M3/M4 The BMW M3 Coupe is officially dead..!!!

[ateekt]

The BMW M3 Coupe Is Officially Dead

It's a sad day. The last E92 BMW M3 Coupe has rolled off the production line. That doesn't only mean it's the end of the current M3 Coupe, it's the end of the M3 Coupe forever.

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Next year, the 3-Series coupe will be replaced by the 4-Series, as BMW continues its new tradition of naming coupes with even numbers and sedans with odd numbers.

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But that means the M3 Coupe, arguably BMW's most legendary, well known, iconic (I hate that word too), and versatile performance car has now gone off into the distance, never to be heard from again.

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Sure, I bet the nameplate will live on with an M3 sedan in the next year or so, but that really isn't the same thing. The E30 M3 was a coupe, that started it all. The E36 came in coupe and sedan, but you really wanted the coupe, didn't you? The E46 M3 was all coupe, all-the-time as far as I'm concerned.

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It's the end of an era. This final bright orange M3 Coupe is it. We'll miss you old friend.​

http://jalopnik.com/the-bmw-m3-coupe-is-officially-dead-677228405​

 

[Sunny]

Most probably the last M with NA engine too. Definitely end of an era.

 

[klier]

RIP!!!!

 

[Cashmere]

Looking back at the current generation M3, I think it is safe to say that it has been a very successful model for BMW. Just like the E46 M3, there's not much that I would change.

I have a feeling that the last orange M3 rolling off the production line will end up, parked away in some car collector's garage.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I'd like to own another E92 M3. Maybe in 12 months when I change my A1. They're very affordable. Running costs might make an M135i much more sensible.

Tough one.

 

[picsoubmw]

Munich. Fresh from a clean sweep of German Touring Car Masters (DTM) titles in 2012, the BMW M3 has continued to power from one victory to the next again this season. And the race-spec car is sure to be involved in a good deal more exciting action before the season concludes this autumn. The series-produced model, however, is already on the finishing straight as BMW M GmbH announces the end of production for the fourth generation of the BMW M3 Coupe. The high-performance sports car which spawned the championship-winning DTM racer is set to end its career on the road with more than 40,000 examples having left the factory. Indeed, the BMW M3 Coupe will be drawing a line under an extraordinary run on the world’s car markets. The BMW M3 Convertible, likewise powered by a high-revving V8 engine, will continue in production until September 2013.

The BMW M3 has epitomised the direct transfer of racing expertise to the road since 1986. And the latest generation of the high-performance sports car succeeded in adding another sprinkling of fascinating new chapters to its model history – from innovative technology yielding even more intense driving pleasure to BMW’s highly successful comeback in the DTM. With its athletic design, an overall package pieced together with hallmark M precision, and top-class performance capability, the BMW M3 enjoyed immense popularity around the world. Production of the BMW M3 Coupe – launched in 2007 – exceeded 40,000 units, and the BMW M3 Sedan added almost 10,000 units to the total. Just under 16,000 units of the BMW M3 Convertible have been built to date.

The most important shared feature of the three body variants is their powertrain and chassis technology, derived directly from motor sport. The 4.0-litre V8 engine, developed exclusively for the BMW M3, has cylinder banks positioned at a 90-degree angle to one another. It develops maximum output of 309 kW/420 hp, generates peak torque of 400 Newton metres (295 lb-ft) and revs to a maximum 8,400 rpm. Like the engine’s high-revving character, numerous construction details, such as the electronically controlled individual throttle butterflies, ion current knock control and dynamically optimised oil supply, were taken straight from motor racing. Alongside its instantaneous responsiveness, the colossal power delivery of the naturally aspirated engine – maintained at a constant level into the upper reaches of the rev range – is its defining feature. The BMW M3’s engine won the 3.0 to 4.0-litre class of the International Engine of the Year Award five times in succession.

The transfer of technology from race track to road also shapes the character of the car’s other powertrain and chassis components. A lightweight chassis developed specifically for the M3 – complete with a front axle secured to the body by an aluminium stiffening plate and a five-link rear axle with hollow-tube anti-roll bar and forged aluminium axle control arms – teams up with a rack-and-pinion steering system with M-specific Servotronic and the variable M differential lock to provide precisely controlled transfer of power to the road in any situation. The BMW M3 was fitted as standard with a high-performance compound braking system and could also be specified as an option with the three-mode Electronic Damper Control system. Another impressively innovative option introduced for the fourth-generation BMW M3 was M DCT Drivelogic. The first double-clutch transmission for series-produced vehicles to be set up specifically to suit the performance characteristics of a high-revving engine opens the door to extraordinarily dynamic acceleration with no interruption in the flow of power.

The fourth-generation BMW M3 was a trailblazer in its class when it came to intelligent lightweight construction. Playing a prominent role alongside the aluminium bonnet and plastic front side panels in lowering the weight of the Coupe’s body was its carbon roof. The use of this high-tech material on the scale achieved with the BMW M3 represented another important step for the
BMW Group towards the industrial manufacture of carbon body components.

During the six years or so of BMW M3 production, the USA, Great Britain and Germany grew into its most important sales markets. In 2010 the Coupe also became a work of art when US artist Jeff Koons transformed the BMW M3 GT2 endurance racer into the 17th member of the BMW Art Car series. Koons’ creation was unveiled in early June 2010 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, before lining up in the Le Mans 24-hour race two weeks later. The BMW M3 GT2 added another rash of victories to the BMW M3’s exceptional record of success, including five titles in the American Le Mans series and victory in the Nürburgring 24-hour race.

The fourth-generation BMW M3 was produced at the BMW plant in Regensburg alongside the BMW 3 Series Sedan, Coupe and Convertible. Its V8 engine was supplied by the BMW engine factory in Munich, where specific production processes on the special engine assembly line ensured the high-performance unit would be marked by excellent quality and reliability.

Among the highlights of the BMW M3’s production run were the exclusive small-series variants of the car introduced over its lifetime, which brought its race-inspired characteristics even further to the fore. The BMW M3 GTS, for example, was developed as a road-legal clubsport-oriented model. The displacement of its V8 engine was increased to 4.4 litres, enabling maximum output of 331 kW/450 hp. Bespoke chassis components and aerodynamic measures, plus a two-seat cockpit designed for racing use, prepared this exclusive special-edition model for competitive race action on the track and ensured it offered a super-intense M experience on the road. 135 examples of the BMW M3 GTS were delivered to customers.

The BMW M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technology) joined the fray in 2011 in a limited run of 67 units. Based on the BMW M3 Sedan and built at the BMW M GmbH factory, the BMW M3 CRT boasted exclusively manufactured lightweight components, a 331 kW/450 hp version of the V8 engine and modified chassis technology – all of which was a recipe for exceptionally precise handling balance. An innovative carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) manufacturing process was employed in the construction of the BMW M3 CRT. Its bonnet was made from two CFRP mouldings encasing an aramid honeycomb structure. This construction gave the bonnet the strength of a conventional steel equivalent, but at roughly a quarter of its weight. The bucket seats of the BMW M3 CRT were made from two CFRP layers wrapped around a recycled-paper honeycomb, and a carbon layer made using conventional production technology was added to visible areas. A rear spoiler and an air-channelling element integrated into the front apron (both made from CFRP) rounded off the exclusive lightweight elements found on the BMW M3 CRT.

BMW M GmbH celebrated the triple success of BMW’s DTM comeback – the drivers’, team and manufacturers’ titles were all won with the BMW M3 – with a limited-run special-edition model: 54 examples of the BMW M3 DTM Champion Edition would leave the factory, one for each DTM race victory notched up by BMW between 1987 and 2012.

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/pres...lId=6&id=T0143468EN&left_menu_item=node__2248

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I thought there might be one last hurrah for the E92 M3. Obviously not.

 

[klier]

^ The M3 legacy obviously lives on in the i3 and 1er GT!

 

[Cashmere]

I thought there might be one last hurrah for the E92 M3.

There were several actually. All came with frozen paint, 20% "exclusivity" price, limited edition badges and were sold out in a jiffy. BMW figured it's easy money compared to making epic cars such as the CSL.

 

[klier]

^ Don't forget the decals and Chinese dragons

 

[mini_cooper4]

This and the M3 CSL are most probably the best BMWs in history and surely two of the best cars ever made!
I never ever had an M3 in my entire life but the E92 is surely one of my dream cars... now even more as it's most probably the last NA BMW... the last M3 Coupe... the most beautiful Real Car I've ever seen. Not close to perfection... nah, it's Perfection! I'd never change anything on this car! A Classic already! I LOVE YOU M3! THE BEST!

 

[Zafiro]

Finally! Now we can move on to the next chapter.

 

[ACE]

Most probably the last M with NA engine too. Definitely end of an era.

Technically, it's only the last E92 M3, they're still making NA E93 M3s for a few more months.

 

[sanpt7777]

Special cars like these never die. They just cease borning. Anyway, this is sad.

 

[sanpt7777]

So, now that we have the 4-Series Coupé, will the M3 name will end too? Will it be replaced by "M4"? I think the 4er came to replace the 3-Series Coupé, is that right?

 

[sanpt7777]

Oh no! I get it! It's actually dying!! What can we do? What can we say? There must be another way! BMW is killing its prodigy child!! Der Wunderkind ! It's not dying of natural causes.

 

[bmwownage]

Both the V8 and the V10 M engine is gone, i just hope they can somehow find some advantage with turbocharged engines like the way they have got with NA engines, to stay unique.

 

[Giannis]

So, now that we have the 4-Series Coupé, will the M3 name will end too? Will it be replaced by "M4"? I think the 4er came to replace the 3-Series Coupé, is that right?

There will still be an M3, but it will have 4 doors

 

[sanpt7777]

There will still be an M3, but it will have 4 doors

Yeah, I already found out but thanks for the info anyway. =) I was thinking, maybe letting the M3 Coupé end its life is a good thing, I mean, its only changing its name. Once there was a car called the 2002, it was replaced by some 3er E30 and we love it. Maybe we'll love the M4?? I already like it since its using I6 again instead of V8. I mean, E30s were 4 cylinder, wholl miss a heavy V8, what do you think? The M4 maybe like a new era of turbocharged M coupes (2002 Turbo), M3s were all NA. I hope this new direction works. "If there's a new way, I'll be the first in line. It better work this time"

Lets all cross our fingers and hope BMW brings a "Modern E30"

 

[sanpt7777]

Both the V8 and the V10 M engine is gone, i just hope they can somehow find some advantage with turbocharged engines like the way they have got with NA engines, to stay unique.

I bet they will. And we have the plus of the beatiful sound of a Inline-six. I know some dont like it, but its really nice.


I leave these link for all to see, its the testing of the new M4 in the ring

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I can hear a fast shifting, which maybe means no manual will be offered, or it just happened to be the testing of a doublé clutch (or was it BMWs 8 speed auto??)