Even though the M440i is not a full-fat M model, it still has a lot going for it. Look past its controversially designed grille and you’ll find an inline-six engine as seen in its bigger brother, albeit with only one turbo and significantly less punch. 369 horsepower (382 hp in the US) is nothing to sneeze at, and we could say the same thing about torque – at 500 Newton-meters (369 pound-feet).
A new video from AutoTopNL shows what those output numbers mean in terms of real-life performance, at least when it comes to accelerating in a straight line. The new M Performance version of the revamped 4 Series Coupe was put through its paces on an unrestricted section of Germany’s glorious Autobahn. In other words, no speed laws were broken in the making of this video.
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BMW may say the new M440i Coupe does 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in four and a half seconds, but this looks a bit quicker. That wouldn’t be much of a surprise since German automakers are known to be overly careful with performance numbers and tend to say their cars are slower than they actually are. It didn’t take too long for the M Performance-branded 4 Series Coupe to make the electronic top speed limiter kick in.
While the M440i is listed as having an electronically governed 155 mph (250 km/h) maximum velocity, the digital speedometer shows the car doing 162 mph (261 km/h) at one point. How was this possible? Modern speedometers show a slightly higher speed than the actual one, especially as the car reaches higher speeds.
This setting represents an automaker’s way of making sure the vehicle is never reading under its true speed. It’s necessary to guarantee that even after changing the diameter of a wheel and tire, which ultimately impact a car’s speed, the speedometer still never underestimates the vehicle’s actual speed. In other words, it’s a margin of error allowing car manufactures to stay on the safe side and never display the vehicle’s speed lower than the real one.
The sound you’re hearing is not half bad, but we have to warn you it’s artificially enhanced when the M440i xDrive is in Sport mode. In other words, some of the noise is channeled through the audio speakers rather than coming exclusively from the 3.0-liter engine. BMW says it “provides authentic reproduction of the engine note,” but it’s still not entirely the real thing.
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