CarBrandLogos archive · BMW · 2014
The M3 coupé, renamed, and the moment turbocharging arrived for good.
Discover the storyPhoto: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the BMW M4, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
In 2014 BMW split the nameplate: the saloon stayed M3, and the two-door became M4, following the new even-numbered coupé convention across the range.
2014 Washington Auto Show · BrianBoardman from Alexandria VA · CC BY 2.0
02
The bigger change was under the bonnet. The naturally aspirated V8 of the previous generation gave way to the S55, a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six making 425 hp and, more to the point, 550 Nm from 1,850 rpm. It was faster everywhere and much less interesting to listen to, and BMW's decision to pipe engine noise through the stereo did not help the argument. Weight came down through a carbon-fibre roof, bootlid and driveshaft.
16 Timo Glock · Bertram Nudelbach · CC BY-SA 2.0
03
The car's reputation was made and damaged by the same trait: with that much torque arriving that early on a short-wheelbase rear-drive chassis, it demanded respect in the wet in a way its predecessor had not.
2017 BMW M4 Competition Package S-A 3.0 Interior · Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0
04
The G82 that replaced it in 2021 brought a bigger grille that generated more discussion than the engineering did, along with an optional all-wheel-drive system and, at last, a Competition version with a manual gearbox left in the range for the people who kept asking.
At a glance
Produced
2014–presentTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the M4's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →Lineage
Contemporaries from the 2010s
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