Those eager to purchase the upcoming BMW M3 and M4 will have to wait a little bit longer than expected if they want all-wheel drive.
While both the new M3 and M4 will premiere next month in rear-wheel drive form before going on sale shortly after, it is understood that BMW will not begin producing all-wheel drive variants until July 2021. That means they will land in the United States for the 2022 model year, Bimmer Post reports.
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It is unclear why BMW decided against launching both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive M3 and M4 models at the same time. It is also somewhat surprising that it will actually offer these two drive configurations. In fact, early reports suggested that the new M3 and M4 would use a similar all-wheel drive system to the M5 with a selectable rear-wheel drive mode. Evidently, BMW has decided it will be better to appeal to rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive customers separately rather than trying to appease them all with a single option.
Regardless of which wheels are powered, we know the new BMW M siblings will be offered in two states of tune. Entry-level models will feature a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six pumping out 473 hp, but those searching for more power will be able to opt for the Competition variant that delivers 503 hp and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque. Both six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions will be offered but interestingly, the Competition will only have the eight-speed.