The guys over at BMW claim that their vehicles provide the “ultimate driving experience.” Based on this clip of the 2008 BMW M3, I’m almost inclined to agree. Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear took the luxurious sports coupe out for a spin and he sounds pretty pleased with how the beast performs. In his own words, the “M stands for two things: speed and handling.”

Perhaps the craziest part of the video comes very early on where the driver decides to take a high speed turn drift-style, making full use of the 420 horses developed by the 4.0L V8 engine. The ultra-tight RWD handling characteristics are pretty impressive too. Yes, the 2008 BMW M3 is quite the beast and easily maintains the company’s tradition of fun cars to drive.

Check out “the most exciting car to be launched this year” below, complete with plenty of track footage, opinion, and analysis. Maybe I should take one out for a spin around the block.