The Nürburgring lap time is here! As promised by BMW M a while back, the new BMW M4 delivers impressive performance on the race track.
Equipped with DCT and ceramic brakes, the new BMW M4 lapped the famous Nurburgring in just 7:52 minutes, slightly behind the E46 M3 CSL (7:50) and the M3 GTS (7:48).
The predecessor E92 M3 ran around the same track in 8:05 minutes. Supertest magazine also took the F82 M4 Coupe to Hockenheimring where it posted a lap of 1:12.8 minutes, 1.5 seconds faster than the E92 M3 Coupe, and three tenths of a second slower than the BMW M3 GTS. The BMW M3 CSL E46 needed 1:13.5 minutes for the small track.
BMW has reverted to an inline six cylinder for the new M3 and M4. But unlike the S54 in the E46 M3, the new S55 is turbocharged. Based on the N55 six cylinder, the S55 utilizes VANOS and Valvetronic as well as gasoline direct injection in the cylinder heads.
Unlike the N55′s twin-scroll single turbocharger, the S55 utilizes two turbochargers, one turbo per three cylinders.
The S55 is set to deliver 431 HP and 406 lb-ft of torque. To ensure that nothing untoward happens on the bottom end the S55 employs a forged steel crankshaft. The torque developed by the S55 is fully available from 1,850 to 5,500 RPM which leads one to believe that the turbos selected for use on the S55 are slightly larger than the ones employed on the N54 motor of yore.
