Even in spite of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 is poised to be a banner one for new car reveals. But even with the likes of the new Ford Bronco and a stick-shift Cadillac super-sedan and all the other products rolling out, few new vehicles stir up as much anticipation as the all-new BMW M3 and M4.
At least…that was our thought until we saw this leaked image revealing the beak of the 2021 M4, which surfaced on Reddit’s r/bmw/ forum late last night.
The debut earlier this week of the new 4 Series coupe leaves little doubt that this angular-faced Bimmer is the real deal; apart from a few minor body tweaks that certainly look in line with the sort of changes BMW M makes to the like of the M5 and M8, it’s close to identical to the M440i. Which, of course, means it bears the enormous twin-kidney grille previewed on the BMW Concept 4.
The Euro-spec 4 Series coupes in the preview images, of course, benefit from having that giant mass of black grille bisected by the narrow front license plates mandated across much of the world. The M4 seen here, however, benefits from no such visual trickery, giving us an idea of what the new sports car will look like for people in the 20 states that don’t mandate front plates.
Of course, once you’re behind the wheel and driving, any negative thoughts about the new face are likely to evaporate quickly under the heat of its mighty performance. A twin-turbo inline-six making 500 horsepower (the same unit found in the X3 M and X4 M) or more is expected to be found under the hood, potentially connected to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic. A so-called “pure” version with rear-wheel-drive, a manual transmission and a less-powerful engine (think 450 hp) of the M3 has also been reported, so don’t be surprised to see something similar for the M4.
Rumors have suggested that the new M3 will also use the M4’s big-nosed face, although that remains to be formally confirmed. If it sticks with a more traditional face, we wouldn’t be shocked to see it outsell the coupe. Then again, perhaps buyers will be too impressed with the rest of the package to care what it looks like. After all, who cares what your car’s front end looks like if all anyone sees is your tail lights?
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Will Sabel Courtney
Will Sabel Courtney is Gear Patrol’s Motoring Editor, formerly of The Drive and RIDES Magazine. You can often find him test-driving new cars in New York City, cursing the slow-moving traffic surrounding him.
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