First Drive: 2021 BMW M4 Competition Review

There’s a lot resting on the shoulders of the new M4. Launching alongside its M3 saloon brother, and with cabrio and Touring variants to follow, there is certainly a lot to digest, too. Under the skin the coupe and saloon are mechanically identical, with the same 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged six (a totally new engine, despite apparent similarities with the last one) and 510PS (376kW) output powering the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic, UK buyers denied the manual option offered in some markets. An all-wheel-drive version will follow in due course, though. Track, wheelbase and suspension settings are also identical to the M3, the M4 10mm lower and a token 5kg lighter than the saloon. For all those apparent similarities it does, however, turn out to have a character of its own.

You’ll have your views on the grille but it arguably sits a little more comfortably on the M4 than the M3, given the 4 Series coupe has had it from the start. The G82 M4 has grown slightly in every direction over its F82 predecessor but perhaps the most telling difference is the almost 40mm increase in front track, which makes the car appear flatter and wider at the front. Good for front end grip but it does lose the classic, wedge-shaped stance of the F82, and the wider 4 Series body means you lose the aggressively flared rear arches of the M3, leaving the M4 oddly more restrained in appearance. The extra intakes in the front bumper, M-badged side gills, carbon roof and fat quad exhausts do more than enough to set it apart from regular 4 Series, though, and if you want more of that the M Carbon Pack adds the weave to the mirror caps, rear spoiler, diffuser and more besides. The Competition gets bigger wheels than the standard model in other markets, meaning 19s at the front and 20s at the rear, and you now have a choice of caliper colours for the standard brakes while the M Carbon ceramics included in the M Pro Package stick with the gold for bragging rights on the £7,995 premium you pay. Choose this and the Ultimate Package and your £76,000 M4 is suddenly knocking on £100,000, which may give some pause for thought.

There’s some nifty tech in this new engine, including a 3D-printed cylinder head, increased fuel injection pressure, a lightweight crank shared with the GTE race car and welcome increases in power to the tune of 60PS (44kW) and another 100Nm (74lb ft) of torque. A slightly lower compression ratio and fact the rev limiter calls time at 7,200rpm rather than the 7,600rpm of the previous motor suggest a slightly less frenetic character but the reach of this engine is huge, with 550Nm (406lb ft) of the maximum 650Nm (479 lb ft) available from 2,650rpm to just over 6,000rpm. Have no fear – this is a proper M engine, even if the more workmanlike tubular chassis brace covering it makes for a less artistic under-bonnet view than the carbon ‘boomerang’ design of the last car. Zero to 62mph is dismissed in just 3.9 seconds (faster than the standard F82 M4 but equal to the outgoing CS version of that car) and if the 155mph limiter is simply too burdensome the M Driver’s Package raises that to 180mph. Thank heavens.  

As before, you can configure two pre-set combinations of settings for the M5-style ‘hot keys’ on the wheel, meaning you can mooch through towns with everything dialled back to comfort and automatic and go full Jekyll/Hyde with one selection. Throttle, steering weight, engine noise, dampers and even brake response are now configurable, our ‘M1’ setting of Sport Plus for engine, more relaxed MDM stability control but Comfort or Sport for everything else seemed the nicest compromise, the Sport damper setting the one BMW used for testing at the ‘ring and therefore well-suited to British B-roads. Sport Plus is intended for smoother tracks, and feels a bit much on the road, but it’s fun to have an ‘everything up to 11’ setting pre-loaded into the M2 button for those moments when you want to feel like Wile E Coyote astride a wildly accelerating Acme Rocket, enjoying the moment but with a sense you’re not entirely in control of your own destiny…

The extra front track gives you a little more front end to lean on and, if you’re up to it, the M4 rewards being driven on the throttle with a thrilling sense of right-foot adjustability. The improved damping over the previous car means even full-bore acceleration on a damp road is fun rather than terrifying, the tyres maintaining a more consistent contact patch and the faster-reacting stability control working beautifully with the active diff. You still need to be ready with the corrections, but these are now wrist twitches rather than panicked sawing at the wheel, the new M4 maintaining the ferocity of the old one but taming it enough to make it more exploitable. A pity, then, it weighs a whole 188kg more than the old one, this extra weight and the dulled response of the automatic gearbox when compared with the previous dual-clutch making it feel less B-road slayer and more like a junior M8. Tick the box for the all-wheel-drive version when it comes and you’ll likely be closing on two tonnes, too.

The more extrovert image of the M4 suits the wilder trims available on the optional carbon bucket seats, the lairy combo on our test car not for the shy but, along with the now standard carbon trim bits, putting clear ground between this and a regular 4 Series. The seats are included in the main Carbon Pack but can also be specced individually should you wish, the aggressive sculpting akin to the saddle of a fancy road bike and maintaining a (literal) bond between driver and machine. Those of a fuller physique may, however, find them a little too cosseting…

Frameless doors mean no ‘acoustic’ sound insulating glass on the side windows and there’s more tyre roar than on the M3 as a result, which makes the M4 feel a little more raw. This and the slightly lower roofline have a bigger psychological effect than the numbers suggest, meaning there’s a greater subjective difference between saloon and coupe than you might otherwise credit.

While there is an optional Technology Pack the standard spec is generous and includes BMW’s Live Cockpit Professional and associated connected features, paired screens and head-up display. And plenty of buttons for fiddling with the various settings and modes for the car. M Drive Professional is another new standard feature and geared towards track day fans seeking to bore their friends with how many degrees of opposite lock they scored before getting black flagged or (more likely) spinning off into the gravel. For those with the self-discipline new multi-stage M Traction Control means you can work your way in 10 steps from an equivalent ‘fully on’ setting to full ‘driving god’ mode with everything off. This matches a similar set-up introduced on the facelifted C63 AMG and, in fairness, does help those new to powerful rear-driven machinery hone their skills in relative safety. True race heads will also enjoy the M Laptimer app and data analysis on their phones, though you’re best off saving that until you’re home if you’re to avoid upsetting the no timing policy required by most track day organisers. In reality there’s a degree of optimism in a 1,800kg M4 being sold as a true circuit tool and the fact the first special is a collaboration with New York fashion label Kith (nor us) reveals much about BMW’s true priorities. This limited edition is, literally, a sell-out success already.

From the buzzy, homologation purity of the original E30 through to the chainsaw rasp of the naturally aspirated sixes and V8s in the E36, E46 and E90 generations, each M3 has had its own distinctive character. The wild turbocharged rush introduced with the previous F82, and the rebranding to M4, represented another big change but the new one is more of an evolution, with some of the rough edges polished off. Rationally the improved ride, refinement and the smoothness of the automatic gearbox are to be welcomed, especially when you can dial in a taste of the previous wildness with one press of an M button. And the M4 still has a very naughty side to its nature, which will keep the fanbase happy. There’s no escaping it’s lost some of the rawness, though. And for those who have grown up with the legacy of the previous models that will be a shame. No doubt, more hardcore versions will follow. But viewed with an enthusiast’s eye this new M4 is a qualified success rather than a real game changer.