Most of you are complaining about the torque curve dropping after 7K RPM. FYI, the Honda S2000 (considered THE most high strung production by most) has peak torque at 7500, peak HP at 8300 and redlines at 9K. In other words, its torque starts dropping 1500 rpm before redline.
The M5 engine sacrifices low and mid-range torque for the high RPM torque (= HP) so you have to drive it to redline to make it feel fast. The M3 should feel a lot punchier in normal or even spirited driving due to its flat torque curve. Plus I'd guess they were trying to make the M3 get a bit better fuel economy than the M5's miserable 11/17 rating.
As SWAMP said (and I've agreed all the way along) they are saving that torque curve for the CSL. If the 3.6L flat six in a GT3 Porsche can make 415 HP (386 WHP, 115 HP/liter
), I am sure the M engineers can pull 450 HP or more out of the 4 liter for the CSL.