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Best BMW M3 Special Editions Of All Time
Jan. 05, 2019 8:40 PM ET by Roger Biermann Car Culture / 23 Comments The best of the breed that defined the sports sedan. The BMW M3 is arguably one of the most iconic sports sedans ever made, the one that inspired the C63 AMG, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and the Audi RS4.
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Jack Thompson 2 minutes ago
It's an icon, and it's been comprehensively dominant for decades; which is why it's the ...
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Chloe Santos 2 minutes ago
Still, we've tried, though we purposefully excluded special edition M4's since that's no...
It's an icon, and it's been comprehensively dominant for decades; which is why it's the benchmark, the vehicle against which all others are measured. With a history spanning more than 3 decades and 5 generations – soon to be 6 – there are literally dozens of special edition M3s – we counted – which made the task of picking ten of the best even more difficult.
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Lily Watson 3 minutes ago
Still, we've tried, though we purposefully excluded special edition M4's since that's no...
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Noah Davis 7 minutes ago
It's a one-of-one special edition, based on the F80 M3 Competition Package and painted in a Froz...
Still, we've tried, though we purposefully excluded special edition M4's since that's now a standalone model.
F80 BMW M3 30 Years American Edition
The USA traditionally hasn't received many of the special edition M3s that came out – so we start this list with a US-only special model. Not to be confused with the 30 Jahre special edition, this one celebrates 30 years of the M3 in the United States.
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Joseph Kim 1 minutes ago
It's a one-of-one special edition, based on the F80 M3 Competition Package and painted in a Froz...
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Oliver Taylor Member
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It's a one-of-one special edition, based on the F80 M3 Competition Package and painted in a Frozen Red II livery with black accents – which harks back to the Henna Red color on the E30 M3. The interior sports a full red, white, and blue theme, with a 6-speed manual shifter between the front seats. Even the suspension is colored accordingly, with red coil springs from the M Performance catalog.
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Madison Singh Member
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An M-Performance exhaust system, carbon fiber wing, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires complete the package that was priced at $128,635. BMW
E92 BMW M3 GTS
Of the E9X generation M3s, the garish orange GTS stood taller than the rest as an icon for the generation. Based on the E92 M3 coupe, the 4.0-liter V8 was enlarged to 4.4-liters, with power resting at 450 horsepower. 19-inch light alloy wheels were overshadowed by the luminous shade of orange that adorned the exterior of all 135 units built.
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Oliver Taylor 4 minutes ago
Not only was it powerful, loud, and orange, but it was lightweight too, with a carbon fiber roof, ti...
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Oliver Taylor 4 minutes ago
67 Units of the M3 CRT were built, making use of the same 450-hp 4.4-liter V8 as the GTS, and making...
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Sophia Chen Member
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Not only was it powerful, loud, and orange, but it was lightweight too, with a carbon fiber roof, titanium exhaust silencers, lightweight interior panels, and no rear seats, air conditioning, or sound system. Consider the M3 GTS as one of the angriest M3s ever made.
E90 BMW M3 CRT
While the GTS was based on the coupe, the M3 CRT – which stood for Carbon Racing Technology – took the weight-reduction battle to the E90 sedan.
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Kevin Wang 8 minutes ago
67 Units of the M3 CRT were built, making use of the same 450-hp 4.4-liter V8 as the GTS, and making...
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Zoe Mueller Member
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67 Units of the M3 CRT were built, making use of the same 450-hp 4.4-liter V8 as the GTS, and making extensive use of carbon fiber to reduce weight by more than 150 pounds compared to the regular E90 M3. Unlike the GTS, the rear seats and other amenities remained, making it one hardcore family sedan.
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Julia Zhang Member
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It was never sold in the US, but it is legal for 'show and display use' in 49 states, provided you don't exceed 2,500 miles per year. BMW BMW
F80 BMW M3 30 Jahre Edition
The international M3 Jahre Edition celebrates 30 years since the first M3. Just 500 units were built, based off the F80 generation M3, standard with the competition package upgrades, 20-inch alloys from the M4 GTS, adaptive M suspension, and a bump in power to 450 hp.
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Aria Nguyen 12 minutes ago
Available with either a manual or the DCT transmission, Macao Blue and Frozen Silver were the specia...
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David Cohen Member
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Available with either a manual or the DCT transmission, Macao Blue and Frozen Silver were the special paint derivatives available for the special edition model. The Jahre Edition came littered with "30 years M3" badging inside and out, and commanded a price premium of $11,000 over the standard model when it launched in 2016. BMW BMW BMW
E46 BMW M3 GTR
Fans of the original Need For Speed: Most Wanted will instantly recognize this one.
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Scarlett Brown 5 minutes ago
It's not widely known, but this was the first road-going BMW M3 to feature a V8 engine under the...
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Harper Kim 11 minutes ago
In road-going form, the M3 GTR's 4.0-liter V8 developed 382 horsepower, and it featured a 6-spee...
It's not widely known, but this was the first road-going BMW M3 to feature a V8 engine under the hood. But it wasn't just an ordinary road-going M-car – it was a homologation special for American Le Mans Series racing, which stipulated that 100 cars needed to be sold across two continents, with 1,000 engines being built to qualify without penalties.
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Zoe Mueller 18 minutes ago
In road-going form, the M3 GTR's 4.0-liter V8 developed 382 horsepower, and it featured a 6-spee...
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Thomas Anderson 2 minutes ago
BMW BMW
E46 BMW M3 CSL
You didn't think we'd forget the iconic E46 BMW M3 CSL? Wh...
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Noah Davis Member
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In road-going form, the M3 GTR's 4.0-liter V8 developed 382 horsepower, and it featured a 6-speed manual transmission and variable locking M differential. After the 2001 race season, BMW put 10 GTRs on sale at a price of €250,000 ($310,000), though only six were produced. Three were recycled as development vehicles, with the remainder retained by BMW.
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Kevin Wang 1 minutes ago
BMW BMW
E46 BMW M3 CSL
You didn't think we'd forget the iconic E46 BMW M3 CSL? Wh...
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Evelyn Zhang Member
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BMW BMW
E46 BMW M3 CSL
You didn't think we'd forget the iconic E46 BMW M3 CSL? While not as rare as many on this list (1,383 CSLs were produced), it's widely lauded as one of the greatest ever to wear the M3 badge.
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Julia Zhang Member
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CSL stood for Coupe, Sport, and Lightweight, something achieved with the use of carbon fiber, lightweight body panels, no air con and stereo, and an uprated 3.2-liter inline 6 developing 360 hp. The M3 CSL lapped the Nurburgring in 7 minutes 50 seconds, despite the automated manual gearbox that polarizes opinions on whether or not the M3 CSL was actually the greatest of its generation.
E92 BMW M3 DTM Champion Edition
BMW's successes in DTM are widespread, but it's the 2012 tribute M3 we highlight here.
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Zoe Mueller Member
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After Canadian driver, Bruno Spengler, took the DTM championship title BMW celebrated by releasing the E92 M3 DTM Champion Edition. It was a matte black coupe featuring carbon fiber aero bits, dark chrome trim, M-colored racing stripes down the roof, special decals, and matte black wheels. It featured the M Driver's Package and Competition Package upgrades, and just 54 were ever built.
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James Smith 29 minutes ago
Buyers were treated to driving tutelage overseen by Spengler himself, at the Nurburgring, no less. B...
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Julia Zhang 34 minutes ago
This M3 Sport Evolution edition was pretty much a touring car for road use and featured a suspension...
Buyers were treated to driving tutelage overseen by Spengler himself, at the Nurburgring, no less. BMW BMW
E30 BMW M3 Sport Evolution
1988 saw the E30 M3's engine get improved power from its 2.3-liter inline 6 engine with the M3 Evolution, but in 1990, the engine got enlarged to 2.5-liters with power bumped to 238 hp.
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Scarlett Brown 29 minutes ago
This M3 Sport Evolution edition was pretty much a touring car for road use and featured a suspension...
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Sophia Chen Member
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This M3 Sport Evolution edition was pretty much a touring car for road use and featured a suspension drop of 10 mm, a smaller fuel tank for weight saving, an adjustable front splitter, and a rear spoiler. Just 600 of them were made, and just about every single one is hallowed metal – true gearhead wet dream material.
E46 BMW M3 Touring
This wasn't strictly a limited edition M3, as it was never actually produced other than as a single prototype for evaluation purposes, but it's a freaking E46 M3 wagon!
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Grace Liu 49 minutes ago
If the M5 Touring was highly sought after, this is a dream for many of us, especially those with a f...
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Hannah Kim Member
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If the M5 Touring was highly sought after, this is a dream for many of us, especially those with a fetish for wagons. It was simple, really, making use of an E46 3 Series Touring body with the same modifications as an E46 M3, though the rear doors had to be reworked to accommodate the bulging rear wheel arches. Power from the 3.2-liter straight six was the same 338 hp as the regular European model M3.
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Isabella Johnson Member
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Sadly, BMW felt this didn't warrant a full production run. BMW BMW BMW
E36 BMW M3 Lightweight
Under pressure from BMW racers looking for a homologation M3 to rival the Porsche 911 in motor racing, BMW caved in 1995 and released the E36 M3 Lightweight. Based on the E36 M3 Coupe, the cars came without a radio, air conditioning, leather upholstery, toolkit, or sunroof.
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Evelyn Zhang Member
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The doors were aluminum skinned, there was no under-hood insulation, and the trunk only had a carpet on the floor. Overall, 200 lbs was shaved compared to the standard M3, and thanks to hand selection of the most powerful engines from the production line, with their ECU speed limiter removed, the M3 Lightweights were impressive performers.
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Liam Wilson Member
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Alpine White was the signature color, with the BMW Motorsports flag decal on the left front and rear right corners of the car. BMW promised to build 100 units, though final build figures were never actually disclosed.
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Sophia Chen 33 minutes ago
It is believed 125 were made, with 116 sold to the public.
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Andrew Wilson 20 minutes ago
Roger is highly proficient at writing in the third person and spends his time away from the keyboard...
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Sofia Garcia Member
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It is believed 125 were made, with 116 sold to the public.
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BMW M3 Sedan BMW M4 Coupe BMW M4 Convertible Roger Biermann Managing Editor After spending the first three years of his life after school pursuing a career in interior design and architecture, the automotive bug bit Roger hard. This led him down the path of forging a career in motoring, running his own website and spending eight years building up his automotive knowledge, driving ability, and wordcraft before joining CarBuzz in 2017, first as a writer, and later as an editor, technical expert, and in-house graphics wizard fulfilling the role of company joker and jack of all trades.
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Ella Rodriguez Member
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Roger is highly proficient at writing in the third person and spends his time away from the keyboard tinkering on and autocrossing his two Miatas. Contact Roger @Roger.mx5 LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top
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Best BMW M3 Special Editions Of All Time CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopp...
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It's an icon, and it's been comprehensively dominant for decades; which is why it's the ...