The head of the BMW M division has confirmed the upcoming M3 will be offered in two states of tune, with the flagship Competition variant churning out 375 kW (and thus lining up neatly with the Mercedes-AMG C63 S).
Speaking to the United Kingdom’s CAR magazine, BMW M CEO Markus Flasch confirmed the new M3 would draw its urge from the twin-turbo 3,0-litre inline-six that debuted in the X3 M and X4 M.
In each of these high-performance SUVs, the base version of the six-cylinder unit develops 353 kW, while the Competition-based variant upgrades to 375 kW. And Flasch says it’ll be the same with the new M3.
“The next BMW M3 will have the brand new S58 engine that we’re launching in the X3 M and X4 M. It will have 480 bhp [353 kW] in the standard version and 510 bhp [375 kW] in the Competition version,” Flasch told the UK publication.
He made no mention of maximum torque, but the figure stands at 600 N.m in the M-badged SUVs (both base and Competition).
Flasch furthermore said the new M3 would be offered in all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, with some variants making use of an automatic transmission and others of a manual gearbox.
“Drivetrain-wise, think about the M5’s all-wheel drive system – we are able to put it in the M3 as well. It’ll be very similar. But we will also do rear-wheel drive cars, purer ones too and a manual stick shift,” he said.
