The BMW M3 and its coupe sibling, the BMW M4, are exciting machines that were co-developed alongside racing cars like the M4 GT3. And while going around a circuit as fast and as smoothly as possible is arguably where cars like these shine most, they're also pretty good at going sideways. BMW is making the most of that ability and has fitted both cars with a drift analyzer. At the same time, BMW M has officially sponsored a drifting team for the first time, specifically that of the Red Bull Driftbrothers. Elias and Johannes Hountondji are busy preparing their M cars for competition, but in the meantime, the pair took to Hockenheim to see how the stock cars handle going sideways.

The cars they use are in their launch colors of Isle of Man Green for the M3 and Sao Paulo Yellow for the M4. The former is fitted with a manual gearbox while the latter is a Competition model with the eight-speed automatic, but neither of these cars has any problems initiating or holding a long, smoky drift.

The brothers gave their thoughts on these cars and both seemed to come away from the experience very impressed. Interestingly, despite fourth gear being relatively long, the incredible response of the engine and its wealth of low-down torque mean that you can even drift in this ratio, with the automatic gearbox at least.

The video also reveals that these cars look very easy to control (if you know what you're doing) and handle transitions and direction changes with ease. Of course, the M3/M4 will still need a lot of work to be suitable for competition drifting, but they clearly provide a good base from which to work. We wouldn't recommend trying to replicate these skills at home though - the new M3 and M4 are still prone to damage in the wrong hands, Still, with such a great starting point, we look forward to seeing how the Driftbrothers turn the latest that Munich has to offer into the ultimate weapons of sideways smoking.