Celebrate the heritage of ///M
The M4 Edition ///M Heritage is a tribute to the brand’s motorsport success, and only 10 are coming to SA
BMW’S M3 is, arguably, one of the greatest passenger cars ever engineered and ever since its introduction in E30 form it has won more road races than any other single model in German Touring Car (DTM) history.
Its success was emulated during the Supertouring era in the 1990s, when the 318i and 320i won several touring car national championships, including the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), French Supertouring Championship, Super Tourenwagen Cup, Italian Superturismo and Australian Super Touring Championship.
There’s no denying that the M3’s motorsport heritage is strong. In recent years, though, the M3 moniker has taken a bit of a back seat when it comes to circuit racing, as the M4 coupé has risen in the ranks.
The M4, however, took DTM’s top honours in 2014 and 2016, and it’s served as a worthy replacement for the car that put the Mercedes-Benz 190E to shame back in the day.
CELEBRATING M PERFORMANCE HERITAGE
At this weekend’s DTM gathering at the Nurburgring in Germany, BMW will show off its latest M4s – heritage themed models that will be produced in very limited numbers – and only 10 of these cars are coming to South Africa (out of 750 worldwide).
The BMW M4 Edition ///M Heritage will make its world debut on the legendary racetrack in the Eifel with an exclusive exterior and interior look reflecting the impressive tradition of these high-performance racing cars. The limited edition model is propelled by a 331kW straight-six engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology and will be produced and sold worldwide between November 2019 and April 2020.
HOUSE OF M COLOUR PALETTE
Light blue, dark blue and red – these are the colours by which motorsport fans immediately recognise the BMW M logo.
The BMW M4 Edition ///M Heritage takes up this unmistakable colour combination on unique exterior and interior design features.
There is a choice of three body colours; Laguna Seca Blue (my favourite BMW colour of all time), Velvet Blue metallic and Imola Red available for the edition model. Additionally, the car’s carbon-fibre reinforced plastic roof boasts a striking decorative strip in the BMW M colours, which is integrated into the CFRP composite at the factory using a special manufacturing process.
Likewise unique are the forged, 20-inch M light alloy wheels in a star spoke design featuring the colour Orbit Grey matt and fitted with mixed tyres.
M-HONED INTERIOR TRAPPINGS
The interior of these edition models are also characterised by an exclusive selection of colours and materials. Its
wide spectrum of equipment includes model-specific full leather M seats in a bi-colour design and with prominent openings within the area of the seat-backs.
Each seat colour is oriented towards the exterior paint and is complemented by partly bi-coloured contrast stitching. In conjunction with the exterior colours Laguna Seca Blue and Velvet Blue metallic, the seats come in Silverstone/Black with turquoise stitching or Velvet Blue and Orange respectively.
With the exterior finish Imola Red, the seat colours Red and Black correspond with yellow and red contrast stitching. LIKE THE MODELS BEFORE IT
Expressive paint finishes and a characteristic interior design were already hallmarks of the BMW M3 Edition back in 2009. At that time, with variants in Alpine White, Black, Dakar Yellow and Monte Carlo Blue there were as many as four body colours available for the edition model based on the fourth generation of the BMW M3 V8. In the year 2012, BMW Motorsport’s successful comeback in the DTM triggered the production of the BMW M3 DTM Champion Edition.
During the first season following an almost 20-year break, BMW came first in the manufacturer’s rating, with the BMW Team Schnitzer winning the team classification. Moreover, Canadian driver Bruno Spengler seized the driver’s title. Only 54 units of this edition model were produced – one for each racing victory BMW was able to clinch in the DTM by then. And there were several more in the years that followed.
In the 2016 season, it was the German BMW Motorsport works driver Marco Wittmann in particular who was hard to beat and who eventually became the new DTM champion.
The BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition, which was limited to 200 units, was brought to market in his honour.
The strongly racing-oriented special edition not only exhibited exclusive design features but, above all, was provided with numerous innovations that had previously helped the 368kW BMW M4 GTS achieve its outstanding performance.
The same year, BMW M also presented an Edition model of the BMW M3 Sedan in memory of the BMW M3, which had made its debut three decades previously.
The special edition 30 Years M3 was finished exclusively in the colour Macao Blue metallic and produced in a limited quantity of 500 units.
The latest example to date of a fascinating combination of performance and exclusiveness for fanatics is the BMW M4 Convertible Edition 30 Years. This open-top high-performance sports car was produced in a limited edition of 300 and presented in 2018 – three decades after the premiere of the first-generation BMW M3 Convertible. This edition model also featured exclusive paint finishes – namely Macao Blue metallic and Mandarin II uni – and a specific interior design, said to provide ‘unique and aesthetic driving pleasure both on country roads and on the racetrack’.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
BMW SA has not confirmed when the first M4 Edition ///M Heritage lands in SA, nor have they put out a price, but there’s no doubt that if you want one, you had better head on over to your nearest BMW M Performance Centre this weekend to put down a holding deposit before they are all snapped up.
The standard BMW M4 currently retails for R1 325 061 while the harder-edged M4 CS sells for R1 864 341, to give you an indication of how deep you’ll have to dig to get your hands on an M4 Edition ///M Heritage model.