UK presskit: The new BMW M3 Saloon
Contents 1. The new BMW M3 Saloon p2 2. Design p4 3. Drivetrain p8 4. Chassis p13 5. Market p17 6. Standard and optional equipment (see separate documents) p20 7. Technical specifications p21 8. Line drawings p22 9. Torque curves p23
1. The new BMW M3 Saloon
Short story
The letter M offers something truly emotive to the motoring connoisseur. Since
1978 BMW GmbH has produced purist performance cars that tap into the demands
and aspirations of customers' ultimate driving experiences. The M division
takes BMW's ingredients for dynamic production cars, listens to the market and
challenges its in-house designers and engineers to produce an intoxicating
recipe that satisfies a growing niche of enthusiasts. Using award-winning
engines and lightweight materials in construction, an M car is both challenging
and relevant to both hearts and minds.
BMW M's first car was also its only ever bespoke car. The M1 mid-engine sports
car used a tubular spaceframe chassis and plastic composite body to save weight
- steps that were ahead of their time compared to other road cars. Fast
forward three decades and there have been 23 different models of M cars in the
UK*. From the M1 to the Z3 M Coupé and the M5 Touring, they are all unique
cars, but each with the M DNA running through them; a pure engineering
philosophy enveloped in a sporting design to make for the ultimate driving
machine.
Model / Price OTR / Power Hp / Torque Nm / 0 - 62mph Seconds / Top Speed Mph /
Combined Mpg / CO2 g/km
BMW M3 Saloon (manual) / £49,415* / 420 / 400 / 4.9 / 155** / 22.8 / 295
BMW M3 Saloon (with M DCT) / £52,005* / 420 / 400 / 4.7 / 155** / 23.7 / 285
* Expected price from 1 April taking account of anticipated Vehicle Excise Duty
rate adjustment
**Electronically-limited
The M3 Saloon is true to its roots. Its dynamic statistics are impressive and
the M3 is the only performance car on the market that incorporates
award-winning specialist fuel-saving and emissions-reducing systems under the
banner of EfficientDynamics. For example, Brake Energy Regeneration utilises
the previously lost energy of an engine on overrun to re-charge the battery.
This feature alone helps the M3 Saloon become one of the cleanest and
fuel-efficient performance cars ever.
The way an M3 Saloon's power can be transferred to the road is also unique for
a BMW. Customers can specify an all-new seven-speed double-clutch manual
gearbox. This not only speeds up gear changes but also cuts the zero to 62mph
time, improves fuel consumption figures whilst lowering emissions.
*Note: E26 M1, E30 M3 Coupé and Convertible, E36 M3 Saloon, Coupé and
Convertible, E46 M3 Coupé and Convertible, E90 M3 Saloon, E92 M3 Coupé , E93 M3
Convertible (launched April, 2008), E28 M5 Saloon, E34 M5 Saloon, E39 M5
Saloon, E60 M5 Saloon, E61 M5 Touring, E24 M635CSi, E63 M6 Coupé, E64 M6
Convertible, E36/7 Z3 M Roadster and Z3 M Coupé, E85 Z4 M Roadster and E86 Z4 M
Coupé.
All of the M3 Saloon's technology is shrouded in an aerodynamically efficient
body. BMW M encapsulates the mantra 'form follows function' and the M3 Saloon
is a lesson in efficiency. Whilst still offering the practicality to transport
a family and their luggage in comfort, every aperture or crease of the bodywork
is designed to either channel air to the engine or provide downforce. Even the
wing mirrors are designed to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics. At the
rear a venturi smoothes exiting air flow from underneath the car, while a lip
spoiler on the boot provides an additional degree of rear downforce.
The M3 Saloon comes to the UK at a time when customers are increasingly keen to
marry high performance with practicality. The four-door M3 is powered by an
award-winning engine with a supercar power output, yet it is also the most
practical M3 the marque has ever produced.
The BMW M3 Saloon went on sale in the UK on 8 March, 2008, priced from £49,415
OTR and BMW expects to sell approximately 400 in a full sales year.
Tim Abbott, Sales Director of BMW (UK) Ltd, said: "The arrival of the M3
Saloon and the M3 Convertible this spring underlines the strengths of both the
3 Series and M brands. Our heartland car, with its EfficientDynamics
technologies, continues to be benchmark compact executive car and the M version
displays the all round versatility of the model.
"The portfolio of M has never been as diverse as it is now; by the end of 2008
there will be three M3 models on sale, two M5s, two M6s and two Z4Ms. BMW is
proud to be in a market-leading position of producing cars powered by
award-winning engines that are at the pinnacle of performance yet are as clean
and frugal as possible. The new M3 Saloon is proof that you can have your cake
and eat."
Key facts
• First production M3 Saloon to be powered by a V8-engine.
• The engine, cast in BMW's Landshut light alloy foundry alongside the BMW
Sauber F1 team's powerplants, has 753cc more capacity, two more cylinders yet
is 15kgs lighter than the previous M3 model's six-cylinder engine.
• The M3 features the most advanced production car engine ECU in the world
capable of 200 million calculations a second.
• BMW's M3 range are the only performance cars on the market to incorporate
specialist environmental fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technology.
• New M Double Clutch Transmission debuts in M3 Convertible and from July for
M3 Saloon and M3 Coupé.
• The M3 Saloon is the most practical M3 ever offering 450-litres of boot
space.
• First road-going BMW M3 Saloon to be offered with an optional adjustable
suspension.
