2020 BMW M3 To Offer 465HP, Less Weight And A Manual Transmission

BY Michael Karkafiris | Posted on

BMW will give the next M3 and M4 models more power, less weight and a manual transmission according to the latest reports.

Power will be provided by a revised version of the outgoing model’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six engine, which will reportedly produce 465hp (a little over 470PS), according to Autocar. The additional horsepower will most likely come from the adoption of a water injection system, similar to that in the limited M4 GTS.

BMW also focuses on making the new model lighter than the M3 CS’s 1585kg (3,495lbs); the weight savings already achieved with the new platform of the G20 3-Series will be complimented with the increased use of carbon fiber parts, including the roof panel.

This focus on making the car lighter is part of the reason BMW didn’t go for a standard all-wheel drive system, like the one on the M5, or any form of electrification as they would add weight, complexity and cost. This generation however is thought to be the last M car without some form of electrification and it is going to get an all-wheel drive variant after all sometime during its career, according to BMW board member and head of development Klaus Fröhlich.

The more powerful twin-turbo straight-six engine will be combined with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission, with the former confirmed by Fröhlich, who spoke to Road & Track.

“Honestly, the pure engineering answer is, you’re much faster with paddles and an automatic transmission,” Fröhlich said. “They’re very precise and sporty. Especially on the Nurburgring, you are much better in control when you’re not taking one hand away [to shift]. I think, in the overall portfolio, manuals will disappear. But I think M4 should be the fortress of manual. So the last manual transmission which will die, it should die in an M4, as late as possible. That’s my view.”

“I think it should survive in the next generation of M4,” Fröhlich added. “The successors [to the current M3 and M4] are all in the pipeline. And so my promise is, yes, there will be a manual in the successor to M4.”

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