BMW’s M340i on right track
We do the hard stuff so you don’t have to. Like thrashing the BMW M340i on a race track, writes Damien O’Carroll.
For a while now BMW has struggled to come up with a proper answer to Audi’s not-quite-RS mid-size cars – the S4 and S5 – which are basically powered-up standard cars that are plenty fast and still offer plenty of luxury, yet don’t quite tip over into full-on serious performance territory that the RS4 and RS5 hunt in.
Sure, things like the 340i M were powerful, fast and great to drive (well, largely), but they lacked the cachet and credibility that the separate S-branded cars have. And just to make things worse, Mercedes has got in on the mid-level performance car game with the introduction of its AMG C 43 as well.
So something needed to be done – and that something will debut in New Zealand in July in the form of the M340i xDrive, the powered-up AWD replacement for the 340i that finally discards BMW’s mincing around with the M badging and focuses the M Performance brand more directly on the competition.
While we were at the launch of the all-new 3 Series a while back, we were lucky enough to not only get a sneak peek at the M340i well before it goes on sale, but also thrash it around a challenging race track for good measure.
The 3 Series was launched in Portugal, at a location that was handily close to the Auto´ dromo Internacional do Algarve – more commonly known as the Portimao Circuit – a Formula 1 test track that has also hosted FIM Superbike, FIA GT and GT3, Le Mans Series, GP2 and A1GP (remember that?) rounds.
Opened in 2008, the Portimao track is 4.692km of challenging and unpredictable curves and elevations that have been compared to the Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps because of its constantly undulating nature.
Racing drivers love it because of the number of fast downhill sections that finish with tight, but wide corners, allowing for big, dramatic passing moves that could end very badly if you mess it up, but give you the room to at least take the chance.
And it is those very undulations and fast corner approaches that make it so incredibly intimidating the first time you head out on it.
Heading out onto the track in the M340i, the first thought that struck me was, ‘‘Wow. There are so many corners that look exactly the same as you go in but come out the other side so differently’’, which doesn’t do anything for your confidence on an unfamiliar track.
The wide corners and generous runoff areas with very distant walls, however, gave a degree of that confidence back because, even if I did stuff up magnificently, the chances of doing much worse than an embarrassing axle-deep
A good road car can often seem rather underwhelming on a race track, while a great track car is usually an awful road car.
submergence in the gravel weren’t all that high. And I can live with embarrassment.
Comprehensively destroying one of the few early-build M340is in existence, however, would be else as details of the car were well known – powered by a 270kW/ 500Nm version of BMW’s turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine, the company claims a 0 to 100kmh sprint of 4.4 seconds (a mere 0.1 of a second slower than the current M3 sedan).
It has more aggressive aeroinfluenced bumpers than the standard car, but stops short of the angry bulges and gaping intakes of the M3 and M4, making it a potentially ideal Q-car, with its restrained looks hiding serious performance.
So did it? After all, a race track is the best place to find out.
Except it really isn’t though, because a good road car can often