The BMW M4 GTS was just recently unveiled, but it's already winning awards—despite the fact that journalists haven't even driven it yet. Readers of Auto Bild Magazine voted the M4 GTS the winner of the 2015 Sports Car Of The Year in the Serial Production Coupés class. BMW also won the Concept Cars category with the BMW 3.0CSL Hommage, which attracted the majority of votes.
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By winning the "Serial Production Coupés" category, the BMW M4 GTS has built on the success of the BMW M4 Coupé and the BMW 435i Coupé, which were voted Sports Car of the Year in 2014 and 2013 respectively. The BMW M4 GTS underpins its sports car status with a lap time of 7:28 minutes on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife. This performance is enabled by a three-way coilover suspension specially harmonized for the BMW M4 GTS, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, intelligent lightweight construction, and a high-performance in-line 6-cylinder petrol engine with M TwinPower Turbo Technology. Due to the innovative water injection—used for the first time in a serial production vehicle—the engine delivers an output of 500 hp and a torque of 600 Nm from a capacity of 3.0 liters. This enables the BMW M4 GTS to accelerate in 3.8 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, reaching a top speed of 305 km/h (cut off).
The BMW 3.0 CSL Homage attracted the most votes in the "Concept Cars" category which was offered for the first time—and it won by a very clear margin. This concept study was presented at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este as the BMW design team's tribute to the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL—the timeless, classic BMW coupé icon of the 1970s.
As in the 1970s original, the lines of the BMW 3.0 CSL Homage express pure dynamic performance: striking air deflectors, powerful wheel arches and a prominent roof and rear spoiler frame an elongated body. The front air deflector serves to ventilate the engine compartment while the wings above the rear wheels ensure optimum air flow around the vehicle. Small camera rear mirrors further reduce aerodynamic drag. The large rear spoiler increases surface pressure on the powered rear axle, thereby improving power transmission. An Air Curtain and Air Breather guarantee optimum wheel arch ventilation and air extraction. The 21-inch light alloy wheels in matte and high-gloss Bi-Color finish add a particularly striking touch. Air deflection blades in the wheel rim gaps additionally optimize aerodynamics.
In addition to the category winners, there were other BMW models that gained podium positions. In the category "Serial Production Sedans", the BMW 30 Jahre M5 finished second, as did the BMW X6 M in the category "Serial Production SUVs". The BMW M135i came third in the category "Serial Production Compact Cars".
The Auto Bild Sports Cars of the Year readers' vote was held this year for the 14th time. The title "Sports Car of the Year" is among the most important awards for sports-style vehicles in the automobile sector in Germany, and it is highly coveted among all vehicle manufacturers. There were 142 models to choose from for the readers' vote in 2015. Drawn from test and road reports of the last 12 months, the vehicles were classified in 18 categories. The awards were presented at the Essen Motor Show Race Night.
