Next BMW M4 will have over 500 hp, GT3 race car in the works – Roadshow

BMW’s been coy about what we’ll see from a new M4 performance coupe, but it finally dropped a solid piece of information on Friday. We’re getting at least 500 horsepower in the next M4.

The piece of information comes from a teaser announcement for the company’s next BMW M4-based GT3 race car. In the release, BMW notes the next M4’s twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, dubbed S58, helps form the structure of the new GT3 racer. The automaker also explicitly said it achieves “more than 500 hp.”

Today, the hottest M4 model makes 454 hp, which makes the 500-plus hp boost a pretty healthy one. Power should flow to rear wheels or an optional all-wheel-drive system, akin to the configuration found in the latest BMW M5. BMW added in Friday’s announcement that the production M4’s chassis will also be the building block for the M4 GT3.

As for the race car, the teaser above seems to confirm the incredibly controversial grille design first shown on the BMW Concept 4 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It’s easy to see the grille outline continues down into the shadowy part of the illustration and doesn’t clip off like the smaller grille on today’s M4.

As for the M4 GT3 specifically, it’s going to wear some traditionally aggressive styling with massive fender flares and a big rear wing a given. It should be a pretty competitive car in the various places customers will race, noting it will replace the M6 GT3, which is a heftier machine.

BMW plans to roll the M4 GT3 out into the open in the second half of 2020 with regular testing in 2021. Look for the road-going M4 to debut in this timespan, too.