100 pound-feet of torque
02:06 more than the last M3's V8.
02:09 And you feel that instantly.
02:13 The torque comes on so quickly and so strongly
02:18 that you really have to anticipate it,
02:19 especially if you're in the wet.
02:22 The last M3 made, what, 295 pound-feet at 4,000 RPM?
02:26 This is a completely different animal than that.
02:30 And if you drive this car expecting that kind of power
02:33 delivery, you're going to get pretty sideways.
02:35 You have to relearn how to drive this car,
02:40 much like you had to relearn driving the M5 when it
02:44 got turbocharged.
02:46 And in a way, that's a good segue,
02:47 because my initial impression from driving this car
02:50 in the wet is that it feels kind of like a small M5.
02:54 And I think there are a couple of reasons for that.
03:00 Most specifically, it's partly because this car
03:03 uses the M5's differential.
03:05 It uses the M5's transmission.
03:08 Even the gear ratios are the same.
03:10 And the rear subframe gives you the same sensation
03:14 that that car does.
03:15 I think there's a pro shoe behind us, definitely.
03:22 We just got dive-bombed by a BMW professional driver.
03:26 Anyway, so M3, M5.
03:28 So I think two of the reasons why this car gives me
03:30 the same similar feeling as an M5
03:32 is because it uses the same twin-clutch transmission,
03:35 and it uses the same differential.
03:38 There's also similar philosophies in the rear end.
03:41 The rear end is very stiff.
03:42 The subframe is bolted directly to the chassis,
03:44 like it is in the M5.
03:46 And the result is that they feel kind of similar.
03:50 Now, what you also notice is that despite this engine
03:52 having two turbochargers hanging off of it,
03:55 there's a lot of noise in this cabin.
03:58 It makes a surprising-- or it makes a remarkable amount
04:01 of interior noise, engine noise.
04:04 The downside is it doesn't sound as good as the E90's V8.
04:10 And that's just something you're going
04:13 to run into when you're comparing a 8,000, 9,000 RPM
04:16 V8 with a twin-turbo six-cylinder.
04:20 That said, this thing does rev out nicely,
04:22 and it has a very broad power band.
04:25 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:30 BMW stressed the fact that they've stiffened this chassis
04:33 quite a bit.
04:34 And I never doubt what the car is doing.
04:38 It feels consistent.
04:39 It feels controllable.
04:40 It feels communicative.
04:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:46 It feels like all the things you'd
04:47 hope an M3 would feel like.
04:48 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:53 The newfound power has made a big and welcome impact
04:56 on the way the M3 drives.
04:58 But we wanted to see the sides of that effect.
05:01 Once the M3 was back in Los Angeles,
05:03 we took it to K&N Engineering and put it on the dyno.
05:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:08 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:28 The result, 379 horsepower at 6,600 RPM
05:33 and 378 pound-feet of torque at 4,300 RPM.
05:37 But peak numbers are less important in the shape
05:39 of the curve.
05:40 Look how quickly torque spikes when you press the throttle.
05:43 And look how consistent the power delivery remains.
05:47 For comparison, we also brought along an E92 M3.
05:50 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:26 Now look at the area under the curve.
06:29 The difference is that big.
06:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:34 BMW launch control hasn't been the greatest as of yet,
06:39 especially in the M5.
06:40 In this car, it's better, but still not great.
06:43 To activate it, you turn off stability control,
06:45 traction control.
06:46 You select manual mode on the shifter.
06:48 You make sure it's in the harshest shift setting.
06:51 And if you want to do a big burnout, you hold the brake,
06:54 press the gas.
06:55 And that's how the BMW recommends you use launch
06:57 control.
06:58 In our testing, we actually found it slightly faster
07:01 to not hold the brake and just stab the throttle, like that.
07:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:08 Minimal wheel spin and a faster 0 to 60 time
07:13 versus what BMW recommends, 3.9 seconds to 60.
07:18 Quarter mile, low 12s, nearly 120 miles an hour.
07:23 Not quite there, but very fast.
07:25 We have the optional big carbon ceramic rotors, 19-inch wheels.
07:33 And combined, they should produce very short stopping
07:35 distances.
07:36 Our best stop from 60 took just 99 feet.
07:42 Finally, limit handling in the M3 in the drive.
07:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:54 What I really like about this chassis is that it's flexible.
08:03 OK, M3 is good.
08:15 M3 gets the stamp of approval.
08:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:21 You know, most cars, when you get into a big understeer
08:26 or an oversteer situation, that's
08:28 the only thing the car is going to do.
08:29 And you're not going to be able to control it,
08:31 get yourself out of it, and fix it.
08:33 In this, through the steering, through your throttle
08:38 and brake inputs, you can very much
08:40 control the line of the car and do
08:44 some pretty big, smoky drifts.
08:45 [TIRES SCREECHING]
08:48 Or drive through a course fast.
08:55 A lot of accuracy, feedback in the steering,
08:59 a lot of feedback in the chassis, too.
09:01 As I get close to the window for a second.
09:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:14 This is the M3 we've been asking for.
09:17 The road and tire noise are loud.
09:19 The ride is firm.
09:20 But this is all done because it makes the car drive better.
09:24 The steering is fantastic.
09:25 The feel of the chassis and the responses it gives back to you
09:28 make you want to drive the car harder.
09:31 While the engine doesn't have the theatrics of previous M3s,
09:34 its power delivery more than makes up for it.
09:41 This is every bit the driver's car we hoped it would be.
09:44 [ENGINE REVVING]
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