Quote:
|
Morpheus, are you referring to the newest E46 M3? That one uses a 3.3L inline 6.
|
--VQuick
I am referring to the
next M3, not the current model. It's been said that BMW engineers believe that their inline 6 has reached its peak racing development, and it is time to take it to the next level, meaning V8s. It's no wonder, considering the steady increase in displacement over the years. Recent Le Mans races with M3s hauled by V8s (now labeled M3 GTR) showed great improvement but like all new designs they need time for tweaking and tuning.
Times are changing for sports cars. It seems like automakers are designing gimmicks and oddities to make their cars more powerful. Sure they work, but all the classiness of a traditional sports car is gone. Who ever would have thought that a transverse mounted, front engined, turbocharged 4-cylinder Mitsubishi sedan would be able to equate straight line performance with a Corvette or Viper? Yet, these cars exist. And it even goes beyond that with handling/driveability and practicality. But it's no longer a classy car. Decades from now, would you rather have kept an auto designed in genuine sports car fashion, or some strange looking trend-mobile? I would much rather see a rusting R32, JZA80, or any other LONG-NOSED, old fashioned, obnoxious monster sleeping in my garage in the future, than some strange design concept that actually made it into the market at one point.
Technology works wonders for society, but sometimes history and heritage are overlooked and forgotten. When the time comes for unveiling, I pray that Nissan won't forget its
powerful racing roots and make the next GT-R (or whatever they will call their future flagship grand tourer) with firm connections to its past.