The latest BMW to wear the brand's vaunted "M" badge is shaping up to be a monster.

The fourth-generation M3 Coupe isn't due to land on our shores until early 2008, but you can bet BMW enthusiasts will be lining up for the first-ever version to be powered by an eight-cylinder engine. When rumours of eight-cylinder power for the M3 began circulating, we weren't surprised.

You had to know these speed-obsessed Bavarians wouldn't let Audi's RS4, with its 420-horsepower V8, steal BMW's thunder for too long. So it's also no coincidence the new M3 V8 boasts - you got it - exactly 420 horses, but from a smaller-displacement engine: 4.0 litres vs. the RS4's 4.2 litres.

The new M3 powerplant is based on the massive V10 used in the M5 and M6, and also boasts 295 pound-feet of torque, most of which is available from 3,500 rpm up to 7,000 revs. Altogether, it's a serious power boost over the inline six that powered the last-generation M3, which disappeared after 2006.

BMW claims a zero to 100 kilometre per hour sprint of 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.

Source: [url=http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=75d02483-3016-47f1-9fa6-990aae9090b1]Driving.ca[/url]