As soon as the BMW M340i first debuted, fans wondered if it was a better buy than the BMW M3. It was almost as quick as the real-deal M3 but was more comfortable and more affordable. Now that the newest M3 is here and the M340i has been facelifted, that same question remains. Typically, the answer is no, the M340i isn’t a better buy than the M3. But what if it were tuned? In this new video from AutoTopNL, this 470 horsepower Manhart-tuned M340i shows off what it can do.
The Manhart-tuned car’s 470 horsepower is about the same as the standard M3’s 473 horsepower. In the M340i, though, it comes with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic, which means it’s more likely to put its power down than the M3 is. Even in standard form, the M3 is pretty tail-happy and likes to break traction. That problem is fixed with the M3 Competition xDrive but this tuned M340i is more of an alternative to the standard M3, given its power and cost.
In this new video, you can clearly see how powerful it is on the Autobahn. It hits triple digit speeds with the ease of an M3 but it’s actually easier because of its automatic transmission. What’s even more impressive, though, is how quick it is off the line. It rips off a 3.9 second 0-60 mph time, which is faster than a standard M3 with a manual. Sure, that might not seem that impressive when you factor in all-wheel drive and an automatic transmission but when you consider the fact that, with your M340i, you can tune it to be faster than every M3 you pull up next to, it becomes more eye-opening.
This video shows just how capable of the BMW M340i can be with even just a simple tune. This Manhart car doesn’t even have one hundred more horsepower than the stock M340 (382 horsepower), which means that it’s capable of even more. So if you’re an M340i owner and want to smoke unsuspecting M3s, you can certainly do it and this video proves it.
