New BMW M3 saloon: is this you?

The upcoming BMW M3 saloon has been captured on helmet-cam during what looks like a filming session for a promo video.

How do we know it's the M3? Well, the blue car in the video has four doors, a body kit, M-Sport alloys and those famous quad exhaust pipes at the back. Plus, if you listen very carefully, doesn't it sound very much like the faint burble of that turbocharged straight-sixer as it pulls away?

So what do we know about BMW's next super-saloon? Well, it'll be badged M3 in saloon form only, as BMW has now turned the M3 Coupe into the M4 Coupe. Both will feature a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-pot engine producing 430bhp and peak torque in excess of 369lb ft. Despite the drop in displacement, that torque figure trumps that of the outgoing M3's 4.0-litre V8 by some margin. Thank the turbo for that.

Both M3 and M4 shall mercifully be offered with a standard six-speed manual gearbox - with the double-clutch DCT auto ‘box as an option, of course - together with an active M differential and much carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The boot, roof, prop shaft and strut brace are all made of CFRP. As a result, BMW claims the new M3 and M4 will both weigh in at around 1500kg, around 80kg less than the outgoing car.

Seen the new M3 or even the M4 Coupe doing something more interesting than a three-point-turn? Send in your spy vids to editor@topgear.com...

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