A lot of BMW purists (and somehow the Blue Propeller badge seems to attract more anoraks and history buffs than most) were distressed (even distraught) when Munich ceased production of the M3 Coupé.
After all, the two-door E30 was the basis of the very first M3, way back in 1986 - the M3 wasn't made in a family-friendly four-door format until the E36 of 1994, and then only because the current four-door M5 had gone out of production.
For M-freaks the only true M3 is the Coupé; the convertible gives away too much in terms of body-shell rigidity and the sedan is for school runs, rather than track days.
But those same enthusiasts can take heart, because the next performance car out of BMW's skunk works will be the M-powered 4 Series Coupé - the M4.
A PROPER M CAR
And the good news is that it will be a proper M car, with a (turbo) straight-six engine. Rather than AMG's sledgehammer approach of adding more engine capacity - and power - until the chassis ties itself in knots, BMW is focusing on delivering performance by reducing weight, using lightweight alloys wherever possible, and lots of carbon fibre.
BMW product manager for small to medium cars, Matt Collins, pointed out in an interview with Top Gear magazine at the Goodwood Festival of speed that all the technology already exists, having been developed for the i3 and i8 electric city cars.
So, we can expect the M4 to be a lot lighter than the standard 435i, considerably more dynamic (read hard core - and hard suspension!).
IS THERE A CSL VERSION IN THE (SKUNK) WORKS?
There are already mules running around Munich (the spy shots are all over the cybergarage) but apparently there's a lot of chassis tuning still to be done.
There could even be a stripped-out CSL superleggera version, although Collins told Top Gear there were no plans for one, while admitting there had been no plans for the previous M3 CSL either; it grew out of customer demand.
Nevertheless, he said, BMW was not going to go halfway with the straight M4, it really would be as light and agile as practically possible.
We're expecting to see the production version about 18 months after the release of the 4 Series, which was first shown at this year's Detroit motor show - and looks like it's going to be a sizzler, even if its name does sound more like a road than a road burner.