The owner of a rare BMW M4 GTS is selling his £125,000 car after just two months and 300 miles because he says it’s “infuriating” and “terrible”.
Just 30 of the raucous, 493bhp special edition M4s are destined for the UK, and one is already up for sale second hand at Anglia Car Auctions on August 27.
The 190mph super-coupe – BMW’s fastest ever road car – is one of just 700 being sold worldwide, and is expected to sell for a premium on the official list price of just under £125,000.
BMW’s fastest ever road car
But in the advert, the owner, possibly slightly tongue in cheek, describes his reasons for selling the frozen grey car so soon.
“The paint infuriates me as I am constantly having to clean it, the gearbox is not so great under normal driving conditions, the radio is terrible and my insurers refuse to let me drive it because I have more than six penalty points which, those known to me will attest, is a rare occurrence.” (He should have tried our BMW cover!)
Cynics may say that the owner is trying to make a quick buck in selling an as-new, highly desirable and sought-after car, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Supportive seats and fat-rimmed steering wheel
Profit made on the price he paid (the auction estimate suggests it could sell for up to £165,000) will benefit charities including Macmillan, Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund and the Glaucoma Society.
So is the GTS really that bad? Well, it depends entirely on what you’re looking for in a road car: the ultimate driving machine, extreme edition; or a comfy, quick, easy-to-drive coupe?
If it’s the latter, forget it – the GTS is built for out-and-out performance, there is barely any sound deadening, no front stereo speakers, it’s extremely tricky in the wet, and a little jittery on our less-than-perfect roads.
That awesome twin-turbo engine
But…it laps the Nurburgring within a blink of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, you’re unlikely to see another on the road, and it’s the ultimate in BMW performance engineering, if a little thuggish.
We’ll leave the last word to Top Gear, because they’ve driven one and we, sadly, haven’t: “It’s crisp and powerful and punchy. And fun to drive – the combination of the rasping, zingy soundtrack, the lovely steering weight and front end grip, the superb one-piece seats, the sheer force of the engine and the wonderful-to-use standard carbon-ceramic brakes are compelling. It’s keen to change direction, gets keyed into the tarmac and feels special, like it’s worth the money. It’s quick on a circuit, would fit right in at any track day. People would love it, and you’d love driving it.”