First look: BMW M3 Convertible breaks cover

THREE months after the awesome new V8-powered BMW M3 was launched in Australia in coupe form, the Bavarian car maker today revealed first photos of the convertible version.

The four-seat BMW M3 Convertible is expected to arrive in Australia in July.

Expect it to be priced about $13,000 above the M3 Coupe that was launched here in October, giving it a price of around $170,000.

Apart from losing the M3 Coupe’s signature carbon fibre roof, of course, the convertible features all the other M3 styling cues, including the aluminium bonnet with power bulge, flared wheelarches, air intake gills in the front side panels, 18-inch wheels and rear air dam with diffuser punctuated by dual M tailpipes.

Like the regular 3 Series Convertible, the M3 gets a three-piece steel folding roof that opens or retracts in 22 seconds.

Otherwise, only the doors, bootlid, windows, tail-lights and automatically activating rollover protection bars behind the rear seats are interchangeable between the 3 Series Convertible and the M3 Convertible.

Power comes from the same 4.0-litre V8 engine producing 309kW of power of 400Nm of torque, driving through a six-speed manual or the new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with ‘Drivelogic’.

Fitted with the fast-changing DSG-style dual-clutch semi-auto, the M3 Convertible will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in just 5.1 seconds, with an EU fuel consumption figure of 12.3L/100 km.

It also features the same three-setting adaptive sports suspension, cross-drilled braking and electronic dynamic drive systems as the M3 Coupe, making it one of the sportiest convertibles in the world.