All-new BMW M3/M4 slated for arrival next year

According to Road & Track magazine, BMW will also keep the M4 Cabriolet but which will switch from the current hardtop to an electrically folding soft-top like the regular 4 Series.

Much speculation continues to centre around the drivetrain with a report from Britain’s Car Magazine in January claiming that the M3 will keep its rear-wheel-drive layout, but with the option of xDrive all-wheel-drive offered on the M5 and M850i xDrive.

Just over ten days later, the bimmerpost.com blog site reported that the M3 will be offered in three model guises; the Pure outfitted with a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel-drive, the regular M3 fitted with the eight-speed Steptronic gearbox and the xDrive system, and the M3 Competition with the same drivetrain.

Based on those claims, the Pure and the standard M3 will ride on 18-inch alloy wheels at the front and 19-inches at the rear, while the Competition will have 19s at the front and 20-inches at the rear. In addition, all models will be fitted with the Adaptive M suspension and M differential, though the Competition will have the M carbon ceramic brakes as an option.

In accordance with the blog entry’s claims, the Road & Track report alleges that the M3/M4 will join the X3 and X4 M, as well as their Competition versions, in receiving the new S58 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six engine in two states of tune; 353 kW and 373 kW.

Contradicting the previous reports though, the US publication claims that the current seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box will soldier on, and that the new M3 will retail from around $70 000 (R998 387).

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