[Beemdog]

Got the new Rodent Track in the mail today. What they said about the new F8x M3 in the Performance Car of the Year article:

"If, as some pundits charge, the M3's become a German answer to the Pontiac Trans Am, this is surely Munich's take on the rip-snorting, 400-cube, screaming-chicken variant used by the Bandit almost 40 years ago. It's a muscle car par excellence, warping the trees around its head-up display with what feels like an unlimited reserve of force.

But is it too quick? Senior Editor Jason Cammisa thinks so. "This car is nauseatingly fast. It's also unacceptably traction-compromised. Reducing torque output by 150 lb-ft would do wonders here." He might be right. This car requires rheostat-precise use of the throttle to avoid unpredictable yaw. Or you can just leave the BMW's electronic nannies on, which might be smarter. Two or three generations ago, the M3 gave up on the idea of being the perfect modern 2002tii and decided instead to focus on power and track pace. If that's what you want, it's all here.

The M3 is the only car to actually scare me at the Motown Mile. Going around the fast final turn, the torque spikes and sends me into a long, lazy, 100-mph slide that I don't recover until well down the front straight. Forget this being a German Trans Am; it's a German Corvette. "This car is nightmarish to control under power," concurs Cammisa. "It's so much work, and there's no joy to be had as a result." Having driven the M3 before, on a larger track, I suggest that it needs a bigger venue to shine."