BMW M3: Two clutches, seven gears, eight cylinders and 54,000

The wind in your hair and an eight-cylinder soundtrack: does life get any better? BMW M3
The new BMW M3 Convertible goes on sale in April, with a retractable hard top, priced at £54,655, almost £4,000 more than the coupé.

The car will be the first model to feature the seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission (M DCT) as an alternative to the standard six-speed manual gearbox. Gearchanges can be made via steering-wheel paddles or the gearlever.

BMW says the DCT improves Combined average fuel consumption by 1.1mpg and CO2emissions by 16g/km, to 293g/km. The DCT gearbox is an extra £2,590.