EVERY TIME I GET THROUGH THE STEFAN Bellof 'S' unscathed, I breathe a little sigh of relief. It's a wickedly fast, horribly bumpy right-left-right that rises steeply and then flows back downhill just when you crave a clear line of sight to know you're on course to nibble the flat concrete exit kerbing. The BMW M4 GT4 is unsettled even before you reach this treacherous section, having just flown over the big jump at Pflanzgarten, and it never fully settles as the rear axle thumps over the ragged surface. The one thing that helps is squeezing the throttle wide open as early as possible. A cruel, taunting realisation and one that severely tests the connection between conscious thought, lizard-brain survival instinct and the muscles in your ankle that pivot your right foot.
Get it right and you'll need an upshift to 6th halfway through the final right-hand sweep, then rattle over that kerb, feel the M4 get tugged to the left, and tease it back towards the tarmac. Slow hands. It makes sense that this portion towards the end of the Nordschleife is named after one of its true masters. The bravery, technical challenge and calmness required to get it right (or as right as a layman ever can) is exhausting and elating. There are just four corners left before reaching the sanctity of the undulating Döttinger Höhe straight and ticking off another lap. So breathe.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 2023 de Evo UK.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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