With a 8,000 rpm redline, and 33 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque, this care was one wonderful ride. Let’s just stop and say its a magical engine. The E46 M3 came with the S54 inline 6 engine. With the later ZCP (Competition Package), a special 19-inch cross-spoke alloy wheel was offered. The E46 M3 came with standard 18-inch wheels and an optional 19-inch wheel. We consider this the watermark of the M3 model history. Looking at a E46 M3 is seeing a classic in the making, with proper size and proportions. Not as small as the E30/E36 models but not as big as the later E90 and F80 models that proceeded it. This created what is seen today as the most beautiful and proportional BMW M3 ever made. BMW did this with a revised body, with flared fenders, bulge on the hood, new front bumpers, new mirrors, body panels, side vents, and in the back dual exhausts. Looks to KillĮxterior wise the biggest change was to provide a different body to the M3, to make it different from its regular brethren. And this was met with the S54 engine, which is a beautiful naturally aspirated inline-six engine that produced 333 hp at a staggering 7,900 RPM. That met a car with the same engine, same specs, etc. First the USA market got the same BMW M3 as the European market. In addition, besides some front spoilers, mirrors and side panels, the E36 M3 was that different from the normal E36 coupes.īMW learned from this and when they built and launched the E46 M3, they made sure they remedied many of the complaints from US buyers. While this engine produced a healthy 240 hp, it lagged behind the 300 plus hp engine the Europeans got. Specifically the rest of the world got the normal M-Engine for the E36 while the USA got a lower spec engine called the S52. Again, not expecting a huge wave of enthusiasts wanting the M3, they built an M3 for Europe and then a dumbed down version for the USA market.
BMW had some early mistakes with building and selling the BMW E36 M3 in the USA.
After the un-expected success of the E30 M3 (BMW never thought they would sell that many of these specially made and expensive cars in the USA), they came back with a new M3 with the next generation known as the E36 M3. Lets first look back before we get to the BMW E46 M3.
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