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BMW Concepts BMW Cars
© 1998 - 2007
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BMW: The new BMW M3 2007
The concept looks back at a long tradition, the result is unique every time: For more than two decades, the BMW M3 has ranked alone as the epitome of ultimate dynamism derived directly from motorsport, a car offering powerful and superior aesthetics, as well as a truly incomparable driving experience. And now the new version of this high-performance sports car is ready to go - perfectly prepared to find the ideal line not only on the race track.
Like its predecessors, the fourth-generation BMW M3 sets new standards in technology and driving dynamics. And at the same time, like all high-performance models from BMW M GmbH, the new BMW M3 offers all the qualities required for everyday driving enjoyment of the highest calibre.
The engine, for example, is an exclusive development precisely for this model, with the chassis, suspension and body all based consistently on the requirements of motorsport. So leaving aside just a few components, the new BMW M3 is a brand-new car from the ground up. The aesthetic design of the body again typical of BMW M and the drivetrain technology conceived from the start for supreme performance - clear proof of the competence of the car development engineers at BMW M GmbH with their close ties to motorsport - spell out supremacy of the highest standard. In a nutshell, therefore, the new BMW M3 is a car built to be a winner, a car always able to prove its superiority also in everyday traffic.
Making its debut in the BMW M3: eight-cylinder
power unit with 420 hp: The truly impressive "heart" of the new BMW
M3 is the car's brand-new eight-cylinder power unit in V-arrangement
combining outstanding power and performance with unique dynamism. Displacing
3,999 cc, the new V8 develops maximum output of 309 kW/420 hp. |
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Maximum torque, in turn, is 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft at an engine speed of 3,900 rpm. And perhaps an even more impressive fact is that some 85 per cent of this maximum torque is available consistently throughout the enormous speed range of 6,500 rpm.
The new BMW M3 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed limited electronically of 250 km/h or 155 mph. The eight-cylinder power unit owes its perhaps most striking feature to the high-speed engine concept again typical of BMW M: Maximum engine speed of 8,400 rpm gives the engine supreme thrust and torque at all times. This power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox in conjunction with brand-new final drive featuring BMW's Variable M Limited-Slip Differential.
Over and above the engine's specific output of 105 hp per litre, average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle of just 12.4 litres/100 kilometres (equal to 22.8 mpg imp) bears clear testimony to the supreme engineering that has gone into this equally supreme car. Know-how carried over from Formula 1 in production, construction, and the choice of materials: The engine block of the new eight-cylinder comes from BMW's light-alloy foundry in Landshut north of Munich, which also builds the engine blocks for the Grand Prix cars raced by the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The crankcase is made of a special aluminium-silicon alloy. It is both compact and extremely strong and torsionally resistant in its bedplate design. Despite the two extra cylinders, the entire power unit is approximately 15 kg or 33 lb lighter than the six-cylinder engine featured on the former model.
Intelligent energy management featuring Brake Energy Regeneration enhances the efficiency of the power unit to an even higher standard: This new system generates electricity for the car's on-board network only in overrun and while applying the brakes, with the alternator generally being disconnected as long as the engine is in traction, "pulling" the car.
Apart from particularly efficient generation of electric power, this process also helps to provide extra drive power when accelerating. July 7, 2007 Photos: BMW/ Automotive Intelligence
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