BMW has officially commenced series production of its new G80-generation M3 performance sedan at Plant Munich.

The German firm says the start of production of the M3 completes the 3 Series range at the Munich plant, joining the standard 3 Series sedan and the 3 Series Touring.

Interestingly, the new M4 will no longer be built in Munich, with production having switched to Dingolfing.

“We are very pleased to be producing the new BMW M3 at our parent plant going forward,” said plant director Robert Engelhorn. “It’s such an iconic car and has many fans among our team at the plant, me included.”

“The integration of the M3 went absolutely smoothly. We benefitted from the vast experience gained with previous generations of BMW M vehicles,” Engelhorn added.

Revealed in September 2020, the new M3 and M4 are scheduled to arrive in South Africa in the first half of 2021.

BMW Group SA says only Competition variants will be available locally, each featuring a twin-turbo 3,0-litre inline six-cylinder engine offering 375 kW and 650 N.m to the rear axle via an eight-speed automatic transmission (all-paw variants will follow later).

Original article from Car