Munich, Germany - for petrolheads the world over who believe that high-performance motoring should be done with the wind in your face, the BMW M4 Convertible - due for SA Release on 15 October - represents the best of both worlds.
Until then, enjoy the gallery and the videos, brought to you by the M boffins.
The M4 convertible has the three-piece folding hard-top of its svelte 4 Series siblings, which can be raised or lowered in less than 20 seconds at up to 18km/h, the sleek 'barchetta' (little boat) silhouette, with nothing by the A pillars above a sensuously curved waistline, immortalised by the roadsters of the 1930s, and the finely finished trim around the cockpit that evokes hand-crafted racing yachts of the time - combined with the signature M styling cues, from ther power bulge on the bonnet, twin-stalk sports mirrors and flared wheel-arches over 18” or even optional 19” forged light-alloy rims.
HIGH-REVVING STRAIGHT SIX
Add to that the M3/M4 family's high-revving new three-litre straight six with M TwinPower Turbos, rated for the same 317kW and 550Nm - good for 0-100 in just 4.4 seconds with the optional seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission and sustained cruising at up to its electronically limited top speed of 250km/h - and you have a recipe for automotive nirvana.
But the topless M4, like its tin-top siblings, is no straight-line sledgehammer; it boasts almost all the same special lightweight components to keep its weight down, including alumninium bonnet and front side panels, and aluminium suspension components where possible, as well as carbon-fibre fibre for crucial high-strength components such as the one-piece propshaft, and the front suspension tower brace, which weighs only 1.5kg but is just a rigid as an alloy strut and plays a significant role in the car's precision steering.
PURE BLING?
But perhaps the most telling illustration of the lengths the Munich whitecoats have gone to is that the optional carbon-ceramic disc brakes can be ordered with gold-plated callipers.
Pure bling? No way: Gold no only cannot tarnish no matter how hot it gets, it radiates heat to the air faster than any other finish - and the smoother it's polished the better it works.