BMW M GmbH is currently preparing the generation change for the iconic sports cars. With driving dynamics tests performed under racetrack conditions, the series development process for the new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe is entering its crucial phase.

With a significant increase in performance compared to predecessor models thanks to an M-specific suspension setup and newly developed straight six-cylinder engines, these models once again set benchmarks in the segment of high-performance sedans and coupes of the premium midrange class.

Traditionally, the Nordschleife of the Nurburgring sets the yardstick for the perfect interaction between drive and suspension technology in every situation.

However, because the performance characteristics of a BMW M automobile have to convince not only there, but also on the most varied racetrack profiles, the test engineers always expand the test programme to include further circuits, such as the current test drives with camouflaged prototypes of the new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe at the Sachsenring.

Like all current high-performance-automobiles from the BMW M GmbH, the new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe are offered in two performance levels. Besides a 473bhp variant with a sic-speed manual shift, there is also the choice of a Competition model with 503bhp and an 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic. Compared with the predecessor models, the straight six-cylinder engines featured by the new high-performance sports cars deliver a maximum output increase of 48bhp and 59bhp for Competition models only, and a maximum torque of up to 650Nm.

The power unit excels through extraordinarily spontaneous response in every speed range and is also deployed in the BMW M4 GT3, which will become the new top-of-the-range model from the BMW M GmbH in the customer sport segment from the 2022 season.

With a meticulously operated testing programme, development and testing engineers at the BMW M GmbH are currently making sure that the M-specific suspension components are tuned to the engine's performance characteristics to such an extent that they guarantee the new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe places in the first row of the starting grid in their vehicle segment.

The around 3,670-metre stretch at the tradition-steeped Sachsenring, which is known as the long-standing venue of the DTM racing series, also offers the ideal prerequisites for this purpose. With its challenging profile comprising hairpin bends, long straights and the downhill passage before the Queckenberg bend, it is possible lap after lap to achieve targeted optimisation of the longitudinal and lateral driving dynamics of the new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe.