2008 M3 Pics
 

Here are some pics of the new M3 from the Geneva Auto Show. I personally love the look, aggressive but understated. If you read the comments, seems like most of the posters don't like the look.

410hp is nice!


http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/06/geneva-motor-show-bmw-m3-concept/

It will need 400+ horsepower. It'll probably weigh 3700lbs. : oink oink :

The relatively poor 0-60 time indicates it will weigh a lot.


414hp from a 4.0l v8 makes me want to cream :)


BMW M cars are something else.

I'll take broadband torque over a high peak horsepower number anyday. Horsepower per liter is a worthless statistic, but it looks great in print.

I loved my '95 M3, but the cars have gone up in weight since then and BMW lost me as a customer.

Looks great - I want one!

Screw that. HP/L means high-revving, high pitched amazing sound and amazing experience.


I'll take that any day over an 8.3l v10 w/ 510hp.

Hm. Fair enough. I'd rather go faster :)

I guess for me personally, part of the experience of going faster is feeling it and feeling the inspiration.

Can't have one w/out the other, just like feeling like you're going fast and not going fast isn't so great either.

Understandable. I've been spoiled in the past by engines that produce a nice solid wall of torque from idle to redline, and they're so much more usable on the street than a peaky, high-winding engine that produces a bunch of peak horsepower.

You are right about that. Especially considering 987s have a HUGE DEAD SPOT at about 2k RPM (which the ECU flash I bought claims to remove) and it is very annoying. Feels like a crappy automatic transmission.


Let's say you are going WOT in a torquey, muscular car. You feel yourself moving fast, especially due to the torque, but do you ever need to be going that fast for daily driving? Surely half the throttle will get you in front of any cars you want to pass with ease.


So the other half of the equation would be just what I am talking about, the thrill, and that would better justify using that driving technique. Maybe I am totally wrong about this.

I'm only explaining again because I think I did a poor job explaining the first time.



I think the solution is that we all need a Lamborghini. Problem solved. Who's in?

i dont think that car has the "M" look to it at all, looks like a piped out accord,it needs to look more agressve, something just seems to be missing.
i do like the CF roof tho, tail light are fuglyyy...

but then again, i cant wait to see what AC Schnitzer and Rieger will come out with for this car..

e30 m3>e36 m3>e46 m3>this whatever looking m3
one day i will get another e30 (M this time) :)

Looks like a Pontiac! The E46 (previous generation) is much more athletic and agressive looking. The other unfortunate thing is that BMW does too good a job of incorporating the 'luxury' factor into their sport coupes. At least with Porsche, even surrounded by creature comforts, you still felt like you were driving a sports car. BMW gets caught up making their cars too driveable for the the lame-o's out there who want a nice, comfortable driving experience back and forth to work and the grocery store

Dr. Mach, nice of you to stop by. How's life and your cars treating you?

Hey SD - doing alright- residency training sucks the life out of ya, though.! I miss the Porsche! the 330 zhp is a nice car, but just doesnt feel like a sports car. have been talking to my wife about maybe giving her the bimmer and buying another Porsche - but that may be another year or so down the road. In the meantime, I'll just tweak here and there on the BMW.

We did take a trip up the coast to Monterey a few weeks back - if you're ever up that way, an amazing drive (in addition to the PCH) is Carmel Valley Village Dr - nice gentle drive for the first 11 miles into the valley and into Carmel Valley Village, where you can stop and have a nice lunch and glass of wine. Then, continue on and the road is an amazing two lane windy adventure for miles and miles that makes you feel like you're screaming through the european country side - wahooooooooo! Only thing better would have been driving it in a Porsche. Passed somebody coming up the PCH a few days earlier in an old 356 convertible with a huge smile on their face as they zipped around the corner - lovely!

How are things with you - still love the car?

Glad to hear you're well, Mach. I agree, that the Monterey peninsula has some nice driving. Not sure if I've been on the road you mentioned, but I was impressed with 17-mile drive - worth the $8 bucks for the privilege.

Still pleased with the 987 S, but keeping up with the Joneses in the Porsche world can be aggravating. Aside from the 3.4 upgrade in the 07 there's spy-shots out there of the '08 refresh. In a moment of weakness, or boredom, I even specced a 997 C4S cabriolet on the configurator the other day, but had to shut'er down after I saw that I was at the 150K+ mark with all the options I'd want.

When my current car cycles are up I've been thinking I won't get another Porsche and am looking forward to the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage roadster. This will of course make sense as I'd be going from the poor man's Porsche to the poor man's AM.

You should stop by more frequently. The forum has grown in membership quite a bit but some of the posters from the past don't seem to frequent the page as often, to the board's detriment.

BLAH!


AM is way over-priced.

I am willing to bet a 987 with a 3.8l swap would smoke this car all day long - on track and off. Smaller engine, but lighter and more balanced car, and hp at least near the M3's...

But how does it sound?
 

I posted this in the video gallery before I saw this thread, but check it, yo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-F8PnaJf4

Gorgeous car, they will sell a ton of them!

I have no doubt about that! If I could afford one, I'd be on the list.

I think Bavarian Motorist put it most eloquently when he said, "414hp from a 4.0l v8 makes me want to cream."

LOL. I promise I can be more eloquent than that.

I had a modified RSX type S which dynoed 214 WHP (39 HP over stock dyno). It was a high revving, screaming terror, which made 107 WHP/L. Fairly high, lots of fun and a great experience. BUT, that car or it's experience wouldn't compare to large displacement big hp dog sled. My uncle has a CTS-V, and the 400 hp & flat tq curve are increadible, even in something as lame as a CTS. Even though it revs slower, it's so loud, deep and throaty it would vibrate wall hangings when revved while sitting in the driveway. flogging that car, NOW THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE

Uh - gul - ly
 

I can't believe this car. It's absolutely unrecognizeable as a BMW. I believe that BMW's "California Design Center" has less respect for the brand and its history than true car enthusiasts do. That's a shame.

All right...but we're talking 214whp to like 350whp.



What about this M3 as compared to a Corvette?

Hmmm. M3 versus Corvette?

400 horsepower for the 'vette versus 410-430 for the M3. Close.

400lb-ft of torque for the 'vette versus less than 300 for the M3. Not close.

The C6 Corvette is in the ballpark of 3200-3250lbs. The E92 M3 will be north of 3600lbs, probably north of 3700lbs. No comparison. Though, to be fair, the Corvette is a two-seat sports car with a bit of luxury. The M3 is a four-seat luxury GT, not a sports car. Two very different cars.

Bavarian Motorist, drive a C5 Z06 corvette sometime. It is all sound and fury up to its 6,500 RPM redline. It revs quickly, it's geared short, and it sounds like nothing else. Then come back and tell us how you feel about horsepower per liter. :D

First year CTS-Vs had the same drivetrain as the Z06. Who says they aren't fun in a completely un-Boxsteresque way? Video, right click save as

I say they're not fun. I've driven a few CTS-Vs. If you like driving a Corvette that's carrying a 1000lb load, you'll like driving a CTS-V.

My Silverado has the same series V8 as the CTS-V, so I guess you could say they're more truck like than the average car too.

The current CTS-V has the LS2 engine. There is no Silverado with an LS2.

The LS2 is the base Corvette engine.

The CTS-V is not my cup of tea, but it is fun in the same way a '60s musclecar is fun.

I drove a c6 recently and I made a thread about it.



So how about a 360 modena vs a C6?

You're kidding, right?

They are more similar than you think.


A c6 convertible is estimated at about 3199 lbs.



A 360 spyder is 3197 lbs estimated. (dry weight is 2976)



Both are 400hp v8s.

400lb-ft of torque as compared to 275



Now let's compare.

But.....The 360 Spyder comes with something the Vette doesn't....A Really Really big P***Y Magnet.

I'll take the Ferrari because it's a complete package with an excellent interior, a mid-engined layout, exotic styling, exclusivity and beyond all that, it's an investment. :)

But nobody would ever cross-shop those two cars. The Ferrari is several times the cost.

I know they don't compare in terms of price. I thought we were talking about the experience here!




Amen @ the p***y magnet comment :)

kind of tough to compare experiences the two offer because so few people have F430 or any other Ferraris for that matter. All most of us can do is rely auto-journalists who are all just as human and biased as we are. That being said....I would love to hear someone compare, objectively, the two cars on a track and real world driving.

maybe .... but eva longoria looks quite sweet in it. ;)

I didn't say that they had the same engine, I said the engines were in the same series, LS.

And, yes, the engine in my pickup truck has very similar characteristics to the LS2. I've driven my Dad's'03 Z06 on the racetrack a few times and had the car for a while myself. The LS V8's are really good engines, but I still say that the caddy is not an entertaining car to drive.

Again the P***Y Magnet effect except in reverse order when a chick is driving it.