Last week we brought you a story on the upcoming BMW M440i (read our original article at this link). The new model will be the range-topper of the two-door 4 Series range until the M4 appears in 2021. Just yesterday videographers spotted the BMW M4 testing at the Nurburgring.

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Inline six turbo

We can see tell it’s the BMW M4 testing because of the slightly domed bonnet and the quad exhaust tips. Signature aero-shaped mirrors are also present. Another give away, like it or not, is the fact that the two-door M car seems to have the larger kidney grilles as has been rumoured.

In the video, you can hear the inline-six motor that has already been confirmed by BMW (see below). The snappiness of the shifts leads us to believe that it is the DCT-equipped version. We can also see the test driver flinging the car through some of the tighter corners getting it to oversteer just a hint.

Watch and listen to the next generation high-performance Porsches being tested at this link.

Different flavours

The upcoming BMW M4, and its M3 sedan sibling, will be powered by the company’s inline six-cylinder turbocharged motor, as found in the X3M/X4M twins. The regular M3/M4 will have 353 kW on tap. In this model, power will be fed to all four wheels via an automatic transmission, much like its bigger sibling the BMW M5. At the very top of the M3/M4 food chain will be a 373 kW version called the Competition. It will also be an all-wheel-drive automatic version. Both states of tune will have 600 N.m of torque. The xDrive all-wheel-drive system will feature a RWD-only mode as found in the M5.

Read our exclusive interview with the head of BMW’s M Division by clicking here.

An ‘entry-level’ model has been rumoured and is said to have 331 kW, a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, in keeping with tradition. BMW’s stated this “driver’s” version of the M3/M4. “We will also do rear-wheel-drive cars, purer ones too and a manual stick shift,” said M Division boss Markus Flasch.