Discussion of new specs/info/pricing

[swamp2]

Lots of good news today and recently. Thanks to ukm3 and Scott! BTW ukm3 works for a dealer in the UK and is definitely an M enthusiast. He stated some time ago that he would share info with us as soon as he got any and his last post looks pretty legit to me.

Also ref: Autoweek article

Features:

• Again we hear ZSG, in US, in March,
• 3.82 final drive. Just like I have been saying they will gear this thing low for acceleration. This is lower than the E46 M3 and E60 M5 which were 3.62,
• 0 - 62 in 4.8, heck E46 M3 got as low as 4.7, official time to 62 was 5.2. This all sounds about right to me .4 sec or so under-rated, placing it at about 4.4 sec to 62, maybe 4.2-4.3 0-60, ZSG should be at least 0.3 seconds faster than 6M (time for one gear change vs. essentially zero seconds...); I ain´t saying we will see 0-60<4.0, but I don´t have much concern on this spec,
• Brake sizes 14.1"/13.8" with (probably better) cooling from the large front bumper inlets. M5 front brakes were only a bit larger at 14.7"
• 200 mph speedo,
• Oil temperature display,
• EDC, so excellent, settings for normal, comfort and sport,
• Functional hood vent (looks like the airbox has 2 intakes, probably one upfront working a bit like ram air and then the one on the hood. The hood is a low pressure zone, seems like a really odd palce for another air intake, either way,

Price: Multiple calculations I have done across different manufacturers shows that you can take a ratio of prices plus one known price to get an accurate estimate of another price. Using the RS4 to get pricing gives us $65,600 USD. The 335i ratio method gives about $60k USD. A price at the RS4 level seems quite justified, however the RS4 is definitely a bit over priced. I´m still betting on high 50s (certainly < $60k) USD.

[SpencerM3]

All good info.

I would be very surprised if the car has an MSRP of somewhere in the mid $60's though.

[REP1KRR]

Car & Driver reports...

"Weight stands at 3483 pounds..."

[Mii]

Now we have the official weight, what will be the weight estimate for a fairly loaded one with sunroof and DCT?

[REP1KRR]

Another article...
http://www.leftlanenews.com/bmw-m3.html

[maq]

Looks like only one of the hood vents is actually functional.

[Mii]

Originally Posted by maq

Looks like only one of the hood vents is actually functional.

Some one posted here that the second vent is reserved for CSL model.

[jtown]

Do I see a stupid seat belt butler? Boo! Get rid of that junk.

[m_bazeepaymon]

im speech less...