BMW announced its new entry into GT3 racing, the BMW M4 GT3, replacing the M6 previously sold by BMW Motorsports–let's ignore the controversial nose for now.
Power comes from a P58 M TwinPower Turbo six-cylinder engine good for 503 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque, which is then sent through a six-speed sequential gearbox.
How much does all this …
After seeing an M4 in the wild and comparing it to these pictures, I'd say that the race version wears that grille a little better.
I'm also in the camp of thinking that the new styling will look a little better after some time goes by.
Sorry, BMW has completely lost the plot. They've gone from the ultimate driving machine to the ultimate unthinking status symbol. The only thing that they make that a)isn't fugly beyond consideration and b) holds any interest these days for me say MINI on the back.
This thing looks absolutely stunning. The new grill looks right at home in race trim. I wish it had a 4 liter NA V8 with a 9,000rpm redline, but I would still take one.
350z247 said:This thing looks absolutely stunning. The new grill looks right at home in race trim.
Proof that there apparently is a lid for every pot.
Colin Wood said:
I'm also in the camp of thinking that the new styling will look a little better after some time goes by.
I... just don't see that coming true.
I mean, Edsels have come into their own identity and enjoy a kind of nerdy cool, but I don't think too many people actually think they look good.
In reply to Duke :
Good point about the Edsel. I like the way they look, but that might just be in a nerdy cool kind of way.
I can still be hopeful at least.
The Shnoz works best for me on the race car over the street cars and for the street cars it looks better on the M4 over the M3, it just gets worse the more normal the car is.
I think for me the somewhat hard angles of the grill along with the small indents above them in the hood just don't flow with the rest of the car. Everything else has nice flowing curves including the headlights and then the grill just doesn't seem to fit with the rest at all. Audi pulled off going from a standard grill to a large grill quite nicely with a bit of a retro vibe with the shape, BMW could have pulled off the same but didn't.
What they did do right was getting it out there early to give people time to adjust, I wanted to barf the first time I saw it but it has grown on me over time. A big part of it is running the M4 GT3 Prototype in a couple of BMW CCA iRacing leagues over the last 6 months so I have adjusted to the looks over time.
Having said all of that it would take some sort of miracle for me to have the sort of I don't give a E36 M3 money to even consider a BMW made in the past 15 years over other cars available so what does my opinion even matter.
It does look slightly better in race trim. I still don’t like it. And on the street car it’s just disgusting.
The good news is I haven’t been interested in most of what they make in the past ten years anyway, so the new grill just makes it that much easier to move on.
That nose looks bad on everything they put it on. I am astounded that design made it to production.
adam525i said:I think for me the somewhat hard angles of the grill along with the small indents above them in the hood just don't flow with the rest of the car. Everything else has nice flowing curves including the headlights and then the grill just doesn't seem to fit with the rest at all.
I think you nailed the issue I have with it. Seeing the front and then the back of the street car makes you think you are looking at two separate cars.
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Sorry, BMW has completely lost the plot. They've gone from the ultimate driving machine to the ultimate unthinking status symbol. The only thing that they make that a)isn't fugly beyond consideration and b) holds any interest these days for me say MINI on the back.
Some years ago a design analysis of BMWs design direction by an industrial designer who's name Im not remembering said that under all the marketing whoey BMW was betting on 'attitude' over beauty or elegance (or just not ugly). IMHO whoever that was nailed it. I personally cant stand any of the different riffs on this era of BMW 'up yours' attitude. I fully understand design evolves or it does not exist and BMW was trying to evolve out of a brilliant period which of course is hard to do.
Shaun said:I fully understand design evolves or it does not exist and BMW was trying to evolve out of a brilliant period which of course is hard to do.
I think the problem with a lot of manufacturers is that their last few designs have been really good. Look at porsche, they haven't lost their way nearly as much as BMW has, but there's very few things about the 718/992 that are genuinely better than the 981/991. At best they're side steps, and at worst they're an interior that's barely recognizable as a 911 and...whatever they did to the rear end of the 992 and the hideous 90s aftermarket looking 718 taillights. And they're certainly not the only ones that have taken similar paths. I'd guess there's also some contribution from ever increasing crash safety requirements dictating higher hood lines and there only being so much that can be done to fill in that space, and other things of that nature.
Colin Wood said:adam525i said:I think for me the somewhat hard angles of the grill along with the small indents above them in the hood just don't flow with the rest of the car. Everything else has nice flowing curves including the headlights and then the grill just doesn't seem to fit with the rest at all.
I think you nailed the issue I have with it. Seeing the front and then the back of the street car makes you think you are looking at two separate cars.
To go along with that in my preferred era of BMW, put the nose of an M1 ( a very nice looking car) onto an early euro E24 6 series (another very pretty car) and the result is not pleasant. To take it a step further put that same nose on a Euro E28 five series and it is even worse.
If they could have incorporated the more angular design of the nose into the rest of the car better it would still be a very distinct design (and likely polarizing as well) but a better looking end result.
It's to the point now that I almost enjoy it more knowing how angry it makes some people. The street cars look passable with the big nose, but I genuinely think this looks great. It's super mean and makes the outgoing M6 GTE look dull.
Is that a steering wheel or a kids game controller??
In reply to sir_mike :
Funny you should say that, Fanatec who builds sim gear actually builds those wheels for BMW on this car. Soon you can have your own for your fancy sim rig, rumoured to retail at just under 5000 Euro!
I didn't think it was possible to take the Audi & Lexus gaping maw/ Cylon Centurion look and make it worse.
In reply to BenB (Forum Supporter) :
True, it will be interesting if they manage to 'save' this 'Design language' over the next few vehicles. The Lexus preditor maw looked absolutly aweful when they first rolled it out, but by the time the LC rolled around they've integrated it quite well. It's still not great, but it no longer destroys an otherwise atractive (and very very nice to drive) car.
dps214 said:Shaun said:I fully understand design evolves or it does not exist and BMW was trying to evolve out of a brilliant period which of course is hard to do.
I think the problem with a lot of manufacturers is that their last few designs have been really good. Look at porsche, they haven't lost their way nearly as much as BMW has, but there's very few things about the 718/992 that are genuinely better than the 981/991. At best they're side steps, and at worst they're an interior that's barely recognizable as a 911 and...whatever they did to the rear end of the 992 and the hideous 90s aftermarket looking 718 taillights. And they're certainly not the only ones that have taken similar paths. I'd guess there's also some contribution from ever increasing crash safety requirements dictating higher hood lines and there only being so much that can be done to fill in that space, and other things of that nature.
Hmm, this is an interesting one. I actually really like the 992 series cars, although they are now GT's not Sports cars. It would be great if they separated the RS range and the regular 911's. Call the RS cars the 911, and rename the GT cars as something else. But the details on the 992 are absolutely spectacular, they truly look amazing. They sort of remind me of a mechanical watch in that the small engineering details as so obvious and on display. Just look at the center locks and brakes, even from a distance seeing one on the road it adds to the look of the car.
But I'm weird in that I think the original 986, pre facelift, Boxster is the best looking Boxster they've built.
Back to the BMW schnoz. I get it that some people say it works better on the race car. Well you can do a color scheme that hides it to help disguise it, but it's still ugly. Unfortunately form over function doesn't even work for the race car as homologation and BoP mean that you can, within reason, equalize pretty much anything so there's no need to argue it's needed for the race cars.
I just hope BMW keep letting MINI Make awesome little fun cars and don't F them up too.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I would love if they made the GT3 or at least the GT3RS mid-engined. They have been far too stubborn for far too long. I don't care what they do to the base cars, but I do care about the GTS, GT3, and GT3RS.
Lucky for me I bought my M3 in 2018, at the time it was purported to be the last year with a manual clutch and shifter. Looks great, super fun to drive. If I have to replace it, I will look for used since I really can't stand the new nose.
Elliott
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