The brand new V8-powered BMW M3 Coupé has swept to victory as the overall Drive Car of the Year 2007 as voted by Fairfax motoring writers.

Eight scribes from The Melbourne Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and leading website www.drive.com.au chose the M3 Coupé from among 44 top cars in 13 categories, to be the overall most outstanding car of the year.

"The M3 won because it re-writes the rule book on luxury performance cars," the judges decided.

"It's the great leap forward that a Car of the Year should be. The last-generation M3 was a great car deservedly revered, yet BMW's engineers found a way to make the new model more useable, more refined, more technologically advanced - and also faster.

"It has an awesome engine, unbelievable grip, four comfortable seats, an anticipated five-star safety rating, and a price tag some $40,000 cheaper than a comparable (rival)."

The BMW M3 Coupé also won its category of 'Best Performance Car Over $60,000'.

The Australian award backs up a prestigious award collected by the M3 Coupé in the United States last week, when it won the Popular Mechanics' 2008 Automotive Excellence Award in the performance category, presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The new BMW M3 was only released in Australia on October 11, after a debut in Europe earlier in the year.

The naturally aspirated 309 kW 4.0-litre V8 engine boasts a muscular 400 Nm of torque and revs to an 8,400 rpm redline. It races from 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and can stop from 100 km/h in just 34 metres.

The unique combination of track bred chassis and Formula 1 inspired engine technology ensured the new car was in demand from the moment it was announced.

Although this E92 generation M3 is the fourth iteration of the most useable supercar, it is the first time it has been powered by a V8 engine. Previously the E46 and E36 generation cars used the famous BMW straight-six engine, while the original M3 used a high-powered four-cylinder engine (although this was never officially sold in Australia).

The new M3 Coupé follows in the illustrious wheel-tracks of the E46 M3 as an Australian motoring icon. The E46 generation car was voted MOTOR Magazine's 'Performance Car of the Year' in 2002 and also secured 'Best Sports Car over $57,000' from Australia's Best Cars three years in succession in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The E36 M3 Coupé also won MOTOR's PCOTY in 1997.

The Drive Car of the Year award is different to many annual awards in that it goes beyond considering only cars introduced in the year just completed. The Drive journalists, under the stewardship of Toby Hagon, editor of www.drive.com.au allow all cars in the 13 categories to be considered for contention.

Judging criteria include what each car has under the bonnet, how it drives, comfort and practicality, safety and price, and quality and equipment.

"The new M3 Coupé is a sensational car on the track and on the road, and we are delighted that some of Australia's harshest critics have selected it as the winner against a top class of contenders," BMW Group Australia Managing Director Guenther Seemann said.

"We have been overwhelmed by customer demand for the M3, with this year's allocation of cars pre-sold even before the first cars arrived in showrooms. With the added momentum of this award, our allocation for 2008 is likely to be filled quickly," Mr Seemann said.