New BMW M3 review, test drive

Whether it was the Ultimate Driving Machine or Sheer Driving Pleasure, BMW's promises have been derived and honed on their M3s. From the very first E30 M3, the connection between the driver and the car was what was cherished. Now, four generations later, the F80 M3 is stoking the fire once again. Is it all consuming? A stint at the roller coaster Algarve International Circuit race track tells us more.

First, BMW aficionados will complain that the new M3 isn’t the real M3, because it is the sedan. The drivers’ darling was always the two-door M3 Coupé, now known as the M4. But these two machines are mechanically identical and the same can be expected of the driving experience. Prior to these two, the only M I had sampled was the M5. Big, heavy and brutal, it demanded all my respect but it didn't quite win my admiration. But a few laps around a race track with mountainous climbs, blind corners, long sweepers and off-camber corners, and the M3 makes the differences plain.