Reviews
Gallery 1
WE’VE been gazing with envy for a few months now as overseas owners of BMW’s F series M cars – the F80 M3, F83 M3 Convertible and F82 M4 – have been optioning up their cars with something called the Competition Pack.
Given how much interest the mild makeover has garnered, BMW Australia has taken the notion a step further. Instead of offering it as a pack option, BMW has simply taken the standard M car, added the kit, badged it as a Competition and added three more cars to its M range in one fell swoop.
Buyers now have the choice of 12 (if you count manuals and DCT transmissions) different BMW M3/M4 variants. The M4 Competition differs little from its stock brethren on the outside, apart from the GTS-inspired forged 20-inch rims and a smattering of gloss black paint on the grille and side strakes.
There’s a freer-flowing exhaust backbox with cool metallic black quads tips, there’s a set of 20-inch rims with wider 265/30 R20 front, 285/30 R20 rear Michelin PilotSport tyres mounted on 15 per cent stiffer springs and revised dampers front and rear, and both the rear diff and traction control systems have been tweaked to suit the new chassis tune.
Nerdy bonus point; the engine’s bed plate – the bit that holds the crankshaft – is now stiffer, as well. Its new high of 331kW@6000rpm and 550Nm@1850-5500rpm still leaves it some way short of its arch nemesis, the Merc-AMG C63 posse, but it’s a healthy tweak at the business end of the rev range.
The extra kit costs $5000 on top of the regular Ms, meaning that the M4 Competition costs $154,615, still a neat ten grand dearer than the identically performing M3 Competition sedan. Thankfully, the slick-shifting six-speed is a no-cost option.
The 0-100km/h dash is exactly 0.1sec quicker at four seconds flat, while fuel consumption jumps six points to 8.8 litres per 100km. Weight remains the same, too, at 1540kg.
In truth, it’s still an angry rear end for a road-going car. The traction control light is busy even under light throttle loads; the mid-stroke of the throttle just isn’t quite progressive enough to allow smoother modulation of the torque to the tarmac.
Once it dries up a bit, though, the BMW M4 shows a newer, more mature side once the pace increases. Those stiffer springs that hamper the tyres’ abilities to track the road at lower velocities yield to reveal a complex damper map that can handle mid-corner corrugations and g-out hits with aplomb, while the chunky brakes are superbly modulated and offer incredible feel.
In all, it’s a more than worthy mid-term upgrade to the M4, and one that goes some of – but not all of – the way towards quelling some of our earlier doubts about the car’s ultimate abilities.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
Specifications
Engine: 2979cc inline-6, DOHC, 24v, twin-turbo Power: 331kW @7000rpm Torque: 550Nm @ 1850-5500rpm Weight: 1540kg (DCT) 0-100km/h 4.0sec (claimed) Price: $154,615
