Yup,M3 did it again..
@Tycoon..great avatar !!

Nikad ponosniji što sam Hrvat!!!!

Yap and I think the Hockenheimring time of 1.15,4 min with normal Pilot Sport 2 tires is still impressive. 0.9 seconds faster than the previous M3 on a 2,6 km-short track

The M3 should have been lighter, even if it meant a higher price.

Considering how much base car(E92) have grown over E46,IMO car isn´t that heavy at all..However,CSL will correct this issue(if there is any) for sure..

Damn right!

(Pogledaj si korisnički profil! )

Looks like BMW achieved their goal. They named some serious sportscars as their competitors and managed to either beat them or come very close in performance.

Thanks for the scans. I was expecting the M3 to beat the RS4 on the ring. In looking at the times of various cars tested by Sport Auto, the time of 8:05 is certainly good, but not mind blowing. Why do I say that?

Some people (or maybe it was BMW) said that M3 was targeting the Porsche 911. As confirmed by DeDe on another thread, the 997 C2S Supertest was performed with Michelin PS2's (street tires). Given that the M3 needed R-compounds to match the 997 C2S's time means the 911 is clearly still a major step above the new M3.

Another way of looking at it is this: We know Sport Auto tested the Aston Martin V8 Vantage with and without R-compound tires on the Ring. There was a 10 second difference!!!.

I know this is not legit, but if you arbitrarily added 10 seconds to the E92 M3 time, you get 8:15 seconds, which is only 7 seconds faster than the E46 M3 with street tires (8:22). Similarly, the RS4's time of 8:09 with R-compounds potentially could have been 8:19 with street tires if you follow the same logic. Suddenly, that isn't that much faster than the E46 M3 at all.

Bottom line: I'm sure the E92 M3 is a significant improvement over the E46 M3. It has succeeded in beating the RS4, and more impressively is almost just as fast as the much more expensive R8. But it isn't close to the 911 (if you use the N-Ring time as a judge of things).

Now, the next big question is how the C63 will do with R-compound tires in the Sport Auto Supertest........can't wait!!!

Good job BMW on this M3.

Valkyrie, you bring up a good point, but unlike the aston, the chassis of the M3 is just as good without R-compound tires. So honestly, instead of adding 10sec to the original time, I would add no more than 5-7sec max and same goes to the RS4. Also, if I remember correctly the 911C2s was also using ceramic-brakes, which I don't think the M3 was using, but I could be wrong.

Naruto, I don't quite follow what you're saying. Of course, the M3's chassis is "just as good" with or without R-compound tires. The R-compound tires significantly increases grip.

The V8 Vantage is no slouch on the track. It is a faster car than the M3 around the Ring. 8:03 with R-compounds, and 8:13 with street tires.