Does the introduction of four-wheel-drive and an estate bodystyle dilute the lineage? And which really makes the M3 more usable?
This, for the first time in history, is a BMW M3 with four-wheel drive. It’s also the very first M3 to be available as a Touring estate model. So if you thought performance cars were in full retreat, thinning down their ranks and ramping up their prices just for the sake of a stay of execution, while all the investment they might have had is poured in PHEVs and BEVs, there you go. There is clearly life to be found, money to be made and new choices to be introduced in at least some of the old wild dogs still.The M3 might be BMW’s most famous sporting icon, with the kind of aura and notoriety that only the most exotic and revered few in motordom can exceed. It will, very shortly, pass 40 years as a production model, having descended through five model generations prior to the current one and, in its time, gone through both fast-revving four-cylinder engines and big-hitting atmo V8s with motorsport derivations; with an electric version mooted for introduction with the next big leap (although this, it’s suggested, will be in addition to a petrol-powered model, not in replacement for one).So exactly how fast do twin turbochargers and four driven wheels make the indefatigable doyen of the performance saloon segment? Keep reading to find out.
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