Vs Car and Driver - 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera vs. 2009 BMW M3

[Merc1]

Do push-button transmissions kill the fun?

We put our bony butts in two examples of the future of push-button, high-performance driving. Summoning the Force to safely pick a champion, we headed for the coiled back roads of California and the corkscrewing ribbon of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The new BMW M3 is well-known to us and to you, now that you’re digesting our fourth—fourth! When will your letters pleading for more ever end?—comparison test of the M3 in 15 months. Like a solid Hollywood franchise, BMW’s ranking joy toy and its 414-hp V-8 fusillade have us churning out endless popcorn sequels. The M3’s lineup includes a sedan and a convertible, plus a coupe. Our coupe, base price $59,625, has silver-blue paint over rust-colored leather, with $13,895 in options. Almost all the boxes were checked, including the Premium, Technology, and Cold-Weather packs, plus the new $2900 “M double-clutch transmission with Drivelogic,” a $10 way of saying paddle-shifted seven-speed with programmable shift maps.


Full Article: Car and Driver - 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera vs. 2009 BMW M3

Video



M

 

[Tarek]

M3 for me please,i'm a sucker for V8s

 

[VroomVroom]

M3 for me please,i'm a sucker for V8s

Same and the M3 leather colour

 

[CarGuy]

Wow, 4.1 sec, 0-60, from Porsche is very impressive!

 

[Mr Robert]

That is fast but C&D are notorious for posting fast 0-60 times. For instance, they managed to do 0-60 in 6.2 seconds in the MINI Cooper S...

 

[ateekt]

Nice comparo! No wonder, I'll take the mighty M3 & rev this phenominal V8 to limits!

 

[Mr Robert]

Yes, the M3 is the working class hero of the two. No doubt is it an over achiever but is it a whorthy alternative to a lower end 911?

 

[CarGuy]

The Carrera S will annihilate the M3!

 

[Mr Robert]

The Carrera S will annihilate the M3!

As long as price is not a subject to be considered.

 

[Merc1]

The M3 made the Automobile Magazine Allstar list (again, as for years), but there was really interesting observation made:

As always, the competition for the 3-Series keeps getting fiercer, and, as usual, critics say the latest, greatest M3 is a bit to refined. But BMW's maserpiece of all-things-to-all-people engineering remains more fun than anything that's more practical and more practical than anything that's more fun.



Brilliant way to put it IMO.


M