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What is it?
The most extreme factory-built, road-going BMW M3 yet--the new GTS. The final act for the current M3 (the E92) prior to the arrival of an entirely new (F30) model set to reach North America in early 2012, it is essentially a track car that just happens to be street-legal. Unfortunately, BMW says the M3 GTS is not coming stateside.
Still, it occupies rarified performance ground. At 3,373 pounds, it is 165 pounds lighter than the existing M3. The weight loss comes thanks to a carbon-fiber roof, titanium exhaust system, 19-inch alloy wheels, polycarbonate rear, side and back windows, and lightweight interior components. Though sound deadening is reduced, buyers can choose a radio and air conditioning as no-cost options--something the BMW M division says is a direct result of lessons learned with the earlier M3 CSL, the majority of which were ordered with such luxuries despites its similar circuit-bred nature.
The aero package includes a modified version of the standard M3's front bumper with an adjustable front splitter that can been extended by 30 millimeters. It is offset by a large, adjustable trunk-mounted rear wing borrowed from BMW's World Touring Car Championship 320Si race car. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done, with zero lift at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The M3 GTS's added performance stems from its engine, built on a race-grade block with a longer stroke than the standard 4.0-liter V8, resulting in an overall capacity of 4.4 liters. Power tops out at 450 hp--30 hp more than the standard M3--at 8,300 rpm, while torque jumps from 295 lb-ft to 324 lb-ft, available 150 rpm earlier in the rev range at 3,750 rpm.
Channeling the new car's added reserves is a beefed-up version of the M3's optional Getrag-engineered seven-speed M DCT (dual-clutch transmission).
How's it drive?
Fire the M3 GTS's new V8 and you're immediately made aware of all the underhood tinkering as the engine catches and settles into a lumpy idle overlaid with a pulsating exhaust note that is full of purpose and is fantastically naughty.
At launch, it's the added torque that makes its presence felt more than anything else. At lower revs, the M3 GTS feels more muscular than the standard M3--not a lot but enough to make you think the engine changes have been worth the effort. The acceleration is clearly stronger and not so heavily weighted toward the business end of the rev range, something that provides the car with added flexibility and a more determined feel.
The response is something else. BMW's M division has retained individual throttle butterflies for each cylinder and full variable valve timing, endowing the new V8 with sensational acceleration.
The dual-clutch transmission makes light work of the engine's added reserves, providing rapid shifts in manual mode without the startling clunk you got with the old sequential-manual unit.
The overall effect is that this hardcore M3 goes faster, feels faster and, most of all, sounds faster than any road-going versions of Munich's legendary coupe that have come before it over the past quarter-century.
BMW's M division says the car hits 62 mph from standstill in 4.4 seconds--0.3 second inside the time quoted for the standard M3 fitted with the same gearbox. With the splitter and rear wing in neutral settings, the car will also hit 190 mph at redline in seventh gear.
But what sets the M3 GTS apart from the standard M3 is its sharpness. Everything is carried out with greater immediacy, added response and heightened accuracy.
The steering is heavenly--heavier than the standard power-assisted hydraulic setup, but the added effort required is more than offset with precision. Turn-in is instant. There's no slack as you come off center, just eager, linear response and loads more road feel as a result of reductions in the amount of rubber in the suspension.
Even at high speeds the M3 GTS remains wonderfully flat and neutral during cornering, and with the DSC (dynamic stability control) switched into M-mode, there's rarely any intervention. The Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires are super soft and offer a seemingly endless amount of grip.
The upgraded brakes are also up to the job, providing firm and solid retardation without any obvious sign of fade.
Do I want it?
The M3 GTS possesses a singularity of purpose that is utterly intoxicating. Though we've yet to sample it on a public road, it'd likely be quite firm, even with the manually adjustable suspension dialed back to a nontrack mode.
Just what effect the changes have on the handling remains unknown right now, although it's safe to say it will be uncompromising in terms of comfort. Even so, with BMW M division is set to produce no more than 150 examples of the M3 GTS in both left- and right-hand drive, it's apparently too late to lodge an order. Word is every one has been sold.
http://www.autoweek.com
The most extreme factory-built, road-going BMW M3 yet--the new GTS. The final act for the current M3 (the E92) prior to the arrival of an entirely new (F30) model set to reach North America in early 2012, it is essentially a track car that just happens to be street-legal. Unfortunately, BMW says the M3 GTS is not coming stateside.
Still, it occupies rarified performance ground. At 3,373 pounds, it is 165 pounds lighter than the existing M3. The weight loss comes thanks to a carbon-fiber roof, titanium exhaust system, 19-inch alloy wheels, polycarbonate rear, side and back windows, and lightweight interior components. Though sound deadening is reduced, buyers can choose a radio and air conditioning as no-cost options--something the BMW M division says is a direct result of lessons learned with the earlier M3 CSL, the majority of which were ordered with such luxuries despites its similar circuit-bred nature.
The aero package includes a modified version of the standard M3's front bumper with an adjustable front splitter that can been extended by 30 millimeters. It is offset by a large, adjustable trunk-mounted rear wing borrowed from BMW's World Touring Car Championship 320Si race car. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done, with zero lift at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The M3 GTS's added performance stems from its engine, built on a race-grade block with a longer stroke than the standard 4.0-liter V8, resulting in an overall capacity of 4.4 liters. Power tops out at 450 hp--30 hp more than the standard M3--at 8,300 rpm, while torque jumps from 295 lb-ft to 324 lb-ft, available 150 rpm earlier in the rev range at 3,750 rpm.
Channeling the new car's added reserves is a beefed-up version of the M3's optional Getrag-engineered seven-speed M DCT (dual-clutch transmission).
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Fire the M3 GTS's new V8 and you're immediately made aware of all the underhood tinkering as the engine catches and settles into a lumpy idle overlaid with a pulsating exhaust note that is full of purpose and is fantastically naughty.
At launch, it's the added torque that makes its presence felt more than anything else. At lower revs, the M3 GTS feels more muscular than the standard M3--not a lot but enough to make you think the engine changes have been worth the effort. The acceleration is clearly stronger and not so heavily weighted toward the business end of the rev range, something that provides the car with added flexibility and a more determined feel.
The response is something else. BMW's M division has retained individual throttle butterflies for each cylinder and full variable valve timing, endowing the new V8 with sensational acceleration.
The dual-clutch transmission makes light work of the engine's added reserves, providing rapid shifts in manual mode without the startling clunk you got with the old sequential-manual unit.
The overall effect is that this hardcore M3 goes faster, feels faster and, most of all, sounds faster than any road-going versions of Munich's legendary coupe that have come before it over the past quarter-century.
BMW's M division says the car hits 62 mph from standstill in 4.4 seconds--0.3 second inside the time quoted for the standard M3 fitted with the same gearbox. With the splitter and rear wing in neutral settings, the car will also hit 190 mph at redline in seventh gear.
But what sets the M3 GTS apart from the standard M3 is its sharpness. Everything is carried out with greater immediacy, added response and heightened accuracy.
The steering is heavenly--heavier than the standard power-assisted hydraulic setup, but the added effort required is more than offset with precision. Turn-in is instant. There's no slack as you come off center, just eager, linear response and loads more road feel as a result of reductions in the amount of rubber in the suspension.
Even at high speeds the M3 GTS remains wonderfully flat and neutral during cornering, and with the DSC (dynamic stability control) switched into M-mode, there's rarely any intervention. The Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires are super soft and offer a seemingly endless amount of grip.
The upgraded brakes are also up to the job, providing firm and solid retardation without any obvious sign of fade.
Do I want it?
The M3 GTS possesses a singularity of purpose that is utterly intoxicating. Though we've yet to sample it on a public road, it'd likely be quite firm, even with the manually adjustable suspension dialed back to a nontrack mode.
Just what effect the changes have on the handling remains unknown right now, although it's safe to say it will be uncompromising in terms of comfort. Even so, with BMW M division is set to produce no more than 150 examples of the M3 GTS in both left- and right-hand drive, it's apparently too late to lodge an order. Word is every one has been sold.
http://www.autoweek.com
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