Bmw M3/M4 2014

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Não sei bem porquê, mas continuo a preferir a estética do e46... Não sou apreciador da nova frente de familia e esta traseira parece estar muito "compactada"... Pode ser que ao vivo mude de opinião.

Já o som, meu rico v8. Este soa a artificial ou é impressão minha:confused:


Cump
 
ice said:
Não sei bem porquê, mas continuo a preferir a estética do e46... Não sou apreciador da nova frente de familia e esta traseira parece estar muito "compactada"... Pode ser que ao vivo mude de opinião.

Já o som, meu rico v8. Este soa a artificial ou é impressão minha:confused:


Cump
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Se pudesse escolher um M seria o E46, continua fantástico e o som então...[br:)]

Acerca do som do M4... acho que não és o único a queixar-se, já dizem que soa como uma espécie de Prius.

A M tem-se desleixado nos ultimos tempos, está a afastar-se claramente daquilo que sempre foi.
 
BMW M4 - Autocar teste

What is it?

The new BMW M4 coupé, successor to the iconic M3 coupé and sister car to the four-door BMW M3, with which it shares its mechanical package.
The BMW M4 coupé not only introduces a whole new model designation to the long-revered M-car line-up but also a raft of contemporary new driveline developments, including a new twin-turbocharged in-line six-cylinder engine.

You can read in-depth information about the technical developments here, but the key figures are a stout power peak of 422bhp and a significant 110lb ft hike in torque to 405lb ft between 1850rpm and 5500rpm.

Use of lightweight materials slashes the kerb weight by 83kg to 1497kg, although the optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic M-DCT gearbox, as fitted to our test car, adds 40kg over the six-speed manual, taking the M4 coupé to 1537kg.

What is it like?

The M4 coupé offers marvellous ease of driveability and extraordinary refinement at one end of the spectrum, along with amazing pace and tremendous dynamic proficiency at the other. It may be clichéd, but it really is a car for all occasions.

The key to its broad spread of talent is its Drive Performance Control, which allows the driver to tailor the properties of this new M-car over a significantly wider range than its predecessor. Accessed via three buttons on the centre console, you get the choice of Efficiency, Sport and Sport+ modes for the engine mapping together with Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for the suspension damping and electro-mechanical steering.
Importantly, you can mix and match each one, so you’re able to call up differing properties for the engine, damping and steering rather than being stuck with one common mode for all, as is the case on standard BMW models. An M-mode function also allows you to save preferred combinations, which can then be easily accessed each time you enter the car via a pair of buttons on the steering wheel.

There is nothing remotely demanding about the way it drives in Comfort. You could cover loads of miles without ever feeling remotely challenged – all in a sumptuous environment offering outstanding levels of interior comfort and first-rate ergonomics. In this sense, the M4 coupé proves to be a convincing everyday proposition. It is more purposeful in feel to the435i coupé but no more taxing to drive.

Nudge the buttons down beside your thigh to engage Sport and it instantly becomes more purposeful in nature as the properties of the driveline, chassis and electronic driving aids are altered for more engaging driving. So configured, there is a more urgent action to the steering and added aggressiveness within the throttle mapping, while satisfying damping compliance gives way to a slightly less cosseting ride and the calibration of the electronic stability control suddenly becomes a lot more liberal, allowing you to entertain the hooligan within when conditions permit.

Moving up into Sport+ further heightens the experience, although it is really only intended for track work and proves wearing for any distance on public roads.

The driving position is excellent, supported by newly designed sport seats offering a wide squab, plenty of lateral support and a good deal more adjustment than you will likely ever need. Although the cabin architecture is shared with the 4-series, the clarity of the unique instruments, superb weighting of the controls and the quality of the materials leave you in little doubt that you’re aboard something special.

Like all M-cars down through the years, it is the engine that moulds the driving experience of the M4 coupé more than anything else. And it is here where the new twin-turbocharged six-cylinder unit both impresses and disappoints. At start up, it sounds remarkably similar to the twin-turbocharged V8 from the M5, with an odd diesel-like chatter to the engine and a raspy exhaust note. Thankfully, it improves as you select first and move off.
Predictably, the single biggest change over the M3 coupé is in the delivery, which couldn’t be any more different than before. With all that torque concentrated low down, there is substantial shove from little more than idle. This results in outstanding flexibility across a much wider range of revs, making it much better suited to stop/go city driving than its predecessor.

Just don’t count on the same razor-sharp throttle response as before when the road opens up and you get to put your foot down. The inherent qualities of the forced-induction engine mean the initial pick-up is a lot less rabid than with the old naturally aspirated unit owing to a fleeting moment of lag as the two turbochargers spool up to full boost. But once they do, the in-gear shove is uncompromising.

Still, there's no need to pile on the revs in an attempt to tap into the deep seam of performance offered by the new engine. You merely flex your right foot in a suitable gear and the engine obliges with truly muscular properties. The resulting rush of acceleration is spectacular, particularly between 3500 and 5500rpm where the M4 coupé feels to be at its strongest.

Inevitably, though, it lacks the outright aural intensity of the unit it replaces, despite the inclusion of Active Sound Design, which reproduces the sound of the M4 coupé’s new six-cylinder through the audio speakers at various volumes and frequencies based on engine revs, throttle load and speed.
With two mono-scroll turbochargers, variable valve timing and continuously variable camshaft control, it revs quite freely, extending to 7600rpm before the onset of the limiter. This is quite high by turbocharged engine standards, but 600rpm less than the old naturally aspirated engine achieved.
The optional dual-clutch automatic gearbox provides the M4 coupé with the ease of usability to match its fervent on-boost accelerative ability, leading to a highly impressive set of performance figures: 0-62mph in 4.1sec and the standing kilometre, now very much accepted as the modern day acceleration yardstick, in 22.2sec. This is a respective 0.5sec and 0.7sec faster than the old M3 coupé.

As a further indicator of just how much the new engine has transformed the performance, BMW claims the M4 coupé is capable of accelerating from 50mph to 75mph in fourth gear in just 3.5sec. By comparison, the M3 coupé required 4.3sec. Top speed remains limited to 155mph, although buyers can have it raised to 174mph with an optional M Driver’s package.

It is not just the sheer potency of its straight-line acceleration and heaving in-gear qualities that makes the new BMW M4 coupé so exciting to drive hard, though. Few cars anywhere near the £56,635 starting price of the M4 provide such dynamic finesse or engaging qualities. There is a perceptible completeness to the engineering of its chassis that serves to provide the new M-car with a wonderfully fluid feel over challenging sections of blacktop.
Directional stability is exceptional, even at very high speeds. The electro-mechanical steering system also delivers excellent response, impressive directness and more constant weighting through its entire range than the old hydraulic arrangement it replaces. It could do with a little more feedback, but with Sport or Sport+ modes engaged, it delivers suitably urgent turn-in traits.

The front end offers exceptional grip without any premature breakaway provided the surface is relatively smooth. With stability clutch control, which opens the clutches when sensors detect the loss of imminent traction and briefly reduces power to bring the car back on line, it resists understeer in a masterful manner, resulting in wonderfully neutral properties even in tight second-gear corners.

Body control is also superb, providing the new M-car with a reassuringly flat cornering nature even when you begin to nibble at the very last remnants of available purchase. There is a wonderfully composed feel to the handling all the way up to the point where the dynamic stability control (DSC) intervenes.

This is partly down to it boasting a lower centre of gravity than the car it replaces, but, I suspect, more because of the work that has gone into providing its largely bespoke suspension with ultra-stiff anchoring points.

BMW M division’s decision to provide it with a new steel rear suspension sub-frame that bolts directly to the body structure without any rubber bushings gives the M4 tremendous on-the-limit clarity. The lines of communication are amplified to a whole new level, revealing its willingness to oblige beyond the dynamic boundaries of the M3 coupé.

The adoption of a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic driveshaft has also added greater overall progressiveness to the handling thanks to lower reciprocating masses and the scope for a whole new approach to the settings of the electronically control active differential, allowing you to send it sideways at will with the DSC disabled.

Should I buy one?

BMW M chiefs say the M4 coupé is 15sec faster than the old M3 coupé around the Nürburgring, where much of its chassis development was carried out. Part of the gain is down to the added performance delivered by the new turbocharged engine. However, it is clear the handling has also risen to a lofty new level as well.

An even bigger achievement in my eyes is the new car’s broad spread of ability. You can cruise along the motorway in admirable comfort with the steering in a relatively relaxed state, the suspension offering excellent compliance, the engine in its most efficient state and the DSC at the ready.
Then you can head out on to the track with the steering feel heightened, the chassis primed for ultimate body control, the throttle mapping set for maximum attack and the electronic safety net disengaged in a bid to better your lap time.

However, there are apparent shortfalls. While it is spectacularly powerful and endows the M4 coupé to previously unattained levels of acceleration, the new engine lacks engagement and sounds disappointingly flat at certain points in the rev range. It also fails to match the sheer response of the engine it succeeds.

For many potential buyers who might consider the BMW M4 coupé when it goes on sale in the UK later this month this will blunt its charm, but only until they discover the gains in driveability and stunning in-gear qualities. What it lacks in overall excitement, it more than makes up for in everyday driving appeal.

BMW M4

Price £56,635 0-62mph 4.1sec Top speed 155mph (limited) Economy34mpg (combined) CO2 194g/km Kerb weight 1537kg Engine 6 cyls in line, 2979cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 425bhp at 5500-7300rpmTorque 405lb ft at 1850-5500rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
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BMW M3 - Autocar teste

What is it?

The new BMW M3 saloon is the sibling to the BMW M4 coupé. The added everyday practicality offered by the M3 suggests it may somehow be compromised in overall performance terms against the sleeker-looking M4 coupé.

Popular opinion suggests that if it’s got a higher roofline, greater levels of accommodation and four doors, it surely can’t be quite as fast, sharp or as engaging as its lower, less spacious, two door sibling, right?

What is it like?

In practice there is precious little separating this BMW M3 and the M4 coupé. In terms of straight-line speed, sheer agility and overall spread of dynamic ability they’re virtually identical – and a look over the technical specifications of BMW’s latest M-cars reveals why.
The M3 gets the same driveline components, engine mounting architecture and chassis as the M4 coupé. The two boast the same 2812mm wheelbase, 1579mm front track and 1603mm rear track, resulting in exactly the same footprint.

The nominal 15.0:1 steering ratio as well as the spring, damper and roll bar tuning are also common to both cars, as are the elasto-kinematic properties of the bushes that locate the suspension. Yes, it’s 23kg heavier and 41mm higher than the M4 coupé, but you don’t notice it. Not on public roads.
The inherent driving traits of the M3 saloon prove every bit as compelling as those of the M4 coupé. Setting the tone is BMW M division’s new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine. With huge low-end shove, it is incredibly easy to live. It also serves up the sort of storming in-gear qualities that make the old naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8 appear a little weak by comparison. Just don’t expect the blown unit to offer up same razor-like throttle response or alluring aural qualities as the engine it replaces.

Purists will go for the manual – they almost always do. But the optional dual-clutch automatic M-DCT gearbox provides the M3 with the ease of usability to match its fervent on-boost accelerative properties, leading to the very same set of official performance figures as the M4 coupé: 0-62mph in 4.1sec and the standing kilometer in 21.9sec. With the manual, it takes 0.2sec and 0.3sec longer respectively.
The perception of equal performance is backed by BMW M division's development boss, Albert Biermann, who claims the M3 its M4 coupé sibling boast the same Nürburgring lap time. “We’ve run both cars extensively, both together and in separate tests," he says. "Apart from nuances in driving style between our engineers, they are all but inseparable in lap time.”

Adding to the appeal is Drive Performance Control, which allows you to alter the character of the M3 over a wider range than before. Accessed via three buttons on the centre console, you get the choice of Efficiency, Sport and Sport+ modes for the throttle mapping together with Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for the damping properties and electro-mechanical steering.

Should I buy one?

The BMW M3 can be fast and vivid one moment, and comfortable and relaxing the next. The inherent practicality of the four-door body and a 480-litre boot only adds to its everyday appeal.

It's also cheaper than the M4 coupé, if only just at £56,175 as opposed to £56,635. If you’re in the market for a performance car that can handle family transport obligations, it’ll be hard to ignore.

BMW M3

Price £56,175; 0-62mph 4.1sec; Top speed 155mph (limited); Economy34mpg (combined); CO2 194g/km; Kerb weight 1537kg; Engine 6 cyls in line, 2979cc, turbocharged, petrol; Power 425bhp at 5500-7300rpm;Torque 405lb ft at 1850-5500rpm; Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
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BMW M4 - Car and Driver teste

One of the worst things a carmaker can do is succeed. You can mint money selling cars to which people are indifferent, but if you get every last detail right and build something spectacular, you’re screwed. When buyers love your car, they don’t want it to ever change. But government regulations, fickle mainstream tastes, and the fact that nobody but Morgan has yet figured out how to keep an entire company afloat building the same product for decades mean that, eventually, you’ll need to redesign. And change means backlash.BMW M fans got a double shot of hard-to-swallow change when the brand announced the next generation of its internal muse, the M3. It makes its power not as it winds to a banshee-wail, naturally aspirated redline, but rather via a pair of turbochargers. And the coupe, the original and most iconic M3 body style, was rechristened M4 to align with BMW’s naming convention du jour. (The sedan keeps the M3 moniker.)

They Call Me F82
Based on the current, F30-generation 3- and F32 4-series, the new M4 is longer and wider than its predecessor, but should weigh about the same. It also gets its own chassis code for the first time: F82. Extremists applaud BMW’s fanatical approach to weight savings, and on this generation, BMW fashions the front and rear suspension links from aluminum, as well as the hood and the fenders. Carbon fiber is used for the roof, the driveshaft, and the trunklid.

While the M3 and M4 are identical in many ways and share many part numbers, that trunk is one of the bigger differences. Engineers tell us that they wanted the two cars to have the same aerodynamic properties, but the airflow over the coupe’s shorter roof would have required a large spoiler, which designers didn’t want. Instead, they formed a new trunklid with an integrated ducktail spoiler. The thinking was, “if you’re going to do it, do it right.” So while they were designing the new lid, they designed it with a carbon-fiber inner structure and fiberglass outer skin.

Bushwhacking
Rubber bushings between the regular 4-series rear subframe and the unibody allow the assembly to squirm under duress, diluting handling precision. Here, there are no rubber bushings. The subframe is bolted directly to the unibody for a more rigid structure. This, plus additional bracing and stiffer suspension, results in a car that is vastly more responsive and immediate than the regular 4-series. The M4 thus is also more eager to let its tail step out. Once that happens, though, it’s easy to hang it out there and control your slip angle or snap it back into line. It’s a total gas, supremely responsive and controllable.

The downside to such a delightful chassis is that, even in the softest of its three adjustable damper settings, the M4 is stiff-legged. The roughest stretches of pavement feel like a Baja blast, but, luckily for Americans outside of Michigan, such roads are rare. And it’s a typical tradeoff for such flat, predictable handling. The brakes are quite strong, but the pedal isn’t quite as responsive at the top of its travel as we’d like.

Electric power steering also saves weight in the M4, and its fantastic weighting can be tailored from Popeye (Sport+) to Olive Oyl (Comfort), with Sport being a comfortable yet meaty middle ground for the majority. While the weighting changes, the numbness never does, but the steering is so immediate and so precise that it feels unfair to complain about a lack of feel. There are few better steering racks overall on the market.

Heresy Can Be Fun, Too
M cars used to be heralded for their high-revving engines, but with the discontinuation of the 128i and the previous M3, BMW no longer powers a single vehicle in the U.S. with a naturally aspirated powerplant. (The i3 electric pod’s available range extender is naturally aspirated, but it doesn’t power the wheels.) Because BMW has decided that half a liter is the ideal cylinder volume, the S55 inline-six powering the M4 displaces the same 3.0 liters as other BMW inline-sixes, but it’s a unique piece. The block, crank, pistons, rods, and turbos are all new. The head is about the only major part to carry over from any other engine.

Yes, winding the E92 M3 beyond 8000 rpm was satisfying, but you know what else is satisfying? Torque. Right now. And its not like the F82’s 7600-rpm fuel cutoff is low. (It’s actually 800 rpm higher than the 1995 E36 M3’s redline.) Not only does the F82 pack an additional 11 horsepower over its predecessor’s V-8, the twin-turbo 3.0-liter has 111 more lb-ft than the E92’s 4.0-liter unit, and the result is an immediacy well beyond what the old car was capable of. We’re estimating a 0-to-60-mph time of four seconds—or better—for the DCT car.

The S55 sounds great, too. Under light load, occupants hear some distant turbo whistle and pop-off sneeze, but floor it and butterfly valves upstream of the outer two tailpipes open, allowing the exhaust gases to bypass most of the muffler. The result is a bawdy roar, a much bigger sound than expected from a motor small enough to fit in the M4. Inside the car at lower speeds, the soundtrack is augmented by synthesized noise piped through the speakers, but the Alan Parsons approach is a minor part of the sonic signature. To bystanders, too, the M4’s tailpipes spit a savage, race-car tune.

Unlucky Number Seven

As did the outgoing M3, the M4 will offer a choice between a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. This is perfectly acceptable, as it gives us an excuse to test more derivatives of the car. Like seemingly every other one of the car’s systems, the dual-clutch ’box has three settings. The most aggressive slams into the next gear too hard for street use, but we were annoyed that the slower settings also take longer to respond to commands from the paddles. If you want your shift to occur immediately after you pull the paddle, you get harsh shifts. This is just one more reason to order the manual, in which every shift parameter is infinitely variable.

Another reason is pricing. With the manual, an M4 starts at $65,125. The automatic is another $2900, so when you spend money on one of these this summer, we recommend reserving that sum for tires.
And you should spend money on one. We’ve questioned a lot of the changes BMW has made to its vehicles lately, wondering whether the company is building on its successes or just changing its cars and making them more complicated simply because it could. The F32 4-series may not be exactly the 3-series we want it to be, but the M4 is unquestionably an M3.
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