Our colleagues at Motor Trend managed to score these photos of a BMW M3 sedan mule testing near the Nürburgring in Germany. Although it wears the swirly camouflage that seems obligatory on all new test cars, we can see the large brake discs and signature quad exhaust tips that tell us this car is an M3 tester.
The new BMW M3 will be based on the platform of the next 3 Series, which is called F32 and should debut in 2012. The sedan configuration seen here is expected to vanish as the next M3 becomes available only as a coupe or convertible.
We’re not really sure what to expect under the hood of the new M3, which should debut around 2014. Some reports suggest the car will use a tri-turbo, 3.3-liter six-cylinder engine shared with the new X3 M. The unusual arrangement — two traditional turbos and one electrically driven turbo — would probably push the M car to ratings of around 450 hp.
Others, however, believe that the M3 will ditch its current 4.0-liter V-8 in favor of a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. The engine will be different than the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-sixes currently used by BMW products like the 335is, and also is tipped to produce about 450 ponies
For the full set of BMW M3 spy photos, be sure to visit Motor Trend.
Source: Motor Trend
