Subject: New competition for BMW's M3

from www.wards.com :

The C55 is just one of a number of V-8
sedans expected from Mercedes and BMW
AG for their next-generation of Euro-muscle cars. The new wave of high-performance
models starts at September's Frankfurt auto show, when Mercedes is expected to unveil the C43 AMG, and won't stop until late
1999, when BMW launches the new M3,
fitted with a version of the current 4.4L V-8.

With the C43 AMG, Mercedes, keen to
grab the limelight from today's hugely
successful BMW M3, originally planned only to drop its new 4.3L V-8 under the hood of the C-Class, but AMG now has decided to go one step further and offer the C55 with the same 5.5L, 400-hp V-8 previously
intended only for the midsize E-Class based E55.

There's another problem that gives
Mercedes even more time at the top of the German performance table: unhappy with the shift quality on the sequential 6-speeder BMW hoped to launch this month in the M3, the engineers have delayed any plans for a similar system on the new M5.

Pollution problems -- both exhaust and
noise -- also have forced BMW to employ a V-8 for the next-generation M3. Currently the plan is to launch the new 3-series sedan at the Geneva show next March, with
various versions to follow, but the M3 is not expected until late 1999 or even 2000. The M3 is expected to stick with the 4.4L V-8, though when fitted with Double-Vanos it's likely to develop close to 350 hp, about 30 hp more than the current car, but with a massive increase in torque.