Someone actually put in the time, effort, and money to make it. Fortunately, it at least boasts the pre-facelift look. Here's what you need to know about it.
Nobody can deny that the BMW M people know what they're doing. When they're not forced to appease certain markets, they can come up with amazing and eye-pleasing designs. The facelifted M3 and M4 prove it. The new snaky daytime-running lights enable the sedan and the coupe to look just a bit more ferocious than before and add an enhanced touch of dynamism that might make more people ignore or fully embrace the double vertical kidney grille.
Personally, I find the refreshed units to look like aggressive jungle cats, but maybe that's just me. I haven't heard anyone compare the M3 and M4 to untamed felines.
Anyway, that's not why we're here. The star of this article is a memorable version of the original M3 G80 that's as vast or as ample as a businessman's dream of becoming a billionaire. The only difference between them is that this peculiar motor vehicle takes quite a lot of physical space instead of occupying a generous portion of one's brain.
This oversized thing is called the M3 Squared. That moniker might remind you of Mercedes-Benz's G-Wagen 4x4 Squared, but we're not talking about a tougher suspension setup or an increased ride height here; no, this thing is a very different type of "squared." It's trying to be as expansive as the Universe itself. It looks like you're playing a racing video game on a new ultrawide monitor and forgot to switch from 16:9 to 32:9.
Nonetheless, it is real. But it at least isn't as real as it could've been.
The creator of the BMW M3 Squared used the underpinnings of the VW Lamando 5XL, the body of a defunct M3, and some other bits and pieces that were bought online or made in his garage. So, that quad kidney grille doesn't hide two S58 six-cylinder engines underneath. It's a humble 1.4-liter four-pot that's doing all the hard work. It might not have a long life ahead of it, but it's at least showing that even small powertrains can put up with a tough task.
In the first video shown on Chinese media, the person behind the M3 Squared project explains that he felt obligated to replace the Lamando 5XL body with something that could look better. He tried to envision other bodies for the existing frame and drivetrain but settled on the M3 because it "looked better when stretched."
The man is so confident about the car's appearance that he even says it might help you refresh your gaze and gain a new perspective on what a sedan should look like. However, he also believes that the M3 Squared should provide those who see it with a rediscovered appreciation for conventional vehicle design. Maybe he needs to decide what's what before going further with this project.
Inside, the cabin is extremely spartan. There's nothing that says M3 yet, but the man plans to invest a little more money into it and bring the interior as close to the original as possible.
Ultimately, we would say that with great width comes great responsibility. The single biggest obligation in this case should be not to let this thing touch public roads anytime soon. It's a monster that shouldn't have ever seen the light of day. But it is unique. I'll give it that.
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