Audi BMW

Following the same comparison path as MotorTrend, Car and Driver publishes a teaser video of their upcoming review of the 2011 Audi RS5, 2010 BMW M3 and 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

The full test drive review is available in the September printed issue of Car and Driver, and it will most likely be online shortly, but for now, they released a teaser video, including some track drifting. C&D rates their cars on four categories: Vehicle, Powertrain, Chassis and Experience.

The M3 came second only in the Powertrain category, but comfortably won the others. With 220 points, the M3 surpasses the CTS-V Coupe (205 points) and the Audi RS5 (199 points).

Great endorsement from two major car magazines.

German motoring journalists at Sport Auto took on the challenging task of comparing two of the most amazing cars available on the market.

One of them, the 2010 BMW M3 Coupe. The M3 came equipped with the Competition Package, or ZCP as known internally at BMW dealerships, a new package that brings many cosmetic changes to the already aggressive M3. Along with the visual improvements, the Competition Package further enhances the highly responsive chassis by installing a 10mm lower suspension and 19” wheels with greater offset for a wider track. Remapped Electronic Damping Control and Dynamic Stability Control systems, turns the M3 with Competition Package in one of the best handling production M cars ever built.

The M3 is powered by the S65B40 engine, a naturally aspirated, high revving 4-liter V8 (based on the S85B50 5-liter V10 that powers the E60/E61 M5 and the E63/E64 M6 to date) delivering 414 horsepower (309 kW; 420 PS) at 8,300 rpm and peak torque of 400 Nm (300 lb-ft) at 3,900 rpm, which represents a power increase of 22% over the previous generation E46 M3.

The second contender comes from Ingolstadt-based automaker, Audi. Their super sporty coupe RS5 is out the change the game, and the the wide-bodied two door made its debut at this year’s Geneva auto show. Based on the A5 coupe, RS5’s 4.2-liter V-8 makes 450 hp at 8250 rpm – coincidentally, about 30 horsepower over the 4.0L V8 of the M3 – and maximum torque is 317 lb-ft, available between 4000 and 6000 rpm. The hand-built engine is direct-injected and closely related to the 420-hp V-8 which powers the R8 supercar.

Top speed is electronically governed at 155 mph or 174 mph, spec’d to your order. Zero to 62 mph is accomplished in a claimed 4.6 seconds.

According to M3post quoting Sport Auto, the 2010 BMW M3 Competition Package came at the top of this comparison test. The final verdict was that the two luxury sporty coupes are built for different people, but the M3 takes the edge, including being around $13,000 cheaper than its competitor.

The test results are available in the chart below.

[Source: Sport Auto via "South" at M3post ]

InsideLine is showing their love again for the BMW M3. Being part of their long-term fleet, the M3 Sedan is going through some extensive test driving and each mark in their report comes to emphasize the M3 icon status.

After 16,000 miles driven, to come with a bold statement that the “the M3 isn’t an overpriced 3 Series; it’s a discounted supercar” takes a lot of courage and might draw some anti-fanboyism, but we admire their courage and without a doubt, we agree with this adventurous statement.

The M3 is indeed a driver’s car, a unique combination between sportiness, dynamics and why not, premium design. It is clearly a car built for THE driver and every little component, element, technology within comes to reinforce that.

Sure, we might go down the fanboy route here, but those of you that drove the M3 certainly agree with us, those that haven’t yet, our advice is to go down to your local dealership and spend at least 30 min behind the wheel.

Please do so and come back and tell us if we suffer of “fanboyism”.

So, let’s see what InsideLine has to say:

Most people wouldn’t drop $60k on an M3 even if they could, and I get that. Crunch the numbers and it doesn’t make sense. The N54 and N55 turbo sixes nip at the mighty M-Power V8’s heels, and the cars they come in are far cheaper. Surely a 335i or a 135i — or hell, a Camaro SS — will get the job done.

But the M3 is a connoisseur’s car, and connoisseurs aren’t into crunching numbers. Try telling an oenophile that she could save 70 bucks and get the same buzz from a $5 Trader Joe’s special. That argument won’t fly. If you really care about something, you sweat the details more than the bottom line. The M3’s for people who think like that about cars. Every element of the driving experience, from the steering, suspension and brakes to the shifter and the throttle response, has been fine-tuned to please drivers who really care. It’s clearly built by connoisseurs as well as for them.

. In an age when raw automotive excellence is disappearing from showrooms faster than manual transmissions, this Bimmer stands apart.

Still not convinced? Well, remember, InsideLine is not a BMW-centric site….but still, the M3 appeals even to the brand’s strongest opponents…..

Even Jeremy Clarkson loved it: “M3 is one of the most perfectly balanced machines ever created by man. It makes an F-16 fighter jet look ungainly and lumpen! “

Today, BMW North America confirmed our suppositions: the 2011 M3 models will get an optional Competition Package, or short, ZCP. Here is the press release issued by BMW today:

The M3 Coupe, Sedan, and Convertible models become 2011 models this spring . BMW ups the ante on the M3 Coupe and Sedan by offering a new “Competition Package” for MY2011. The package (ZCP) further enhances the highly responsive chassis by installing a 10mm lower suspension and 19” wheels with greater offset for a wider track.

Combined with remapped Electronic Damping Control and Dynamic Stability Control systems, the M3 with Competition Package is the best handling production M car ever built.

Not the actual package illustrated here

The MSRP of MY2011 M3 Sedan, Coupe, and Convertible remain unchanged at $56,275, $59,275, and $67,925, respectively. All prices include $875 Destination & Handling. The Competition Package is available on the Coupe and Sedan models for $2,500.

E9x BMW M3 – The Perfect Sports Car? Well, that’s what seems to be the general consensus amongst the Car and Driver’s editors, and certainly something we agree with now, as we have done in the past as well.

Before we will let you jump into their long-term drive report, allows us to start with their conclusion and work from there:

“Based on our experience, the current M3 is the world’s all-around best car for the money, although several staffers would have preferred to trade some of the coupe’s looks for the added practicality of the sedan.”

A car has got to be pretty spectacular to win over the curmudgeons here at 1585 Eisenhower Place, especially when familiarity sets in over the course of 40,000 miles. But our Sparkling Graphite Metallic M3 did indeed win us over. For less than $70,000, the M3 bolts from a standstill to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and turns the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds at 113 mph. It pulls an exceptional 0.96 g on the skidpad, stops in 147 feet from 70 mph, and reaches a governor-restricted 161 mph. On a racetrack or a back road, it’s a beautifully balanced and hugely entertaining machine.

Aside from performance, the M3 is comfortable on the highway and has plenty of space for four adults. It has a full complement of luxury accouterments and yet is very practical—even the trunk is commodious. It has muscular, raked looks and a handsomely dark interior. A bonus is that regular service doesn’t cost a cent, thanks to BMW’s full-maintenance program, which lasts for four years or 50,000 miles. (The gas bill, however, wasn’t cause to rejoice, given this BMW’s 17-mpg thirst.)

When it came to ordering the car, we went with the so-called M double-clutch transmission (M DCT), a $2700 option that replaces the standard six-speed manual with a seven-speed dual-clutch unit, BMW’s first. We were eager to try this setup because dual-clutch transmissions promise the smoothness of an automatic when the driver can’t be bothered to change gears, as well as superfast paddle shifts in manual mode. In the previous M3 (E46), BMW offered a single-clutch, automated manual gearbox that was notable for its harshness in manual mode and its clunkiness as an automatic.

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