MARBELLA, SPAIN - WHEN all is said and done, the entire recipe for successful sports cars through the ages can be summed up with two words: sex and power.

The BMW M3 has always had both. But the new one seems to have bigger dollops.

Its styling is dominating and positively alpha-male. The somewhat nondescript lines of the regular 3-series coupe have been brutally toughened up to make the M3.

The combination of flared wheel-arches, deep gashes on the bumpers and vein-like protrusions running along the side skirts makes the car look like the result of an overdose of muscle-building supplements and plenty of weight training.

Like the CSL model from the previous generation, the M3 has an unpainted reinforced carbon-fibre roof. The body mutation on the car extends to the aluminium bonnet, which has developed a pronounced bump (steroidal overdose has been known to do that to the human body).

Under this swell resides the most significant development in the M3 lineage, a brand new 4-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine that makes a ripping 420bhp at a race car-like 8,300rpm.

Its sheer displacement also implies plenty of torque across the band, so there's less need to downshift. As with the previous model, the M3 is launched initially as a manual-only model. A double-clutch semi-automatic will follow soon.

After the manic exterior, the M3's interior is a tad unceremonious. Other than minute differences, it looks like the cabin of the coupe.

The instrument pack displays a tachometer that goes to 9,000rpm and a tiny M badge in the middle. You find splashes of carbon fibre-like trim, a fatter steering wheel and seat bolsters.

While bodybuilders suffer from a limited range of movement (ask them to scratch their own backs), the M3 is nimble like a butterfly - its weight notwithstanding. Despite extensive use of lightweight materials, the car tips the scale at more than 1.6 tonnes, or 85kg more than its predecessor.

Its agility comes from cleverly managing the distribution of mass, as well as the suspension set-up, which has been thoroughly revised from the standard 3-series.

Adjustable electronic damping provides the option to further sharpen things up. Yet, no matter how hard you set it, the ride is never jarring.

On the mix of twisty narrow roads and highways around the Ascari Race Resort, the car is ruthlessly efficient in dispelling traffic.

Not only is the steering accurate with bountiful grip, the engine's generous spread of oomph delivers instantaneous acceleration, while making a mean grunt as the car tears away from the crowd.

An excursion on the 5.4km Ascari track reveals a lot more about this M3. For all its angry bulges, manic revs and incredible pace on the road, it is not a hairy monster on the circuit.

In fact, it's a bit of a scaredy cat when the electronic nannies are left in their default mode. The stability control system cuts power at the first sign of wheelslip on the rear-end. Throttle response, which felt positive and sharp on the road, becomes lethargic. The steering turn-in, which feels decently incisive on the road, feels soft and hesitant here.

These traits make the car a bit annoying on the track. One way around this is to hit an innocuous button on the steering marked M. The button can be pre-set to send all the safety guardians packing or instruct them to tone down. Parameters can be customised via the iDrive.

In its edgier settings, the car still doesn't leap into corners like a race car. What it does, however, is bring most of that confident attitude displayed by the M3 on the road onto the track.

The suspension resists body roll better, while the sharper throttle response and the more relaxed traction control set-up allow the car to be placed more accurately in the bends and drift out of the apex towards the outside of the bends more gracefully.

In the end, it is probably not how capable or raw the car is that makes the M3's case. It is how it makes the driver feel. Is it sexy and powerful enough?

You be the judge.

Price: To be announced
Engine: 3,999cc 32-valve V8
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Power: 420bhp at 8,300rpm
0-100kmh: 4.8 seconds
Top speed: 250kmh (electronically limited)
Fuel consumption: 17.9 litres/100km (city)
Agent: Performance Motors