BMW M4 2020: what do we expect from the new member of the M family?

The coupé sports car from BMW’s high-performance division, the BMW M, will remain true to its essence but will be inspired by the BMW Concept 4 presented during 2019.

The new BMW M4, which is expected to arrive later this year, will bear a strong resemblance to the Concept 4 Series of radical styling unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show.

New images of the coupé variant undergoing winter testing show that the rival Audi RS5 will get a much more prominent front grille than its predecessor, and it appears to be oriented vertically, as was the case with the concept. BMW says the new grille design, which is expected to make its production debut on the M4, is inspired by that of the iconic 1930s 328 sports car.

The new generation of Munich’s hardcore sports coupé also appears to have more athletic body proportions, with bulging rear wheel arches that give it a more muscular stance and an abrupt rear deck like that of the brand’s flagship M8. The differences between this and the standard 2020 4 Series are familiar, with the return of larger intakes and quad exhaust tips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFUnNvzuAcM

BMW M4 2020, the supercharged sports car is on its way

We already know that the new BMW M3 and M4 will receive a significantly upgraded six-cylinder engine that will produce more than 500 CV at its best.

The flagship model to use this new engine will be a new M4 Gran Coupé, the first time the four-door coupé has featured a full M variant. The coupé and convertible will also return alongside the M3 saloon.

The 3.0-litre engine, internally codenamed S58, is a development of the company’s standard B58 unit, as used in the existing 440i and other BMW models.

But as officials from the M division have revealed to some sources, “it is for all intents and purposes a completely new engine with significant changes to the base unit that allows it to rev beyond 7000 rpm and deliver a much higher specific output” than today’s S55 engine.

In addition to being destined for the next M4 coupé and the M4 Gran Coupé, the new twin-turbocharged six-cylinder inline engine is also planned to power a new M4 Convertible, the upcoming sixth-generation M3, and, in a less powerful form, the second generation of the BMW M2. It will debut in the new X3 M and X4 M SUVs.

An increase in power gives the new S58 engine a higher specific output in competition-spec form than the old water-injected S55, a setup used by the BMW M4 GTS. That unit gives the outgoing M4 coupé 425 CV in standard form and 444 CV in competition form.

Engineers in BMW’s M division have managed to increase power by more than 11% on the standard M4 and 13% on the Competition, with output of 478 CV and 512 CV respectively. These figures appear set to put the new model in direct competition with the 450 CV Audi RS5 and the 510 CV Mercedes-Benz C63S Coupé.

Torque also rises by 50 Nm, with the S58 engine delivering 599 Nm across a rev range between 2600 rpm and 5600 rpm. Despite the performance increase, the S58 engine has been developed to meet strict new emissions regulations, giving the standard M4 a CO2 figure of less than 200 g/km, thanks in part to the adoption of twin Otto particulate filters.

The key change over the S55 engine is the adoption of a longer stroke, at 90 mm. The bore remains 84 mm, but M says the revised internal dimensions help increase torque potential.

Two single-scroll turbochargers are also fitted in place of the single twin-scroll unit used on the B58 engine, along with the latest Valvetronic variable valve timing from M and the variable camshaft profile “Double Vanos”. The compression ratio has also been reduced, from 10.2:1 for the S55 to 9.3:1.

Although the new engine does not have water injection, officials say it could appear in a more developed version of the S58 unit that will likely appear in a successor to the 453 CV M4 CS.

Details of the rest of the M4’s mechanical make-up remain under wraps. However, experts suggest it is in line to abandon tradition by adopting a conventional eight-speed automatic gearbox and an xDrive all-wheel-drive system similar to the latest M5 (with an M-Dynamic mode that sends power to the rear wheels), at least in one version. It is also suggested that a cheaper, less powerful entry-level model with a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive could be offered.