I have seen a modified 335i beat the new M3 in straightline race. From one of our M5board.com airfield meetings.

Here you go!

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You can mod the 335i but at resale time you don't get the money back. M3 holds more resale value. Although modded 335 appeals more.

As a mass market product the 335i is a superb car for the money. It's exceptionally good to drive in real-world conditions and accelerates with surprising alacrity. An auto 335i in kick-down on a freeway will catch an M3 driver out in the wrong gear. It's seriously rapid. So if on paper numbers are what determine value for you then surely the 335i is the smarter buy.

But really, in the end, M3's have never been about raw numbers. It's the way the car is engineered as a complete and interactive precision driving instrument. The engine is not a mass-production unit, it is manufactured to exacting standards using technology more akin with BMW's motorsport engines. It has a zest for revs and an ability to swing the rev needle across the 'counter with an almost uncanny, inertia-free manner. In isolation alone, the engine is a work of art. Coupled with M-fettled suspension and drivetrain bits, the M3 is another one of those M cars where the complete package is even more impressive than the sum of its remarkable components.

I can't find the answer to this question, why is the torque numbers so low for the M3? Something about 291tq just doesn't seem right. My Mach1 did that stock.

This is what I love about the M3.....

Define low.

The BMW M3 V8 i 3,999 cm³ (244 ciu) and it has 400 Nm (295 lbft) of torque.

Producing 100 nm/liter from a N/A engine is seldom regarded as low. The highets Nm/liter in a production road car engine (N/A of course) is 114 Nm/liter and that is achieved by the I6 in the E46 M3 CSL.

So, what was the displacement of the engine in that Mach1?

But if your Mach1 ('03 I presume?) ever tried to rev to 8400 rpm, it would probably blow itself to pieces.
The M3's engine is designed for high revs at the expense of massive torque, and you can tell by its short stroke of 75.2mm. Compare against the AMG M156, Audi RS4, and Mach 1 engines: 94.6, 92.8, and 90.0. In terms of bore:stroke ratios, it goes like this:
AMG: 1.08:1
Mach 1: 1.00
RS4: 0.91
M3: 1.22

I wasn't implying that my Mach1 is powerful, it is clearly not compared to this beast. It just seems to be down on torque, at the low end of the spectum. And I did not understand why. I fully understand the 8,400 rpm and the related power band.
BTW I am going to place an order for the M3 as I am totally sold on the entire package.

Thanks for the info, I want to learn everything about this car before I shell out $65k

Displacement on the Mach1 is 4.6l 32valves, typically they dyno low 290's to 300hp mid 275 to low 290's tq at the rear wheels.