Car review: BMW M4 GTS
The reveal of the BMW M4 GTS was for many, one of the biggest highlights of the SA Festival of Motoring. Motoring journos and fans anxiously waited for its debut at the new Kyalami racetrack and on the first day of the 2016 Festival of Motoring, the moment had arrived.
We were lucky enough to be one of the first to experience driving it after it made its way to the track, where it’s been designed to be driven. With a production run of special-edition models limited to only 700 world-wide and 23 units for South Africa (which have already sold out), you can imagine the look on our faces as we waited to get behind the wheel.
Also see: IMAGES – The South African Festival of Motoring 2016
“Special-edition models like the BMW M3 GT, BMW M3 CSL, BMW M3 GTS and BMW M3 CRT have a decades-long tradition in our mid-size line-up – and that continues with the BMW M4,” says Frank van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “They sharpen the character of the BMW M brand and embody an emotionally rich and exclusive driving experience. We’ve taken a radical route with the set-up of the BMW M4 GTS to create a sports machine for the race track that delivers top-end dynamics and inspirational performance. It allows us to demonstrate what is possible today with a road-legal car. Owners can drive their BMW M4 GTS to circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring or Laguna Seca – for clubsport events, for example – and then set lap times there that raise the bar to extremely high levels for road-legal cars.”
BMW M4 GTS makes local debut at the 2016 SA Festival of Motoring
Not only does the M4 GTS use its multi-award-winning six cylinder in-line turbo engine from the M3/M4, it also adds water injection technology, giving the 3.0-litre unit a massive boost. Engine output is therefor raised to 368 kW and increases torque to 600 Nm, yet fuel economy and CO2 emissions are still the same as the M4 Coupe (8.5 litres per 100 km* , 199 g/km*).
0 – 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds
Yup, that’s right, BMW claims that it races from a standstill to 100 km an hour in a mere 3.8 seconds and hits a limited top speed of 305 km/h. On the track, the GTS sounds significantly different from any of the other M cars we tried out. Its titanium exhaust makes it far louder and guaranteed to give any spectators a bit of a fight whenever the revs rise, making its powerful drive undeniably exhilarating.
Pricing for the new BMW M4 GTS is R2,203,900.
Source: BMW Group South Africa