Power is seductive. Any driver who has experienced the thrill of a high-performance car’s straight-line acceleration will have instantly been won over.
For years, one of the most desirable models in the sports car class has been the BMW M3. The original debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show, powered by a 195bhp 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine. A little over 20 years later, there’s a new, fourth-generation M3 with twice as many cylinders and more than double the power.
So is it really twice as good? After all, the newcomer had its nose bloodied at its international launch, when we put it head-to-head with Audi’s RS4.
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