2015 BMW M4 vs. 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera Test Drive by Car and Driver

Car and Driver takes the all-new 2015 BMW M4 and tests it against the 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera. That’s 425 hp for the M4 Coupe versus a mere 350 hp for the 911 Carrera. It may look like an unfair comparison but Car and Driver says:

Each car is a reflection of its maker’s Weltanschauung, its worldview. BMW’s hot-rod coupe is the product of a full-line manufacturer adept at turning mainstream cars into performance specials. The 911 has been honed over the past 50 years by sports-car experts who only recently discovered sedans and SUVs. BMW and Porsche have more common ground with the X5 and Cayenne than with the M4 and the 911. Yet matchups like this 28-year rivalry are at the core of our Weltanschauung. What passes for one, anyway.

Here is an excerpt from their review:

The 911 scoots to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, just 0.3 second behind the M4 despite a power deficit that is roughly equal to one Mitsubishi Mirage. In our six-stop, 70-mph brake test, the standard iron-disc brakes proved every bit as resilient as the M4’s carbon-ceramics while producing a shorter, 144-foot stop. At 0.98 g, the Porsche matched the BMW in lateral grip.

So how did the 911 lose? By a narrow margin. In the objective scoring categories, it was dinged for its sparse equipment, slower acceleration times, larger price tag, and compromised practicality. We can forgive Porsche for the tiny rear seats, but surely the engineers in Weissach can carve out a space for a cellphone or a pair of sunglasses without making this tidy car any larger.

You’ll notice that the 911 took every one of our subjective chassis categories. The 911’s shortcomings have nothing to do with driving. If you can make peace with the fact that there’s at least one faster and cheaper German in town, the 911 experience is worth the price.