The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Nevada is huge in the automotive world. It's the one trade show where you will find all the new stuff from the aftermarket industry as well as carmakers. How big is it? Attendance of 70,000 buyers and 3,000 international media members are expected. BMW will have a major presence at the 2017 show that runs from October 31st to November 3rd. It will debut a one-of-a-kind 2018 BMW M3 that commemorates 30 years of BMW M3s in the U.S. Also being shown for the first time will be a slew of new M Performance parts for the brand new, you-can't-even-buy-one-yet BMW M5.
2018 BMW M3 30 Years American Edition.
The original BMW M3 was launched in 1986 as a homologated street car for BMW's Group A Touring car. The racer became BMW's most successful touring car ever and the street version earned a well-deserved reputation as a race-derived road car. The legend came to America in 1987 and now, BMW has created a one-of-kind tribute commemorating the M3's 30 years here on track and on the road.
The M3 30 Years American Edition was truly a Group effort, as in BMW Group. Using the F80 M3 as a starting point, the special edition was designed by Designworks, the BMW Group's design subsidiary. The car was then turned over to BMW Individual, which further applied the one-of-a-kind philosophy with colors and materials not normally available on the standard M3 and using what BMW calls "American iconography."
We would love to show you what the 2018 BMW M3 30 Years American Edition looks like, but until its debut at SEMA, BMW will only give us photo snippets. On Halloween, we should be able to see the whole thing.
But wait, you might be able to see it a few hours early. BMW Blog reports that BMW will provide it a special live viewing available on BMW Blog's Facebook feed at 8:00 PM Eastern time on Monday, October 30th. Look for it at www.facebook.com/bmwblog. By the way, the new M5 is supposed to be there, too.
M Performance Parts
BMW will use SEMA to present the world premiere of the new M5's range of M Performance parts. Most of the parts will be available to M5 buyers as options when they order their new cars after the market launch next spring. Additional M Performance parts for the M5 will show up mid-summer.
In addition to the special edition M3 and the M5, BMW's stand at SEMA will include the BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance, BMW 440i, and BMW X3 xDrive30i, all with accessorized M Performance Parts. As a special treat, the Moto GP BMW M2 Safety Car and the BMW M1 IMSA Group 4 Race Car will make appearances.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
