- When I got my M340i, BMW promised a free track day and it got delayed multiple times due to the pandemic.
- BMW Drive Event
When I got my M340i, BMW promised a free track day and it got delayed multiple times due to the pandemic.
BHPian robimahanta recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
BMW Drive Event
When I got my M340i, BMW promised a free track day and it got delayed multiple times due to the pandemic. Finally they had the events in Buddh,Delhi and MMRT, Chennai. I wanted to try out the car in Buddh but it didn’t work out due to time and logistical constraints. Finally, decided to attend the MMRT, Chennai event organised by BMW, India for M car owners. I know M340i is not a full blown M car but it is indeed a value for money entry point to all exclusive M events by BMW,India. After all they sold around 200 M340i’s in India till date.
I drove down to MMRT (Sriperumbudur) track with my good friend Dr.AD from Bangalore in the morning to reach the track by 9am. It was a nice drive in the early hours of the day where I wanted to save the XP100 octane fuel for the event. Eventually ended up with a double digit mileage, even with decent average speeds.
On reaching the venue, we were welcomed with some nice breakfast and shiny M cars. After a drivers briefing, the group was split into two of 4 drivers each. One group did the laps on track following a pace car in our own cars while the other group did drag races in the full blown M cars namely the G80 M4C, M5C Lci and the X5M.
The track was wet and there was water in some areas so it was never a flat out lap but nevertheless, it was awesome fun. I did some 10 odd laps of the circuit including cool down laps and was amazed by the capabilities of the M340i. Tyres were the weakest link as expected. The braces helped with the front end feel in the corners a lot. The engine is not a full blown M engine but holds its ground and the ZF transmission is tuned very well. The shifts are intuitive and you rarely would feel the need to use the paddles. Finally there is a hint of understeer at times and you can definitely feel the excess weight of the car too. The XDrive makes it very easy to drive and you always have a safety net. As a 4 door saloon which costed 62.9 ex showroom (when I got) pushing close to 400hp, there isn’t any other mainstream stock car south of 1 Cr which is probably as fast on the track. Cannot wait to hit the track again soon (maybe with a set of MRF 245/40 18 semi slicks).
Coming to the drag event, we took turns to drive the M4, M5C and the X5M. We were not allowed to used launch control but still managed to get around 4 sec to 100 and 11.5-12.5 quarter miles for all the cars on a wet drag strip. The real M cars are in a class of its own.The G80 M4 looks great in person inspite the large grills, the M5C is the perfect sleeper while the X5M just defies physics. I wish we had the chance to do some laps with these cars on the track.
Big shout out to BMW, India for inviting me for this event. Sharing some images from the event. Some pics are shot by Dr.AD, mostly the ones where the car is on the move.
They had some sim rigs with PS4 (but the real deal was more fun
Cars are lined up before heading to the track
My car behind another Sunset Orange M340i
The lovey M4C and the M5C
At the wheel
Badging keeps reminding you that you are in something special
My car on the move
M4 rolling out
Keyword: Pics: Attended the BMW track event at MMRT, Chennai