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BMW M Coupé

The BMW M Coupé performs well on smooth surfaces but performance deteriorates on rougher ones

BMW M COUPE

Text AUTO 192270 to 88833 to download the BMW M Coupe engine ringtone to your mobile. Terms & Conditions below.

14th September 2006

The M badge has been a familiar sight at Greatest Drives since we staged our first shoot-out in 1998. Back then, the Z3 M Roadster was featured, and didn’t score highly with our judges. Eight years later, little has changed.

 
The seats are figure-hugging, while the layout is suitably stylish.
It’s not that the Z4 M Coupé doesn’t look the part. With its long, proud bonnet and bold tail, it can’t be mistaken for anything else. Slip into the cockpit, and the seats are figure-hugging, while the layout is suitably stylish.

Although it’s low, lean and lithe, at 1,465kg the two-seater is a bit porky – heavier than a Lamborghini Gallardo, for instance. If anything, that only serves to make its performance even more impressive. The BMW recorded the sixth-fastest lap time and shot from 0-60mph half-a-second quicker than the claimed figure.

But it performs well only on smooth surfaces. On track, it was a blast – turn-in is crisp, the stiff chassis is very adjustable on the throttle and the 3.2-litre 343bhp engine is a masterpiece.

If your inputs are too abrupt, though, the M Coupé becomes edgy. The suspension is too stiff and not that well controlled, so it’s hard to pick a smooth line through corners. As a result, the steering needs constant correction – but it lacks feedback, so that’s not easy to do.

Take the car down a bumpy British B-road and things deteriorate further as the Z4 fidgets and fights. It’s tiring, not that rewarding and falls short of the Porsche Cayman’s standards.

Text AUTO 192270 to 88833 to download the BMW M Coupe engine ringtone to your mobile.

(Service costs 150p per ringtone. Normal operator charges apply. Users must have a GPRS-enabled and compatible handset and be over 16. Support email mobile@dennis.co.uk.)

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    BMW M COUPE
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    Specifications

    On-the-road price: £41,285
    Engine/capacity: 6cyl in-line/3,246cc
    Peak power: 330/7,900 bhp/rpm
    Peak torque: 355/4,900 Nm/rpm
    Kerbweight: 1,465kg
    0-60 claimed/actual: 5.2/4.7secs
    30-70mph/top speed: 3.9secs/155mph
    60-0mph: 33.3 metres
    Noise idle/full revs: 51/80dB
    Lap time/ranking: 1min 40.7secs/6th

    Road rating: 3/5
    Track rating: 4/5
    Feelgood factor: 4/5
    Value rating: 3/5
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