Review: 2013 BMW M3 Competition (E92): Why’s it so Legit?

Performance: (w DCT: Dual Clutch Transmission)

• Acceleration 0 to 60: 3.9 sec
• Braking 60 to 0: 100 feet
• Quarter Mile: 12.4 sec
• Slalom: 73.3 mph
• Skidpad: 0.95 g

The E92 BMW M3 is without a doubt the most covered, written about, and talked about luxury sport coupe. Since its introduction in 2007, the car established what a luxury sportscar should be. Since it’s conception, cars like the C63 AMG, Lexus IS F, and more recently, the Audi RS 5 have surfaced. All of these cars, even the brand new RS 5, are simply not as good as the 6 year-old M3, as an “all-rounder”. By that, I mean that though some of those cars may beat the M3 in individual categories of performance or luxury features, none of them are truly great cars, none of them are the M3. With the exception of the C63, I have driven all of the aforementioned competitors. The C63, is really just a muscle car with good suspension and brakes. The Audi RS 5, the new 2013 one, is a close second in my opinion because of its’ nice cabin materials, all-wheel drive that doesn’t suck (unlike xDrive), and its’ superb media interface; the best I’ve ever used in any car. The 2008 Lexus IS F, is just plain weird. I don’t get anything about the styling and dynamically it isn’t that much better than my 335xi (I am told the 2011+ version is a drastic improvement, I hope so for Lexus’s sake). If I was doing a true compaison test I would go more in depth about my experiences in each of those cars, but I’m not. So, let’s go into exactly why I think the M3 is so successful in it’s reign as king of the sport coupes and why I think the next M3 will do even better.

To most people, the BMW M3 has allways been just another BMW. However, when the decision at BMW M GmbH to put a V8 version of it’s crazy amazing S85 V10 motor from the E60 & E63 M5 and M6 was made, people from all over the automotive world took notice. Gone was the comparitively puny 3.2 liter inline-6 motor from the E46 and in it’s place a 4.0 liter V8 motor was implemented, with nearly 100 more horsepower and an even higher rpm redline. The V8 put BMW’s M3 on the map not only amongst Euro car enthusiasts, but it also tapped on the shoulder of higher-horsepower enthusiasts. People who like GT500 Mustangs, base-model Corvettes, and even Vipers were starting to notice BMWs’ little M car, which was no longer so little. The M3 gained about 250 lbs in curb weight during it’s transistion from the E46 body to the E92 body. The M3 became a more mature, intriguing, and compatible machine. It became more majestic. All other M3s were true sleeper cars, even to non-BMW enthusiasts. This all changed. The new M3 in it’s 2008 model year was almost $9,000 dollars more than the 2006 E46 M3, at $56,000. This put a different type of buyer into the slot of the M3 market-place. In 2007, if you wanted a fairly quick, small, european coupe, you could now get the 135i or 335i with similar horsepower to the old E46 M3 for under $40,000 and $45,000 respecitvely. If you had your eyes set on a V8 Autobahn cruiser like a CLK55 AMG Mercedes or even a Shelby GT500 Mustang, you would say “Wait, BMW sells a fast V8 now for under $60,000? Let me check that out.”  Though technically the E92 M3 is selling at a lower rate of what the E46 M3 sold at, the E92   M3 is really the hero of the “M3” name. Now, everyone knows about the M3 and so many people, even if they cannot afford it, lust for it and crave it’s amazing allure of high-revving V8 power and great looks.

So despite a decrease in sales over the last M3, why is the increase in price and overall caliber of the car so important, let alone beneficial to M GmbH? Because now that BMW has successfully reached out to new types of cliental, BMW can now choose to go in whatever direction they want with their new M3s going forward. 2013 will be the last production year for the current M3. Fornately with the new-found fame of the E92, the next M3 can go back to a true inline-6 engine and a much lower curb weight. That car, what ever it winds up becoming, I think will appeal to not only true M3 aficionados, but all the new customers that the E92 attracted.