The F80-generation M3 performance sedan’s production will be stopped by BMW in August as the car won’t conform to Europe’s more stringent emissions limits.
A brand spokesman told our sister publication Autocar UK that the performance sedan, which produces 431hp from its turbocharged straight-six, would need a new particulate filter in order to meet the requirements of the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).
The rehomologation process that follows such a change would prevent the updated M3 from making it to market before the next-generation 3-series is revealed in October. As such, BMW has chosen to pull the car early and end its production alongside the rest of the 3-series range, rather than keep it in production for longer like the way it has done with its forebears.
No such scenario will be applicable for the M3’s two-door equivalent, the M4, because that car and its 4-series siblings will remain on sale into the following year. The spokesman said that the M4 would go off sale “for a couple of months” while it is rehomologated, but that it would return to showrooms with its WLTP-certified filter.
The filter will reduce the car’s output of nitrogen oxide to bring it below the maximum level required by the WLTP, but the spokesman said that performance would be unaffected. No other changes will be made to the tweaked M4, so it'll still be good for a claimed 4.3sec dash from zero to 100kph.
The decision to retain the M4 will also have been driven by its popularity. The next M3 is due to be launched in 2020 and is expected to use a reworked version of the current car’s engine that produces 462hp - 21hp more than today's M3 Competition Pack.
The F80 M3 is currently sold in India at Rs 1.48 crore (on-road, Delhi) and rivals the likes of the Mercedes-AMG C 63.
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