MAXED GRILLE

FIRST THERE WERE THE ICONIC E NUMBERS: 30, 36, 46 and 92. Each one with its own story to tell, from homologation special to glorious V8. Then came the F82, which had a difficult start but came good in the end. And now there is this, the G82. Where will it sit on the grid of one of the great performance car dynasties? Knowing that I’m about to spend the day finding out is both exciting and a little nerve-racking.

As a quick recap, there are two levels of M4 (and M3, but we’re dealing with the two-door today). The base spec car has 473bhp and 406lb ft of torque and comes with a manual gearbox as standard. However, that version is not available in the UK. The only variant that we get is the M4 Competition, which has 503bhp at 6250rpm and 479lb ft from 2750rpm and comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard. For the moment, all the power goes to the rear wheels, but all-wheel-drive models will arrive in the coming months.

By the way, just in case you’ve come here for any commentary about… well, you know what… I’m afraid you’re going to be sorely disappointed. I’m not even going to mention the gril… the slatted bit at the front. Won’t even hint at it. If I mention kidneys, it will probably only be because I’m making an analogy about cooking. This is a magazine about the driving experience, not the design ethos. Thankfully.

Anyway, it wasn’t the first thing about the new M4 Competition