M340i
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Originally Posted by C/D
Lap Time: 3:03.2
Class: LL2 | Base: $57,195 | As Tested: $64,545
Power and Weight: 382 hp • 3792 lb • 9.9 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, F: 225/40R-19 93Y ★ R: 255/35R-19 96Y ★
Years of testing BMW's 3- and 4-series allow us to measure the pace of evolution through generational comparison. For example, the M340i arrives at the Turn 1 braking zone traveling 142.3 mph, a mere 2.4 mph shy of the 425-hp 2015 BMW M4's speed. And the M340i's 3:03.2 lap is 10.0 seconds quicker than that of the last-gen 2012 BMW 335i Sport Line and just 2.5 seconds off the M4's time.
The M4's 43-hp advantage over the M340i helps it pull away on VIR's foot-to-the-floor sections, but the lesser Bimmer's 382-hp turbocharged inline-six charges relentlessly to redline and never exhibits a bad vibe or any perform*ance degradation during hot laps. Its sidekick, the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic, upshifts and downshifts as if it had the VIR track map programmed into its brain.
In the slower sections, the M340i's grip and handling allow it to keep up with the full-blooded M car, but its steering feels disconnected. Responses to inputs are often nonlinear—with the car steering too much or too little—and that unpredictability makes turning in and holding the line trickier than it should be.
The chassis takes aggression in stride. Pound over the curbing and the adaptive dampers forgive your transgressions. The rear tires squeal with excitement during corner exits, but with some help from the electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the car's torque is masterfully orchestrated into acceleration. VIR's many big slowdown events transform a once firm brake pedal into mush and leave the wheels looking like they were just pulled from a campfire. Despite the long pedal, the brakes still haul down the M340i from speed with unerring reliability.
Progress has the M340i closing in on the old M4's lap time. The new M3 and M4 should widen the gap, but we're hoping BMW does a better job with the steering in its upcoming M cars than it did in the M340i.
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M8 Competition
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Originally Posted by C/D
Lap Time: 2:55.5
Class: LL4 | Base: $156,145 | As Tested: $175,745
Power and Weight: 617 hp • 4224 lb • 6.8 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, F: 275/35ZR-20 (102Y) ★ R: 285/35ZR-20 (104Y) ★
Social media rarely gets anything this right. Back in 2018, the snarkier corners of the internet began calling BMW's new Le Mans racer Big M8 when they noticed the M8 GTE dwarfed the Ford GT on track. That turns out to be a fitting nickname for the road car, too. The BMW M8 Competition both drives large and delivers massive performance for a vehicle that's as much a luxury cruiser as it is a sports car. It is 121 pounds heavier and more than a foot longer than the Jaguar F-type R, but it doesn't feel any more unwieldy. The 4224-pound marauder laps with the stoicism of an Easter Island Moai. It cuts into corners quickly and then sticks to its path with unflappable poise. The M8 has so much midcorner stability that it borders on inert.
The 617-hp V-8 can't be caught in a lull because it makes power everywhere in the rev range. All that thrust makes it easy to come off VIR's straights at heady speeds. Of all the cars at this year's running, only the McLaren, 911 Turbo S, and Shelby GT500 carry a higher speed into the uphill esses than the M8's 140.1 mph.
Porsche's Taycan—a car that literally weighs half a ton more—nips the BMW by 0.3 second. We attribute that to the EV's low center of gravity and handling magic. The Taycan overtakes the Bimmer in the Climbing Esses, exiting 5.4 mph faster, and then squeezes ahead on the squiggly back half of the circuit.
We are also obligated to point out that last year's BMW M5 Competition ran 1.5 seconds quicker than the M8 despite having a nearly identical spec sheet. Blame the weather or the car or the driver or the spicy chicken wings that driver ate the night before day three. Or just consider this the margin of variability between two different vehicles driven by two different drivers a year apart.
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Full Lightening Lap 2021 Article:
Lightening Lap 2021
Full Results:
18) Toyota Supra 2.0 - 3:09.0
17) Cadillac CT4-V - 3:06.2
16) Ford Mustang 2.3L - 3:04.4
15) Cadillac CT5-V - 3:04.1
14) Mini Cooper Works GP - 3:03.8
13) Subaru STI - 3:03.4
12) BMW M340i - 3:03.2
11) Toyota Supra 3.0 - 2:59.3
10) Jaguar F-type R - 2:59.5
9) Mercedes AMG CLA45 - 2:58.2
8) BMW M8 Competition - 2:55.5
7) Porsche Taycan Turbo S - 2:55.2
6) Porsche 718 GT4 - 2:50.3
5) Chevy Corvette Z51 - 2:49.0
4) Lamborghini Huracan Evo - 2:45.0
3) Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - 2:44.6
2) Porsche 911 Turbo S - 2:42.5
1) Mclaren 765LT - 2:38.4
