The 2021 BMW M3 and M4 have officially been revealed

When it comes to performance the BMW M3 and BMW M4 are icons in the German automaker’s lineup of vehicles. These two are inarguably two of the most important performance cars in BMW’s portfolio. The latest iterations are officially out with new hate it or love its design. Both the designers and the engineers behind the two performance cars took a bold new approach in creating the BMW M3 and M4 for their sixth generation.

When it comes to the new M3 and M4, the most in your face new design change is the massive dual kidney grilles propped up front and center. Behind the new snout, however, hides a new twin-turbocharged gasoline straight-six engine. The new engine is capable of producing up to 503 hp that can rocket the car from 0-100km/h in less than four seconds. 

When it comes to the design of the new M3 and M4, BMW designers were serious when they said they would be giving both vehicles a bold personality. Previously mentioned, both cars get massive dual kidney grilles up front that extend vertically from the base of the hoodline all the way to the bottom of the bumper. Flanking the large grille are a new set of full-LED headlights with BMW Laserlights also available as an option. 

Both performance cars also come standard with a carbon-fiber roof, moonroof, M-specific front and side splitters, and staggered wheels, specifically 18-inches for the front and 19-inch wheels at the rear. The higher Competition trim-level also gets staggered wheels with 19-inch wheels being at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear. An optional M Carbon package is also available for both performance cars, which adds more lightweight options to the exterior, and a Shadowline option for the exterior mirrors, rear spoiler, and tailpipes.

When it comes to the cabin, a number of features that are standard in the regular 3 Series and 4 series carry over to the performance versions. Both vehicles get the same infotainment system and digital instrument cluster that can be found in their more contemporary counterparts. However, these do have subtle differences hinting towards a sportier look and feel. A new red stop-start button has been added in the center console as well as optional carbon-fiber trim pieces, M badging throughout the cabin, and red M mode buttons on the steering wheel.

New sports seats have also been added to the M3 and M4 that help separate the two from their base siblings. These come in Merino leather and take the form of bucket seats that have massive side bolster. The new seats also have integrated head restraints with an illuminated model badge as well as M specific perforation for ventilation.

When it comes to safety, both the BMW M3 and M4 get the standard Active Driving Assistance package. This gives both performance vehicles access to, lane departure warning, speed limit information, active blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear automatic emergency braking. Competition models, however, get more advanced with the addition of the Driving Assistance active safety suite. This gives these models more features such as full-speed adaptive cruise control, traffic jam assist, active lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and high-speed automatic emergency braking.

Under the hood of both the BMW M3 and M4 resides a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged gasoline inline-six engine. This motor produces 473 hp and 550 Nm of torque for the standard M models. This gives the both vehicles a 0-100km/h of about 4.1 seconds. The Competition models, however, get increased output, the engines now make 503 hp and 650 Nm of torque. With that increase in power the 0-100km/h have decreased to 3.8 seconds. This represents a 59 hp and 100 Nm of torque difference between the standard M models and the Competition models. The only available transmission for the two M models is a 6-speed manual transmission. It is important to note that the Competition models do get a 8-speed automatic transmission as its only option.