No one is gonna dismiss a 425 hp M3. In fact, my first car was a M3 and I loved it. I own a 987s and just put my deposit down for the 335 i twin turbo. However, if it's trading one in for the other, I stay loyal to Porsche. I suspect (my 2 cents no way representative of all) that budget aside, or for 99% of guys, the 997s is always gonna be taken over the new M3. I could be wrong. It's not all about horsepower as a car purchase decision is a function of many factors "horsepower, brand, looks, reliability..." different strokes different folks. I guess it would not be absurd to say that Porsche is much more lusted after than a BMW (without considering specs and just going by) in many circumstances. Just qualitatively, I have a feeling that if you were to ask a 2 year old kid, he would pick the PORSCHE. Then this is all personal. BTW, most foreigners (if you go by Fast and The Furious series and the latest Tokyo drift) have this stigma far east side wise as driving modded hot rods... namely Honda S2000 (Jeremy Clarkson's favourite), the old Mitsubishi Eclipse, the old Mitsubishi 3000 GT, Lancer Evolution, Subaru WRX, Sti, Mazda RX 7... if you want horsepower, most of these cars can give even a 996 (and I am sure 997 turbo) turbo a big run for its money. If it's about hp, mod up a Lancer Evo and shout at the M5 next to you "bussshit man, [censored] you, me faster than u..."