Munich’s sporting two-door will be revealed later this year with bold styling inspired by the earlier 4 Series concept.
The all-new BMW M4 is due for an unveiling later this year and the latest set of Nürburgring spyshots give us a clear indication of the model’s close resemblance to last year’s radically styled Concept 4 Series.
New images of the coupé being driven hard at the Nürburgring Nordschleife show that the Audi RS5 rival will gain a much more prominent front grille than its predecessor, and it looks to be vertically orientated, as was the case with the concept. BMW claims the new grille design, which is expected to make its production debut on the M4, is inspired by that of the iconic 328 sports car from the 1930s.
The new generation of Munich’s hardcore sports coupé can also be seen to have more athletic body proportions, with bulky rear wheel arches that afford a more muscular stance, and a swooping rear deck like that of the brand’s flagship M8. Differences between this and the standard 2020 4 Series are familiar, with the return of bigger intakes and quad exhaust tailpipes.
We already know that the new BMW M3 and M4 will receive a significantly upgraded six-cylinder engine producing more than 373kW in its top form.
The flagship model to use this new engine will be a new M4 Gran Coupé, the first time the four-door coupé has featured a full-fat M variant. The coupé and convertible will also return beside the M3 sedan.
The 3.0-litre powerplant, which carries the internal codename S58, is a development of the firm’s standard B58 unit, as used in the existing 440i and other BMW models.
But as M division officials have revealed to Automotive Daily’s partner Autocar, “it is for all intents and purposes an all-new drivetrain with significant changes to the base engine that allow it to rev beyond 7000rpm and deliver a much higher specific output” than today’s S55 engine.
As well as being earmarked for the next M4 coupé and the M4 Gran Coupé, the new twin-turbocharged straight six is also planned to propel a new M4 Convertible, the upcoming sixth-generation M3 and, in a lesser-powered form, the second-generation M2. It has been launched in the new X3 M and X4 M SUVs.
An increase in power provides the new S58 engine with a higher specific output in Competition guise than the old S55 with water injection, a set-up used by the 368kW M4 GTS.
That unit provides the outgoing M4 coupé with 317kW in standard guise and 331kW in Competition form.
BMW’s M division engineers have managed to raise power by more than 11% in the standard M4 and 13% in the Competition, with claimed outputs of 353kW and 375kW respectively.
These figures appear set to place the new model in direct competition with the 331kW Audi RS5 and 375kW Mercedes-Benz C 63 S Coupe.
Torque is also increased by 50Nm, with the S58 engine delivering 600Nm between 2600rpm and 5600rpm.
Despite the increase in performance, the S58 engine has been developed to meet strict new emission regulations to potentially provide the standard M4 with a CO2 figure of less than 200g/km, thanks in part to the adoption of twin Otto particulate filters.
Key among the changes over the S55 engine is the adoption of a longer stroke, at 90mm. The bore measurement remains 84mm, but BMW M claims the altered internal measurements help to boost torque potential.
Also included are two mono-scroll turbochargers in place of the single twin-scroll unit used on the B58 engine, as well as BMW M’s latest Valvetronic variable valve timing and ‘Double Vanos’ variable camshaft profile. The compression ratio has also been reduced, from 10.2:1 for the S55 to 9.3:1.
Although the new engine goes without water injection, officials say it may appear on a further-developed version of the S58 unit that is likely to appear in a successor to today’s 338kW M4 CS.
Secrecy surrounds the rest of the M4’s mechanical make-up. However, insiders suggest it is in line to abandon tradition by adopting a conventional eight-speed automatic gearbox and a similar xDrive all-wheel drive system to the latest M5 (with an M-Dynamic mode apportioning power to the rear wheels) in at least one version.
It is also suggested a cheaper and lower-powered entry-level model could potentially be offered, with a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
Greg Kable