Those who know the price difference between the series 4-coupé and the 4-convertible, will reckon this car to have a price-tag of over €80.000. Quo vadis, amici? After the series-3, this car counts as being the fourth generation. Indeed, one must ask oneself, if the performance of this engine wouldn't perhaps be better in the coupé. I suppose the modern buyers, would like to have plenty of fresh air as well as plenty of power. Now, the turbo is already being sold as a high-revving engine. In the past this was reserved for normally aspired engines. After all, it only has 600 rpm less. Could it even be, at the end of the day, the union of two hearts in one breast, 50% more torque and still be relatively steadfast? The fact that this convertible has a retractable hard-top, can only be seen in the last picture. Nevertheless, this car enjoys the advantages of having light-weight components, e.g., the aluminium bonnet. We'll leave it open, whether the characteristic Powerdome is really useful or not. As far as the chassis is concerned, the aluminium components make a lot more sense. Included here, are the forged wheel-rims which, typical for the M-series, require wider wheel-housings, also up front. Here, one could then directly, use aluminium for the front side-panels. The strut bar is now called precision strut and belongs to the sprung mass with its further reduced weight by CFRP. The same goes for the carbon-fibre drive shaft which indeed, also reduces the rotating mass. This could at least, take some of the strain off the synchronisation if the six-speed manual gearbox is fitted. The sound absorbing retractable roof may only be opened or closed up to a speed of 18 km/h. Indeed, what happens if one suddenly accelerates during the 20 seconds that this takes? Oh yes, as far as the pricing is concerned, we should also mention the 'BMW Individual' optional extras. Let's stay with the propulsion technology, which is still the most important thing in an M-series. We haven't yet mentioned a particular advantage of the modified engine, the possible emission value of 200 g/km coming from a 300 kW engine. Although one will have a hard time achieving the promised consumption of 9 litres/100 km, the CO2-value is really quite impressive. The figures also show the superiority of the dual-clutch gearbox quite clearly. Through the one additional gear, not only is a higher consumption due to the controller being avoided, it even manages with 0,4 litres/100 km less than with the manual gearbox. Accordingly, its acceleration should also be better. Apparently, it's not that easy anyway, to achieve the 4,6 seconds for a 0 to 100 km/h sprint, using the manual gearbox. 04/14