With F80, The M3 Leaped Into the Future
DW Burnett
On the heels of the E92, the fifth-gen M4 arrived in 2015 like a Teutonic Terminator; chiseled, menacing, gorgeously muscled. And do note the name change. Henceforth, the fifth-gen sedans would bear the M3 name. The coupes would take “M4”.
It was a divisive change. The M4 badge had no history attached to it; Many felt that BMW were chasing Audi’s nomenclature rather than following their own path (the A4 sedan and A5 coupe were mechanically identical but separated by two doors). Splitting segments into ever-finer pieces wasn’t a new idea, but it didn’t feel genuinely BMW. Frankly, we are still barely coping.
At the track way back when, we clocked a 12.3-second quarter mile, 3.9 seconds to 60 mph, and measured a curb weight (3595 lbs.) lower than its predecessor. That’s a first for this bloodline. Huzzah!.
Again, the engine is the star; a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six putting down 425 horsepower and 406 lb-ft. Redline lives at 7600 rpm. The engine, called the S55, features a dyno chart with power curves flatter than a pane of glass. As peaky and loony as the V-8 mill was, you can’t argue with the raw effectiveness of two snails cramming big buckets of atmosphere into a Bimmer six.
DW Burnett
I’ll never forget my first drive in the M4, some time in early 2016. I set off from our Ann Arbor offices in driving rain. The engine settled into a guttural burble at idle and I held the traction control button to disable the driver aides. It was a matter of habit I’d developed with every other BMW in my life.
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I loafed along in the car through a soggy city intersection just as the street light turned yellow. When I poked at the gas, the S55’s glut of mid-range torque kicked right back, and the M4 nearly pirouetted into oncoming traffic. I tiptoed the car the rest of the way home, my palms slick with anxiety, and haven’t touched the traction control button on a roadgoing BMW since. Lesson learned.
The S55’s power came on so hard and so early, it’d catch drivers out, especially if the traction control wasn’t there to reign them in. Sometimes you want to let your hair down a bit but don’t necessarily want to YEEEEEHAAWWWWW through the drive-thru. So the M4 broke that harmony between chassis and engine. The F82 was a stallion with wide flanks and flared nostrils – you couldn’t just reign it in.
With the later competition-package cars – like the one we borrowed for Mid-O heroics – BMW tamed the loss of grip when the S55’s fat midrange hits. Some combination of suspension fettling, tire compound, throttle mapping, and wizardry harnessed the available power. It was a welcome change, especially as the M4 sat idling in pit row, pointed toward a soggy race track.
DW Burnett
You can recognize the M4 by its idle alone. A low, surging, throaty burble scores the lowest portion of the S55’s rev range. Mostly it sounds like someone stuffed a tube sock up the M4’s tailpipes.
Our original performance testing data on the F80 M3 from the September 2014 issue of Road & Track.
Road & Track
But as soon as you roll on to Mid-O’s front straight, the engine goes mecha-symphonic, spraying the sound of turbo compressor whine through the cabin, layering that high note over acres of straight-six howl. There’s far more noise here than you thought possible from a boosted mill. Can the engine’s soundtrack compete the atmospheric M3s? Nope. Is it prominent, ferocious, and singular among the range? Yes.
And when you hit those first two straights at Mid-O, it’s not the difference in noise but the contrast in speed that shocks you. The M4 wipes the floor with any of its predecessors, where lap times and spec sheets are considered. There’s huge grip available from the front end as you dive toward the apex of Mid-Ohio’s cambered Turn 2 and the M4 seems to build speed with supercar pace after you exit each corner.
Note that after early headaches, the M4 has become one of the most common track tools for weekend warriors. The S55 has proved responsive to modification, robust, and reliable. Any M3 owner looking to extract maximum speed from their HPDEs (without the need to wave by another Porsche 911) should look no further than the F82.
DW Burnett
Still, many of M3 hallmarks went missing.
Classic BMW steering feel – that alluring, legendary, tactile gem – is absent here, replaced by an electric rack that takes effort but never reveals intricacies like the old stuff. And we’ll never understand the angle of the steering wheel vs. the pedal box and seat, with cants the driver’s torso askew, rather than keeping both halves of the driver aligned with the car’s longitudinal axis. Then there’s the tray of buttons for adjusting the engine response, chassis compliance, and electric steering sensitivity via buttons in the console. Who asked for these settings? Why? Thankfully it’s easy to land on a setting you like with enough time, but even the presence of those buttons feels finicky bordering on irksome.
The interior offers through lines, namely the look and feel of the interior touch points like the steering wheel and shifter. There are upscale touches embellishing the interior, but few distractions, as ever.
DW Burnett
Whatever the strengths or faults we find with the F82’s driving experience, the car is a triumph of modern design. Those voluptuous hindquarters are connected by a swooping waistline to a masculine snout with wide kidney grilles that emphasize the low, taut presencce of the M4. When you stand back and take it all in, the whole car looks like it was draped in silk. Several of R&T’s younger editors picked the F82 out as the best-looking M3. In time, the rest of the staff might come around.
The F82 is as relentless as the T-800 when loosed on a racetrack, but dusted with less charm than any M3 before. Maybe another decade of hindsight will bring our opinions around, or maybe we’ll just appreciate the M4 for the massive leap forward that it was. This is the M3 that faced the future, a super coupe with gorgeous lines, all-day comfort, and the twin-turbo six that made our palms sweat.
DW Burnett
Kyle Kinard
Senior Editor
The only member of staff to flip a grain truck on its roof, Kyle Kinard is R&T’s senior editor and resident malcontent. He lives near Seattle and enjoys the rain. His column, Kinardi Line, runs when it runs.
