There is a huge premium to pay if you want a CSL, however the CS is currently a good option, with prices about 20% above the standard model.
2006 E46 M3 SPECS MANUAL
But because it was then seamless up to 8000rpm and you had six gears to play with, it was hardly a big problem.Īll cars were officially limited to 155mph, although Autocar’s test model happily topped 160mph and a limiter-delete was optional on the CSL version, allegedly allowing a 170mph top speed.Ĭoupés now command a price premium of c10% over Convertibles, but while manual gearboxes are preferred over SMG, condition and history are far more important. If you could criticise anything, it was that there wasn’t a lot of power below 2000rpm. ‘The grunty rumble from the quad exhausts at idle gives way to a serrated wail as the straight-six climbs to its redline,’ enthused Autocar.Īluminium was widely used to keep weight down, for the bonnet and brake calipers as well as suspension components, though the car still ended up heavier than its predecessor thanks to a high level of standard equipment inside the opulent leather-clad interior.Īs a package, it was a triumph – the original M3 grown up. Modern technology meant that ABS, switchable Dynamic Stability Control, Cornering Brake Control and Traction Control systems were standard.
A six-speed Getrag gearbox took power to the rear wheels via a variable-lock limited-slip diff, developed with GKN. Stiffened, wider-tracked with big wheelarches and a massive front spoiler, it packed a 3.2-litre straight-six substantially re-engineered by the M division to generate 343bhp at 7900rpm and 269lb ft at 4900rpm. Priced on a par with the Porsche Boxster S, the E46 M3 was streets ahead in performance, challenging the much pricier 911 and Audi RS4. The E36 M3 of ’93 was accused of being more of a marketing tool – a tad unwieldy and overweight – but the E46 was designed to address that. This homologation special was only meant to help the company win Touring Car races, but it started a whole new genre and added excitement to the BMW range that it couldn’t do without. A decade after the Golf GTI had turned the sports car concept on its head and shown that a hot hatch could be as chuckable as a roadster, BMW brought out the M3 in 1986.
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