Filed under: New York Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, BMW, Luxury
Each generation of the
BMW M3 has included a convertible model. Even the distant E30, the patriarch of the M3 line, had an ultra-rare (only 787 were built) droptop model. The convertible became more common on the successive generations, with the hardtop-convertible E93 being the most recent. Considering this history, there seemed very little doubt that as the M3 became the
M4, a convertible would be in the cards. Now, the new droptop has arrived.
Set for its global debut at the
2014 New York Auto Show, the 2015 BMW M4 Convertible features, like its forbearers, everything that's great about the hardtop variant while adding an unlimited amount of head room. That means the same 3.0-liter, 425-horsepower, 406-pound-foot, twin-turbocharged straight six sits under its domed hood, while either a six-speed stick or a seven-speed M dual-clutch transmission dispatches power to the fat rear tires.
As for specific differences between the hardtop and the new convertible, obviously, the droptop is heavier. A lot heavier. Where an M4 with a six-speed manual tips the scales at 3,530 pounds, the M4 Convertible weighs in at 4,055 pounds. Believe it or not, BMW has actually trimmed 90 pounds from the last-generation M3 convertible, code-named E93. This marginal weight reduction from the third-generation convertible to the fourth is barely half of the 174 pounds BMW was able to subtract when transitioning from M3 Coupe to M4 Coupe.
While we aren't crazy about 4,000-plus-pound car,
BMW claims that cargo space has increased as well. Like the weight savings, though, the extra volume is negligible. There's 13 cubic feet of trunk space when the roof is up, an increase of 0.7 cubic feet and 7.8 cubic feet of room when the three-piece top is stowed. As is the trend with convertibles nowadays, the roof can be lowered in 20 seconds and at speeds up to 11 miles per hour.
Sales of the 2015 BMW M4 kick off this summer. We'll have much more on the latest addition to BMW's M range when it debuts in a few weeks, at the 2014 New York Auto Show. Until then, you can take a look at the
full gallery of images of the M4 at the top of the page. You can also scope out BMW's official press release by
scrolling down.
Continue reading 2015 BMW M4 Convertible is here to put wind in your sails
2015 BMW M4 Convertible is here to put wind in your sails originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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