BMW M Vehicles Track Review by Stuff Magazine

Stuff, a New Zealand publication, got the chance to drive a couple of BMW M models on the race track. From the all-new BMW M5, to the thrilling BMW 1 Series M Coupe, to the classic M3, and the muscular X6 M, each model is reviewed based on how they perform. Here is an excerpt from their review:

“Hampton Downs’ serpentine nadgery is made all the more interesting by the fact that it’s that rare bird in New Zealand: a racetrack with changes of elevation.

Thus what looks like a series of pretty regular curves in plan form requires a seriously three- dimensional understanding while driving.

Having previously driven lighter, ostensibly “sporting” cars into tyre-howling submission at Hampton Downs, the prospect of directing almost two tonnes and four doors of brand-new 552-horsepower German luxury on it gave a certain dryness to the throat and a quickening of the pulse.

Not to worry – it was a BMW M5, after all.

It’s big and its heavy.

Amazingly, that all but disappears on the track. True, the car’s massive 20-inch wheels and tyres (265 front, 295 rear) take great chunks out of the fresh tarmacadam used for Hampton Downs’ heavily repaired infield bends when you turn in, but you’ll find it doesn’t squeal, or resist your intentions.

It goes where it’s pointed and while you can feel the car’s M-Dynamic Stability Control at work, when it’s in dynamic mode, it still allows a nudge of tail-out attitude. And when, a split second later it’s time to bring everything back into line, it’s not a Clarkson- like lurch, but a return to the status quo so smooth you want to shout “I did that!”

I didn’t, of course, but the M5′s chassis made it seem like I did.

Where the M5 really impresses is the way it gathers up ground between the corners. With the car’s “M” button prodded, the way this roomy steel and leather lounge room catapults to the next change of direction is astonishing.

…

BMW 1-SERIES M COUPE

Engine: 3-litre 24v I-6. 250kW/450Nm $111,200. Performance: 0-100kmh 5.2secs, top speed on Hampton Downs 195kmh.

The smallest, least expensive and slowest M-car, the M Coupe, is also probably the most entertaining, with a delightfully incisive character on the track that belies its easy-to-drive nature on the road. Wonderfully flexible twin- power turbocharged in-line six delivers a very usable power and torque curve. This allows tremendous throttle adjustability of the car’s cornering attitude and remarkable economy when you’re running the car day-to-day on the road. It’s probably the Porsche Cayman’s only rival as a road and track car, but almost $20,000 cheaper.

Read full review at Stuff

For more information on BMW M, contact:

Munich Automobiles Singapore
30 Teban Gardens Crescent Singapore 608927
Showroom: 6899 6996 Service center: 6566 7666
http://www.munichauto.com.sg