Before now, the fastest BMW in Lagos used to be a BMW M850i, and before that, it was the F90 M5, and before that, it was the F82 M4 Competition. But right now, there’s a new King in town: the BMW G82 M4 Competition. And for context, this is the 4th fastest BMW model ever made behind the M3 CS, M5 Competition, and the all-reigning M8 Competition.
Our friends at Remmymatics Autos invited us over to review a unit of the 2021 BMW G82 M4 Competition they have on sale, and it turned out to be one of the best reviews we have done at 234drive.
On sighting this Nardo Grey German Machine, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘gorgeous’ but another thing that kept ringing in our heads was, ‘why does the grille look like a pig’s nose?’ However, it wasn’t just us asking. The world also asked in 2020 when this generation of the BMW 4 & 3 series came out and interestingly, the question dates even further back.
In 1956, BMW experimented with a stretched kidney grille on the 503 Sports car. It wasn’t until the 70s—when they stuck with regular sized kidney grilles that got bigger with the car’s size— that they stopped using it. But in 2020, BMW went full length with the grille and it annoyed a lot of BMW lovers, but guess what? We’re slowly getting used to it. Because no matter the shape, if it has a kidney grille… it’s still a BMW
EXTERIOR
This car looks very aggressive and because it is not just an M4 but a competition package, you get a lot of carbon fibre enhancement around the body, like in the roof, the rear diffuser and even the spoiler. The side mirror also looks like carbon fibre but it isn’t.
The headlights are slim and adaptive, with LEDs which give them the ability to turn and change direction as you steer the car on the road.
The wheels also make it look fast and unique because of the multi-spoke design. 20 inches at the rear and 19 inches in front—a staggered setup for more stability.
This windscreen is also not regular. They are called acoustic windshields which means even at high speeds, wind noise stays outside.
INTERIOR
BMW loves to keep a consistent look with the interior design across all their cars, so this might look familiar, but the first thing that stands out are the bucket seats. These seats are made with plastic material just to make it lighter and allow the M4 to move faster. One downside to these seats is that they might not be comfortable for everybody. These seats aren’t made for comfort, they’re made for control.
A digital dashboard and a touchscreen infotainment is standard in this car too. There’s also a center console that looks like a fighter jet’s cockpit —this is where the car gets really fun with buttons for everything: suspension, exhaust sound, throttle response, all of which allow you to control a lot of performance variables on the car..
There’s actually a back seat but at what cost? The sloping roofline clearly affects the rear seat and you wouldn’t want to be a backseat passenger in an M4 Coupe because it is quite uncomfortable. It’s probably best for bags… which brings us to the boot.
The trunk space is surprisingly large and you also get a powered boot that opens and closes at the push of a button.
THE ENGINE
The BMW M4 is powered by a 3.0 litre inline 6 twin-turbo engine that produces about 503hp in the 2WD version and 523hp in the X-drive which means Four-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive allows you switch between all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive as you like.
On the engine, there is a strut bracing to help keep the chassis balanced as you speed.
One key feature of the M4 is its brakes. There is no point having a fast car if you can’t stop fast and the M4 takes this statement a tad bit more personally by fitting the front with 8-piston ventilated steel brakes that improve the braking ability of the M4 at any speed whatsoever.
The suspension is also upgraded to assist handling around corners. All of these altogether makes the M4 Competition sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds. That is SUPERCAR fast.
DRIVING
Driving the G82 M4 around the Ikeja secretariat of Lagos was not as awkward as we thought it would be, although, getting the car out of Remmymatics’ parking lot was a hassle because of the low ride height of the M4.
The acceleration of this car was accompanied by a growling exhaust sound which could be controlled from the cockpit. There was also this burbling sound that cancels out the exhaust sound whenever you hit a high rev on the RPM.
With this M1 & M2 buttons, you can set two different performance driving modes that suit you by adjusting the brakes, sound, suspension, steering, brakes and even engine response. One setting for fast days and one for regular days because there are no slow days in the M4 competition.
We weren’t able to properly test the top speed or handling ability of the M4, but one thing we did do was test its acceleration and braking ability properly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The M4 Competition is a BMW for people who want to experience the Supercar driver feel without paying Supercar money because this car costs only 180 million NGN to own.
This is a supercar disguising as a sporty coupe and it just makes sense that BMW doesn’t want to get into supercars yet, they make supercars and throw it under the Sporty sedan/coupe body.
What do you like the most about the M4 competition? What don’t you like? For ₦180 million, is it worth the price?
