BMW has released the third installment of a four-part video series on the first four generations of the iconic BMW M3—the car that most BMW enthusiasts lusted after and most car-makers wished they could copy.
By the time BMW started producing the third-generation M3 in 2000, the car was more sophisticated and more powerful—and it was bigger and heavier than its predecessors. The U.S. version was very close to the European model in terms of power, with 333 horsepower compared to the Euro’s 343. Published zero-to-60 times were below five seconds for the first time in a base M3.
The E46 M3 came only in coupe and convertible versions. The four-door M3 that had been fairly popular in the E36 line was gone, at least for this generation.
More than 85,000 E46 M3s were built from model years 2000 to 2006. This was 14,000 more M3s built than the previous E36 M3.
The video includes some interesting factoids about the E46 M3 as well as some great images of the car including its special GTR and CSL variants. Enjoy.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of BMW.]
