BMW M4 GTS Concept looks stealthy at Pebble

Every year, the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance seems to becoming evermore important not just for people who want to display their million-dollar classics, but for automotive manufacturers, too. Indeed, manufacturers should ignore the Concours at their peril, for it is a fantastic time to show new products without the iffy lighting and insanity that comes with the world’s biggest consumer car shows.

This year, BMW took the stage with not one, but two fantastic concepts. One of which, the 3.0 Hommage, we’ve already discussed here. The second car is much more likely for production, and should whet the appetites of the world’s BMW enthusiasts.

What you seen here is the BMW M4 GTS, and while BMW has attached “Concept” to the name, don’t be surprised if we see a production-ready version of the car at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Salon.

In addition to that, the arrival of the M4 GTS could also be signaling the return of BMW’s 4 Series to the world’s racing circuits, hitherto occupied by racing versions of the Z4 and previous-gen 3 Series.

Like the M4’s ancestor, the M3 GTS, orange is the word of the day when it comes to stylistic add-ons (it was used as the M3 GTS’ launch colour). It doesn’t cover huge amounts of the car’s body, but the sublime orange wheels and chin spoiler are eue-grabbing nevertheless, as is the matte black finish they’re set against. As are the OLED headlamps.

Under the skin is where the difference will really be felt (as it should be, with a road racer like this); 220 pounds were scraped off, thanks to body parts fashioned in composite and the deletion of the rear seats.

BMW has been understandably coy when it comes to performance figures, but expect a 70 horsepower jump over the standard M4, bringing the total to around 500 hp. A new application of the water-cooling system first featured on the 1 Series prototype and in last year’s Moto GP safety car will be on-hand to help provide more power, without too much of a hit to fuel economy. It’s a tech normally used in race cars, which once again points to BMW taking the M4 to the track.