Not only does the steering feel
inch-perfect on the track, but so do the engine, the gearbox, the brakes, and
the chassis – the works… The Portimao track deserves special mention here as
well. I’ve been fortunate enough to drive on quite a few tracks around the
world – with the Nordschleife (the North Loop of the Nurburgring) being the
ultimate test of man-and-machine. But Portimao comes a close second. The
elevation changes, in fact, are even more severe than the North Loop. Of
course, it’s more forgiving than the Nordschleife – in that the barriers don’t
exactly line the edge of the track waiting for you to put a foot wrong – but
the dips, blind crests, off camber corners, and double-apex curves are almost
as challenging and engaging. Unfortunately, we only got six laps in total. But,
a couple of laps in, and you’re completely comfortable with the car and the
track – despite a drying track, and 425 horses to reign in.
The
M4 comes with 18-inch alloy wheels as standard
The M3 just puts you at ease with its
immense capability, and that’s a sign of an extremely good sports car. A few
corners in, and it feels like second nature. So much so that I even felt brave
enough to engage M Dynamic Mode, despite the damp track surface and immense
power going to the rear wheels. In this mode, DSC is a little more liberal – in
that it allows a certain amount of slip before cutting the power. So, it allows
you to slide up to a point before engaging to keep you going in the right
direction. The Active M differential is so progressive in the way that it
allows the rear end to slide that it almost feels as if it’s got enough time to
send you a telegram about when and how much rear end slip you’re about to
generate.
The
new BMW M3 uses turbo power in place of a naturally aspirated engine
And while my cowardice didn’t allow me to
disengage DSC completely during my short stint of the track, I got a full taste
of just what the M3 is capable of from the passenger seat with former F1 driver
Pedro Lamy behind the wheel. Now, normally, I’m not a particularly good
passenger – but, in this case, I was simply awe struck by his incredible skill
mated to the stunning poise of this chassis, as he took me around the track
completely sideways for virtually the full lap. All I could do was sit back and
savour the moment.
The next such moment came on the narrow
mountain roads in the Algarve that make up the Portuguese round of the World Rally
Championship – this time with me at the wheel. Here, again, the M3 felt
completely composed, deeply engaging, and eerily perfect. Of course, it
required hefty throttle inputs to get the rear end to break loose. But, if
covering ground at incredible pace is your thing, this is to tool for you. And
it wasn’t the extreme motion sickness of my co-passengers that caused me to
slow down; it was the low fuel warning due to the 5.0 kilometres a litre that
we were averaging thanks to my more than liberal throttle inputs. On the whole,
though, it averaged closer to 10km/l – which is far more respectable
considering the fact that we weren’t exactly being gentle.
Powering
the M4 is a new turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine
The only thing I could find fault with is
the fact that the M3 is a little sharp edged on the highway. But then you’re
not buying this car to cross continents, are you? You’re buying it because it
represents the latest iteration of a legend – one that brings race car
technology to the road, one that puts supercar performance within reach in a
practical package.
And, on that note, I’ll have mine in M3
guise (since both the M3 and M4 drive equally impressively) in Yas Marina blue
please.
