Official: BMW E90 M3 Sedan Revealed

Face to Face With BMW's Four Door M3

By Alexander
October 6, 2007 8:19 PM
Filed Under: BMW, German

It's official. BMW is back with a four-door version of its legendary top of the range 3-series - the mighty ///M3! When production of the four-door E36 M3 ended in 1999, many BMW enthusiasts were left cold when the next-generation E46 M3 appeared only in Coupe format, and even the fastest four-door 330i proved no match to the M3. This time, however, BMW has prepared its warrior in the medium-sized premium car segment for full-scale warfare against the Audi RS4 and the Mercedes C63 AMG.

Following yesterday's official 'look-alike' brochure, today BMW unveiled the official specifications of the four-door E90 M3 model. We've seen the four-door model lapping Nurburgring numerous times during the summer, and the Coupe-styled front bumper and headlights, M-style side gills, 19-inch M-wheels, quad-exhausts and a rear spoiler are the biggest optical changes over the standard four-door saloon.

The specifications sheet of the M3 Sedan offers no real surprises. The four-door sedan will expectedly be powered by the same high-revving 4.0-litre 420 hp V8 engine as its Coupe sibling, making it capable of a 0-100km/h sprint in 4.9 seconds, a mere 0.1 seconds slower than the Coupe, although you'd be pressed to notice the difference. At 1680 kg the four-door version is also roughly 30 kg heavier than the Coupe. With the addition of two doors, you loose the the carbon-fibre roof, which supposedly strips 5 kg of the Coupe's weight.

At launch, the M3 will be offered only with BMW's six-speed manual gearbox, but expect BMW to throw in its version of a double clutch gearbox in the model range in the next few years.

Source: BMW

Press Release (Click to expand)

New BMW M3 Sedan

The first official images and details of a second body version of the new BMW M3 have been released. The high-performance four-door sedan, from BMW M GmbH, is based on the E90 3 Series Sedan featuring unique design and technology. The four-door body variant adds the functionality of five seats, two extra doors and comfortable access to the rear, to the supreme driving dynamics, stand-out design and everyday driving qualities of the BMW M3 Coupé.

BMW previously offered a four-door sedan version of the second-generation (E36) M3 during the 1990s. BMW Group Australia Managing Director, Guenther Seemann, said the new BMW M3 Sedan combines the high-performance character of the Coupé whilst offering grand touring comfort for up to five occupants.

“Thirteen years after the first BMW M3 Sedan, the Coupé is now once again being joined by a four-door brother – a version which will appeal to fans of high-performance cars who also attach great importance to every day driving qualities and practicality. The M3 Sedan is a high-performance car which thanks to its design and functionality sets new standards while remaining first and foremost a BMW M3 in its character. BMW is currently evaluating the local sales potential of the M3 Sedan and if customer demand warrants we will bring the car to Australia. That said, it would be at least 12 months before this could be realised,” said Seemann.

The front-end design of the BMW M3 Sedan matches the specific look and high-performance character of its Coupé sibling; however the side-sills, front side panel “gills” and rear air dam are uniquely tailored for the sedan. The M3 Sedan is powered by BMW’s all-new 4.0-litre V8 developing maximum output of 309 kW and maximum torque of 400 Nm at 3,900 rpm. The four-door M3 accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and records average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle of 12.4 litres/100 kilometres.

The BMW M3 Sedan features an all-new chassis and suspension with specific, weight-optimised components as well as BMW M axle kinematics for a highly dynamic driving experience, use of forged aluminium track control arms, compound high-performance brake system, and EDC Electronic Damper Control with three selectable control maps.

The body structure of the BMW M3 Sedan has extremely high torsional strength and resistance, all-round occupant protection reflecting the very demanding safety standards of the BMW Group, six airbags, three-point inertia-reel seat belts on all seats, belt latch tensioners, belt force limiters and central safety electronics for appropriate control and management of the car’s restraint systems.

As with the BMW M3 Coupé, power is transmitted to the rear wheels by a manual six-speed gearbox with integrated, temperature-controlled oil cooling and mass inertia optimised two-disc clutch.

Comments

mako001
October 7, 2007 2:52 AM
I really hope BMW does a mid-cycle freshening of this vehicle's rear, it's atrocious!! The 3 series sedan I'm talking about..

antony
October 7, 2007 4:25 AM
i defnitely agree with you.

antony
October 7, 2007 4:29 AM
they should make the rear like the coupe.

elsonlau
October 7, 2007 7:47 AM
the convertible is still testing due to weight problems.

Milos
October 7, 2007 1:39 PM
Coupe looks much better. I'm afraid this appeares to be too "soft" for an M3 badge.

abu-fahd
October 8, 2007 12:30 AM
a sport sedan from BMW ?? That's great idea .. I love it .. but the only thing that I didn't like is the rear .

Hiromichi
October 8, 2007 2:56 AM
M3 sedan is right way of doing for BMW as it inherits BMW's traditional mighty sport sedan concept. However, competition is not easy in the segment. Lexus IS-F with V8 5liter/8AT prices JPY7.66mil.($66600)in Japan while M3 cpe does JPY9.96mil.($86600) both including 5% of sales tax. Is M3 30% better valued car than IS-F??

vanilla
October 8, 2007 8:50 AM
Sweet Engine! Without a doubt the M3 rocks! Unfortunately, Chris Bangle gotta take a more edgy approach to the M3 design. The sedan looks tired already.

Andres2007
October 9, 2007 1:21 AM
Nice, but the coupe is the best-looking.

If I were to buy an über mini-sedan, though, I'd choose the C63 AMG. Better looks, more power.

THERENAISSANCEMAN
October 9, 2007 1:57 PM
for all its fabulous tech specs , BMW3s are hopelessly cramped at the rear straitjacket , er ... passenger section . deja vu Porsche 993 ?

Glen
January 22, 2009 7:28 AM
Oh man, I went to the bmw shop with my dad the other day to buy a 325 when we saw a black M3 Sedan infront of us. It was the toughest and most exotic car we had ever seen (and we have seen alot of cars being mechanics). Then we walked over to see the 325's, and after seeing the M3 Sedan it looked like a $2 piece of crap. So we walked back over and baught the M3 instead. Now looking at the pictures on the internet, it looks absolutely terrible and boring. Especially in silver. Don't be fooled by the pictures. Trust me it doesnt look like those pictures in real life at all. So now, every time a car on the road goes past, my dad yells out "LAME!" Even though they might have been one of his favourite cars 10 mintes before. After seeing and buying the M3 Sedan everything else looks hideous.

Glen
January 22, 2009 8:09 AM
It looks at least 500% better in real life than in the photos. I hate to say it but even the back end looks really good. I agree that the rear of the new 3 series looks terrible in real life or photos but the M3 Sedans back end is *gulp* good looking.

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