Whatever blows your hair back — well BMW’s ever-so-suave M3 convertible certainly did, and in less than 20 seconds, too.
The beauty in this masterpiece from Bayrische Motorem Werke is not just swanning past your local News Café, which is bound to draw more than admiring glances. It is how the new ragtop does it without fuss.
The M3 convertible is almost identical to its hard-headed coupé sibling, except for the height, where it has lost 14mm, giving it a squatter, more aggressive appearance. A button on the dashboard to the left of the “M”-style gear lever is responsible for the transformation, which can be done at walking speeds as you manoeuvre your way out of the parking lot.
But it is what’s under the hood that matters. Of 3 246cc capacity, the naturally aspirated mill thumps out a breathtaking 252kW, which is made once you see the tachometer hit 7 900rpm. With that goes a stump-pulling amount of torque, namely 365Nm, which is developed at 4 900rpm.
The car will pull away on idle without any prompting from the loud pedal. All this power comes from BMW’s double variable camshaft control (M double Vanos), which infinitely adjusts the valve timing on both the intake and outlet camshafts. Compression ratio is 11,5:1.
Power is transferred to the rear wheels via, in our test car’s case, a six-speed manual gearbox. Like any performance gearbox, it has to have the strength of Solomon to handle all that power up front, and is thus notably a little heavier when swapping cogs, up or down. Changes can still be rapid though, thanks to direct linkage, and finding gears is easy. This all reaches the variable diff-lock rear axle, which is pinned to the chassis via a central arm axle, while the front uses a single joint spring and light alloy struts up front, all which sport anti-roll bars.
Our test car had the 19-inch optional alloys with tyres measuring 235mm up front and 265mm at the back, while profiles fell into the 35 and 30 categories respectively. The ride is comfortable, thanks to some clever engineering in the suspension department.
It is all very well to make a car go fast, but arresting speed is paramount. Massive cross-drilled discs clamped by colossal callipers do duty all round, ably assisted by an anti-lock braking system, dynamic stability control and dynamic brake control. Adding to the safety comes driver and front passenger air bags, the latter offering auto passenger detect, while head bags offer extra protection. The rollover bar, positioned behind the rear seats, will pop up in milliseconds.
In terms of equipment, the M3 convertible virtually mimics its coupé sibling with full Nappa leather upholstery, electric front sports seats, bi-xenon headlamps and a six-disc CD changer being just some of the standard fare on offer. It also gets the top-of-the-range Harman Kardon sound system as standard equipment and four chromed exhausts at the rear of the car.
Nice touches include a single button near window controls on the gearshift panel, which simultaneously raises or lowers all four windows, while steering-wheel mounted audio controls allow you to concentrate on the job in hand. The steering wheel is also height and reach adjustable.
The clutch is reasonably light and has excellent feel, so negotiating the daily morning snarl is a pleasure in itself. Rear-only park distance control helps in and out of tight parking spots, while follow-me-home headlights stay on courteously at night.
Reaching 100kph takes a mere 5,7 seconds. Handling is very neutral in faster corners, which can be treated with total disrespect. If you have overdone it slightly, the cocktail of electronic wizardry soon sees you pointing in the desired direction, albeit with a little interference. Some feel it is intrusive, but most are quite happy once the straight sections appear.
In cruise mode the M3 is polite when it comes to fuel usage. But if you are an enthusiastic driver, you’ll be visiting the unleaded pump quite frequently, as the BMW is capable of imbibing a good 16 litres per 100km. If you are swanning, however, expect that to drop to around the 12 litre mark.
Priced from R614 000, the range is covered by the five-year/100 000km Motorplan Maintenance contract, while the guarantee stands at two years/unlimited kilometres.
Test car supplied by BMW SA