Meet the parents

New M4 left me wanting more. Hopefully the xDrive variant will address that

Ray Leathern

Demands attention and commands respect; might be a bit too powerful for its own good

Gareth Dean

In the pursuit of speed, the pride of the M family has lost touch with its heritage

Nikesh Kooverjee

However divisive the styling may be, there’s no denying the M4’s dynamism

Marius Boonzaier

Well, this could be awkward. Pulling into a viewing point on Gordon’s Bay’s picturesque Clarence Drive, the new BMW M4 Competition has driven into what can only be described as a family reunion of high-achievers; BMW M3s spanning four generations on the SA market, some utterly stock and others given an extra injection of power and visual attitude by their dedicated owners.

In a slight departure from a new car’s testing regimen by the CAR editorial team, we gathered these iconic members of BMW’s performance-car stable as a striking means of illustrating the evolution of M cars and exposing the impressive newcomer to perhaps its most critical audience. We are talking about dyed-in-the-wool BMW M enthusiasts; putting them behind the wheel to see just how the M4 Competition measures up to both past legends