MrFatbooty

These are the first photos of the upcoming M version of the BMW 3-Series Coupe. It can be recognized from the two big exhaust pipes at the rear and the large air intakes below the front license plate.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=8353

sherwood

i dunno, either i'll love it or hate it.. jsut gotta see the cladding come off first

Vibralux

i am not diggin the new 3 series

kazi

These so called spy pics are worthless considering that its totally masked up.

jaje

here is what i've seen over the past several decades with the m3:

- each generation becomes much more expensive than the previous
- bmw sells fewer m3s because of it
- bmw pushes the engine on the m3 to its breaking point (e46 engine failures)
- the m3 loses its once enviable and strong popularity as a sports car

if only bmw can go back to its roots with the e30 & e36 m3s that had good performance and was affordable!...even keep the formula a 4 door sedan, 2 door coupe, and 2 door convertible - the e36 m3 was the most popular version and was the heyday of bmw

now as m3's price skyrocket and they sell fewer and fewer as their core owners cannot afford them and price the cars to compete with 400+ hp corvettes and even get into 911 and viper territory the m3 will disappear

i say they give us sevaral options - 4 door sedan, coupe and conv with 3.0 inline 6 and 2.4 liter inline 4 versions with just a little more powerful than the standard 3 series yet with the legendary suspension and braking treatments like they used to...make it a drivers car again...if a bmw owner wants power get a 5 series with the v8 but leave the m3 back at its roots...or even give us a m3 gtr with a v8 as the "all out" version

MrFatbooty

jaje what you're asking for was somewhat delivered with the E46 330i Performance Package. Granted it was rare, but it was pretty much exactly what you're asking for. The new E90 330i has more power than the E36 M3 had. Stick some coilovers on it and voila.

TheOtherDave™

You can't tell a damn thing with all the cladding... but given BMW's descent of late, I'm pretty confident the end result will be disappointing.

And I absolutely agree with jaje. The M3 has forsaken its roots.

MrFatbooty

Here's a photoshop of what it might look like. Who knows.



http://www.autospies.com/article/ind...&categoryId=12

MrFatbooty

(this one's a photoshop, I think)

Seen here driving on the German Nürburgring is the first prototype of BMW's much anticipated M3. These photos confirm our original report (see story below) of a 4 door M3 being brought back into the model range since the E36 platform. We also reported the M3 would receive a V8 engine. If you look closely at the hood you'll notice the entire center has been sectioned out and replaced with a specially fabricated cover. It cannot be determined from these photos if the cover is steel or another material, however, it is clear that the purpose of this modification is to compensate for a larger engine. Other indicators of this prototype's intentions can be seen in the massive cross-drilled front and rear brake rotors as well as dual split exhaust pipes carefully hidden under the rear bumper fascia. Unfortunately this prototype is not having a full dress rehearsal since M3 styled front and rear fascias are absent as standard 3 Series bumpers take their place.

http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...id/6050228.001

98CoupeV6

The last two are photoshops. Although they're jumping to grandiose cosmetic conclusions based on spy pics that show no cosmetic changes, they're probably pretty representative of the real thing.