What's the news?
Timed to coincide with the unveiling of the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series at the Paris Motor Show, the German company has already announced a range of M Performance parts for its crucial new model.
First up, there's an M Performance exterior styling package. This comprises ten different parts, which you can either pick and choose from, or order as the complete bundle. They're finished in high-gloss black or carbon fibre and comprise items such as a front splitter, a rear spoiler and a rear diffuser. All three of these items not only look good, they serve to reduce aerodynamic lift at the BMW's front and rear ends. More visual-oriented items include carbon-fibre M Performance door mirror caps, as well as branded side-sill graphics, grey-tinted rear-light clusters and titanium/carbon-fibre M Performance exhaust finishers. Concluding this section, projectors in the door mirrors can beam the BMW M logo or other M Performance-related motifs onto the tarmac near the car, every time it is opened.
Moving into the wheel arches, there's an M Performance 18-inch braking system available for the new 3 Series. It's recognisable from the fitment of red four-piston brake callipers, which grip perforated, grooved and lightweight discs. Buyers can position these behind some 18- and 20-inch M Performance wheels, spread over four different designs: there's the 18-inch matt black light-alloy double-spoke wheels; then there are the forged cross-spoke 20-inch bicolour alloys in a jet black and burnished finish; or the similarly 20-inch forged Y-spoke wheels, which come in two finishes - either bicolour (Ferric Grey matte and gloss-lathed), or plain matte black.
For the track-day enthusiast, or just the person who needs as much M Performance-branded stuff in their lives as is humanly possible, BMW recommends M Performance tyre bags for when the wheels are stored (this is Germany, remember, where they use cheap steel wheels on special tyres in winter months), which apparently not only provide protection against the stored wheels getting dirty, but they also 'radiate an extra motor racing atmosphere into the home garage'. Right...
Inside, there's an M Performance steering wheel with a 12-o'clock marker with Alcantara grips and contrast silver stitching, while carbon-fibre shift paddles can be specified for Threes with Steptronic gearboxes. Further details include carbon-fibre M Performance-branded trim and M Performance floor mats. For true driving enthusiasts, an M Performance Drive Analyser comprises an OBD stick to plug into the BMW's onboard diagnostic interface and a smartphone app, and it can monitor a driver's performance on a track day, logging data, times and even providing a camera recording function for particularly engaging driving sessions.
Anything else?
BMW insists that all M Performance parts, for the new 3 Series and other vehicles, are inspired by and derived from the company's motorsport activities. The new range of M Performance parts for the 3 Series is on sale now.