BMW M3 COMPETITION

‘LET IT RIP AND THE SPEED IT GATHERS IS UNRELENTING, WHILE THE RESPONSES ARE INSTANT’ – STUART GALLAGHER, EVO 285

WHEN THE G80 M3 COMPETITION ARRIVED at the beginning of 2021 it could have gone one of two ways. It could have continued the vein that was getting richer by the model, leading to the M2 CS being crowned 2020 ecoty champion. Or BMW’S most iconic car could have slipped back to the less than palatable years, where style and performance figures came before engagement, fun and pure dynamics.

Thankfully M Gmbh had no desire to take a backward step and the new M3 hit the ground running.

Its looks polarise opinion, but those able to consider a car behind its front grille will find one that delivers an all-encompassing driving experience. Its straightsix has a 500-plus bhp shove but it doesn’t dominate the experience, overwhelm the chassis and make the driver feel they are doing little more than hanging on. Instead it has a powertrain that excites, an engine that melds mechanical sophistication with the brute force of modern turbocharging. And what the torque-converter automatic gearbox lacks in whip-crack shifts compared to a DCT it makes up for with a stack of ratios that are intrinsically right for what they have been asked to do.

Add in a chassis that blends ride comfort with razorsharp reflexes, steering that’s quick and precise beyond expectations and a traction control system that works with you rather than against you and the M3 Competition arrives at ecoty stacked, packed and ready for action.

It will still need to bring its A-game, though, because in this company merely being the best M3 for a generation won’t cut it, and the group tests victories achieved throughout the year carry little weight here. Make no mistake, this is the M3 Comp’s toughest challenge.