BMW Sports Car reviews

The BMW 3 Series is widely regarded as the poster child of what a compact luxury sedan is supposed to be. The M3 Competition, on the other hand, serves as a firm representation of what a compact performance saloon should be. The range of sheer precision and performance between a base 3 Series and the M3 Competition is so wide that the two couldn’t feel more different from a driver’s perspective. With just over 500 horsepower on tap, is the M3 Competition really suitable as a daily road car, though? I spent a week with it to find out, and let’s just say that there’s more to the M3 than the grille.

When BMW announced the 1 Series M135i, we knew that it doesn’t really have a chance to stand against the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R or the Mercedes-AMG A35. But, with the new updates offered by Manhart, things might be a little bit different.

The current generation BMW 2 Series doesn’t offer a higher-performance model just yet. The next M2 is currently under some intensive testing, but its official debut is still months away.

Right now the most powerful 2 Series is the 374-horsepower M240i - which, let’s be honest, is not a lot for a sporty coupe. But Dähler Competition has got you covered.

When BMW launched the new M4 in both, standard and Competition versions, we were impressed. While the huge grille on the face draws polarizing opinions, there’s no split votes when it comes to power. It offers a lot of power for a compact sports coupe.

But, as usual, even for the best cars out there, you can always find more room to improve. AC Schnitzer, for example, is offering a special tuning kit that will not only add more power under the hood, but will also improve the car’s handling and dynamics.

For better or worse (definitely worse), it seems that old-school performance cars with driver engagement in mind will be built by boutique manufacturers and in very small numbers. Although we occasionally get cars like the Toyota GR86 and Nissan Z, modern cars keep getting heavier, more complicated, and more artificial. With that being said, Smith Vehicle Engineering (SVE) has taken a BMW Z4 E86 and has done something remarkable with it.

The BMW M5 is offered in standard and Competition versions, with the latest one delivering a total of 617 horsepower. However, there was also the M5 CS - which was rolled out in March 2021 - which delivered a total of 627 horsepower and was also 230 pounds lighter than the M5 Competition.
Even if the M5 CS is already out of production, the German tuner G-Power decided to offer current owners the possibility to add a lot more power under the hood.

In the world of modified cars, engine swaps are quite a common practice. And while certain engines are the go-to powertrains for that, there are those that are more unconventional. This YouTube video from AutoTopNL give a good example because it features a BMW E46 M3 with an S85 engine from a BMW E60 M5. But that’s not all it has.

With 617 horsepower under the hood the M8 Convertible is a car many BMW fans dream about. However, the M8 Convertible is also an expensive car: prices start from $142,500 for the base version and from $155,500 for the competition one.

There is also the option to go with the M850i Convertible and pay $109,400. For the extra money, you can go to Manhart and ask for an upgrade. Its latest MH8 700 does just that: takes the M850i and transforms it into a mean looking car, with a lot more power than the M8.

One can say a lot of bad things about the new generation BMW M3, but when it comes to power, everyone should agree that 500 horsepower (more or less) is enough for a sports sedan. But AC Schnitzer thinks there is room for improvement, for final output but also for the M3’s handling and aerodynamics. And, its last tuning package does exactly that: transforms the M3 in the car everyone will want to drive!

BMW recently updated its lineup for the 2022 model year. Apart from the refreshed existing models, the company also introduced the new M4 Convertible. The M4 Convertible comes with an all-wheel-drive system for the first time and receives power gains as well. The car has even lost its hard top in favor of a lighter, reinforced fabric soft top. Apart from the super long name - 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible with M xDrive – nothing else seems to be outrageously annoying.

We have reason to believe that BMW will offer a hardcore, lighter, and potentially more powerful version of the current M4 coupe. Firstly, the previous M4 was further distilled into such a variant and secondly, a set of spyshots sent in by our photographers shows a couple of interesting test mules.

Just like ABT Sportsline is to Audi, Manhart is to BMW. The German aftermarket company is known to customize Bimmers quite tastefully. They look quite different from the stock models, but nothing too extravagant. Their latest build is a testimony to that. Manhart has come up with its own version of the 2021 BMW M3 Competition called the MH3 600. The car comes with a black-and-gold combination on the outside that looks swell. But, it’s not just this. It also makes over 100 horses more and features a different suspension setup and exhaust system.

BMW has been testing an odd-looking BMW 8-Series. On the outside, the car looks like a normal BMW M8, but with a few very distinctive differences. We have known for a while that BMW has been cooking something else based on the 8-Series and all evidence suggests that it will be a hotter version of the car, sitting above the M8 Competition. Straight away, there are a few noticeable differences, and this is what you need to know.

“Turismo Internazionale” – it sounds Italian, but it’s actually what the “ti” designation on some compact BMW models stands for. After years of absence, we see it once again, on the 2021 BMW 128 ti. While the Bavarian hot hatch provides great performance and aggressive enough aesthetics, the Swiss tuning company has decided to turn the 128ti to 11, by improving almost every aspect of it. What came out of it is the 128tii (Turismo Internazionale Iniezione), which is an homage to the BMW 2002 tii.

The new BMW 4 Series, which was based on the BMW Concept 4, has been the victim of heavy criticism for some time now, and the M4 has fallen victim to the same big glass of hateraid. But, what sits behind that big, bulky, look-at-me nose is a humble powerhouse of performance that’s just as thrilling to drive as any other BMW on the market. After spending a week with the 2021 BMW M4 we can tell you that ugliness only runs skin deep, and you certainly shouldn’t judge a car by its face – this is our story with the new M4.

Recent pictures sent in by our spy photographers show a BMW M2 test mule strolling around in the Swedish winter landscape. The car has some interesting features - or lacks some, whichever you want to put it, which got attention.

The new BMW M3 and M4 have just started arriving at the dealerships, but Manhart Performance is already developing its own versions of these beauties. The M3 and the M4 are under scrutiny for their kidney grilles, but there’s no denying that they’re an improvement in every aspect otherwise.