Review
BMW M4 Coupe Competition Package
The BMW M4 Coupé has been on the market for some time, but has recently also become available with a special Competition Package. With, among other things, a higher power of 450 hp and a special sports exhaust, it is not surprising that we were looking forward to getting to know this major powerhouse.
Motorization
The basic version of the BMW M4 Coupé is available from €80,300 with a six-speed manual gearbox and from €84,270 with an M dual-clutch gearbox and seven-speed Drivelogic. For the M Competition Pack you must expect an additional charge of €7,425.
The M4 is equipped with an M TwinPower Turbo petrol engine with six cylinders in-line. In the version with the competition package you get a power of 450 hp and a max. torque of 550 Nm. That is an extra 19 hp compared to the basic version. The M4 sprints from 0-100 km/h in just 4.0 seconds. That’s 0.1 sec. faster than in the version without competition package. The top speed is 250 km/h or 280 km/h in combination with the optional “M driver’s package”.
M Competition Package
In addition to an upgrade in terms of power, the M Competition package also consists of exclusive options and improvements in handling.
For example, the Adaptive suspension M is included in the package. The electronically controlled shock absorbers of the adaptive M sports suspension quickly adapt to the road surface and driving style, thus ensuring optimal road holding and traction. The suspension has also been specially tuned for the increased power and handling and also has a different configuration of driving modes. With the COMFORT, SPORT and SPORT+ settings, the suspension setting can be adjusted from comfortable to sporty. The active M differential and DSC also received a new adjustment in function of the extra power.
You also get exclusive forged and bright-lathed BMW M 20” alloy wheels with a star spoke 666 M styling. You also get specially designed lightweight M sports seats. These look good and are also surprisingly comfortable, even for longer rides. What we also think is an advantage of the package is the special sports exhaust. The exhaust pipes are in black chrome and it sounds great. The rest of the M4’s appearance is also provided with elements in “high-gloss shadow line”.
Manual or automatic
Purists may prefer the manual gearbox. However, our test car was equipped with the optional 7-speed M gearbox. This is a dual-clutch gearbox, where two sub-gearboxes, each with their own clutch, direct the engine power to the rear wheels without interruption. You can drive fully automatically or change gear yourself using shift paddles behind the steering wheel.
Head-Up Display
An option that is more than worth considering is the Head-Up Display with M specific display. This, among other things, projects the speed onto the windshield in the driver’s field of vision. If you switch to the M specific view, you will see, among other things: the selected gear and a multi-colored rev counter symbol including Shift Lights, navigation prompts, etc.
Conclusion
The M4 Coupé is not only a handsome and high-performance sports car, but also a versatile car that is just as useful in daily traffic as on the track. You have to pay a certain price for the Competition Package, but in our opinion it is worth considering. The car feels very well adjusted thanks to, among other things, the adaptive M sports suspension. In our opinion, the specially designed lightweight M sports seats are also an added value to the package and the special sports exhaust also sounds great.
Johan De Haes
Test driver
