2021 BMW M3 and M4 Competition XDrives Arrive Soon

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

BMW’s 2021 M3 and M4 Competition cars, both endowed with xDrive all-wheel-drive, will arrive in August. Four hundred and seventy-nine lb-ft of torque is on tap.

As BMW explains, both cars have three driving modes, the first being 4WD or default. While rear-wheel biased, the focus is on traction and handling. 4WD Sport, the second mode, sends more torque to the rear wheels for on-track exercises. Lastly, 2WD allows the Dynamic Stability Control System (DCS) to be turned off to achieve a pure rear-wheel-drive experience. Is this applicable to keeping your M car from unplanned off-highway excursions along M-59 in the winter? It’s doubtful, but then again, how many M3s or M4s ever see harsh winter weather?

BMW says improvements in traction, stability, and agility improvements translate into improved acceleration. You know we want to put that to the test. The M3 Competition xDrive Sedan and M4 Competition xDrive Coupé will do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, 0.4 seconds quicker than their rear-drive counterparts. Depending on the equipment, their top speed is 155 mph or 180 MPH. We’ll circle back to these claims should we receive BMW’s invitation.

An electronically controlled, multi-plate clutch distributes torque between the front and rear axles. The Active M differential takes the torque from there, providing that BMW rear-wheel-drive experience. Torque is redirected to the front axle only when traction is needed. Powering through corners in a controlled drift, a highly dynamic driving situation as BMW describes it, is what we’d like to experience in the way of all-wheel-driven performance.

The S58B30T0 turbocharged six-cylinder registers 503 horsepower at 6,250 rpm on high test. The eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission eliminates the fun of shifting yourself. Upgrading the oiling system matches the traction and performance improvements. The M cars roll on forged 19-inch M fronts with 275/35ZR19s and 20-inch rears on 285/30ZR20s. The front axle geometry re-do, and retuning the steering ratio from 15.0:1 to 14.6:1, make these AWDs agile, just what BMW M drivers expect.

The cost? The M3 Competition xDrive Sedan’s MSRP is $76,900, plus a $995 destination charge. The M4 Competition xDrive Coupe is slightly higher, with an MSRP of $78,800, plus the same destination charge. Look for them to arrive in showrooms near you in August.

[Images: BMW]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Dal20402 Dal20402 on Apr 19, 2021

    The M3/M4 is now the ultimate example of how to ruin a car by focusing only on performance numbers in development.

    • EX35 EX35 on Apr 19, 2021

      They also took all the fun out of it by putting a lame auto tranny w/ TC (not even a DCT) and some overcomplicated awd system that isn’t needed. Yet they put relatively skinny crap tires in the rear. A car with 500+HP needs 305s at a minimum.

  • Boowiebear Boowiebear on Apr 19, 2021

    How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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