HAHA very funny.
Yes its been a while for me maybe I need a forum refresher?
I used to be of the following mindset for BMW M cars... they MUST
* Be Naturally Aspirated
* Individual throttle butterflies
* RWD
* Stick shift
* Chassis faster than the motor
* 50/50 weight distribution or better (a little less over the front is ideal)
Thats a really nice list of attributes. I think we've all learned over time that we don't exist on paper and sometimes flexibility is in order. I think anytime you get too rigid, eventually, it will become a problem.
So lets go down the list
* Naturally Aspirated... well, I'd still prefer this- but the new generation turbo motors offer excellent throttle response. The sound isn't quite to my taste but thats just a personal thing. NA is basically over. It just has to be. TC is so much more efficient. We're trying to make these cars a little bit more environmentally friendly. A laudable objective. The last time we tried this, we lost sports cars for a generation. The result this time? Power has INCREASED!
I can tell you the throttle response in my 2013 M6 convertible in sport + is right on par with my 2000 Z8 in sport mode. One is NA one is turbo. I'd be hard pressed to tell the M6 motor is turbo charged if I could only go by throttle response (forget sound etc).
* Individual throttle butterflies.... I think they still do this. Bottom line is no one besides the die hards would care if they did this or not. I think its an important link to their past but one of their early big sellers, the US E36 M3, didn't have individual throttle butterflies. One of my friends likes to say the US M3 is really more of a 328is+. Maybe, but I loved that car. I some times fantasize about getting a nice example and then dropping in the Euro Evo motor.
* RWD... see above but lets face it, today you can get the M SAVs- that makes me cringe a bit- but thats the market place. They need to compete with Porsche and Mercedes and the rest.
* Stick shift... big controversy on this one. It looks like the "backwards Americans" won a victory for those who really love to row their own gears- unless Im wrong, stick shift is now an option on most M cars.
* Chassis faster than the motor... this is one in recent years seems to have taken a bit of a backseat and my own commentary is this is the one that's made me less of an M Enthusiast. I think the reason the press goes crazy over the M235i or the 1M is because those cars have chassises (is that correct spelling?) that are faster than their motors. What this means to me is the handling is very quick and natural and the car doesn't feel like just a nicer appointed go faster version. We used to criticize AMG cars for that- now they have some really fun handling cars. I think BMW can get back to that, I think they are masters of chassis dynamics so they know how to do it. It seems the M5 competition package is a step in the right direction. I can tell you my M6 convertible- lovely car- but the handling out of the box was what I'd call sleepy. It just was happy to go straight and really felt kind of asleep. I brought it to my mechanic who did an alignment and guess what- the car is transformed- it feels like its now up on its toes- the best return on $200 ever.
* 50/50 weight distribution or better (a little less over the front is ideal)... they've stuck to this so yea!
I have a feeling the more credible competition from Mercedes, Audi, Toyota and Nissan to name some will help M up their game. The new M3/4 look like they are moving in the right direction too.