BMW M3 2003 News

It's gone through quite a few evolutions across its varied generations, and each version finds a large crowd of enthusiasts that claim their favorite is the best version. Be it E30, E36, E46, and so on, each one has something to offer for anyone with a love of cars and driving enjoyment or merely anyone with a pulse. One of the greatest M3 models ever produced, however, is undoubtedly the 2003 M3 CSL. Already a powerful performer, BMW took the E46 a few steps further when it introduced the CSL variant. The goal with this car was to reduce weight in order to push performance. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer was used throughout the body, the seats were swapped out for lighter-weight units, and the sound deadening was removed. The brakes were upgraded, as was the suspension, transmission, and even the engine. The result was a BMW M3 that could lap the Nürburgring in under eight minutes, and then be driven home and parked lovingly in your garage. That is, if you could scoop up one of these ultra-rare beasts. Just under 1,400 examples were produced with approximately zero officially sold here in North America. Of course, a few slipped through the borders, and seeing one in the flesh is a wild treat. A flock of BMW M3 CSL owners recently came together to celebrate the vehicles 10th birthday. In fact, 50 lucky CSL owners banded together to hang out and share their love of a fabulous machine. BMW put it on video, and it's worth a watch just for a few looks at the M3 CSL. www.motorauthority.com  

Bernard Tomic's orange BMW coupe continues to follow him around the world - with the Aussie tennis star coming in for more police questioning at his new Monte Carlo base. Tomic's hoon-mobile caused a Gold Coast stand-off back in January, when the 19-year-old was stopped twice on Australia Day by cops over alleged sneaky drives while on a restricted P-plate licence. Despite Tomic's unsuccessful attempts to flog his motor back in Queensland, the roar of the V8 engine has followed him to the tax-free European principality, home to dozens of his fellow ATP players. One Monte Carlo policeman even put the hard word on the teen over his car. "A policeman here, he pulled my dad over while walking. The guy asked him for his licence. Just a random check," Tomic revealed after reaching the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-4 6-3 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. "The guy followed tennis, and he asked: 'How is it going with the car?'" While Tomic may be moving on from his notorious Beemer, temptation stares him in the face, with the motor-mad teen living not far from a Maserati dealership in Monte Carlo. So far he has resisted the urge to buy a car. But like a sleazy, insincere car salesman, it's maybe time for mX to suggest a couple of nice little runners that might better suit the tennis teen.  

The new car market is facing the doldrums, but BMW will inject some red-hot summer sizzle to the family sports saloon mix next weekend (SUBS Nov 22) with the launch of its first - for Australia - M3 with four doors. The sports saloon market has been dominated by the potent 6.2-litre Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG saloon, leaving rival BMW out in the cold with nothing in its weaponry to counter. But that's all about to change. BMW's 4.0-litre V8-packing M3 sedan will join the M3 coupe and cabriolet to give its German rival a serious run for its money. The M3 saloon will hit the streets running with, according to BMW, a price advantage over C63 AMG - but that depends on how you look at it. The Benz sells for $144,365 and comes with a seven-speed auto G-tronic transmission. The base M3 with a six-speed manual box has been priced at $145,000 which is $17,901 under the M3 coupe and $31,142 cheaper than the M3 cabriolet. But the M3 saloon fitted with BMW's new Getrag seven-speed dual clutch robotised sequential manual/auto is priced at $152,309. BMW charges a hefty $7309 just for the sequential box. BMW spokesman Toni Andreevski says the M3 manual still holds a price advantage over the C63 AMG: "The M3 saloon comes standard with a rear locking axle which Benz sells as a $5826 option and our saloon has keyless entry; Benz charges $1800 for that as an option and there's no 19-inch alloy wheel availability on the Mercedes." BMW sells the optional larger wheels for an extra $4000. The five-seater M3 offers serious performance from its 309kW V8 with 400Nm on tap which redlines at 8400rpm. Andreevski expects most buyers will opt for the dearer version of the M3 because it packs more performance for less fuel usage over the manual. The dual clutch model is marginally quicker, if set in launch mode, taking a claimed 4.7 seconds to hit 100km/h; the conventional manual takes 4.9 seconds. BMW says the semi-auto is rated at 11.9l/100km, while the best the manual can do is 12.4l/100km. Standard gear includes a brake regeneration system which recharges the battery on overrun or braking, and 18-inch alloys shod with 245/40 ZR-rated rubber up front and 265/40s in the rear. The optional 19-inch alloys have an even lower profile, with 345/35 up front and 265/35 in the rear. The saloon also boasts a full satellite navigation system with 8.8-inch colour monitor, TV, LOGIC7 hi-fi, bi-Xenon headlamps, Novillo leather upholstery, and M-seats which are power adjustable and heated.    

   

The 3 Series sedan, Touring (wagon) and Coupe all get the treatment to enhance buyers' choice. The M Sports package offered on the 3 Series Coupe is for drivers who want to get some of the reflected glory of the potent M3 model. Yet the M Sports pack is not just dress-up; it promises extra grip through larger wheels and tyres and lowered, sports suspension. The M Sports pack is available on the BMW Coupes in 323i, 325i and the exciting twin-turbo 335i versions at a premium of $6200, $4700 and $2600. The price varies because of the standard equipment on those models. The M Sports pack has asymmetric 18-inch diameter wheels. These are 8J wide for the front with 225/40 tyres, while at the rear the wheels are 8.5J and are fitted with 255/35 tyres. An option is 19-inch alloys; 8J at the front with 225/35 tyres and 9J at the rear with 255/35 tyres. The sports suspension, which is part of the pack, lowers the Coupe by 15mm. The M Sports pack brings a more aggressive design to the front of the Coupe, including larger intakes. It has sideskirts and distinctive rear bumper panels to aid aerodynamics. Inside, the pack adds sports seats to give greater lateral support when cornering and a leather-clad steering wheel with leather touches on the shift lever and handbrake. The M Sports pack can be ordered on BMW 3 Series Coupes from November. An Individual Luminance Edition is available on 3 Series sedans; bringing special exterior paint and higher levels of luxury. Seats and door inserts have Merino (cattle) leather. Sports seats and luxury steering wheel add to the package, which costs $7500. The Individual Luminance can be ordered on all 3 Series sedans; 320i, 320d, 323i, 325i and 335i.  

The first V8 to enter the well-known family that started with the legendary four cylinder E30 of 20 years ago is astonishingly lighter than the 3.2-litre six cylinder M3 engine. At 202kg, the meat of the M3 — cast in the same foundry that gives birth to BMW's Formula One engines — is 15kg lighter than the straight-six motor. It screams to a maximum engine speed of 8300rpm, cracking 309kW and generating 400Nm of torque. These figures were predicted before the official announcement late last week but the big news is the lower weight of the shorter V8 powerplant that can be placed further behind the front axle. Significantly, the maximum torque figure arrives below 4000rpm, giving it far greater low-down twist than the V10 M5 engine from which it is based. In fact, the torque spread is extremely flexible, with 85 per cent of peak pulling power maintained above 6500rpm. BMW does not like reference to the fact it is simply a V10 with two cylinders chopped off. That, it says, does not do the powerplant justice as, unlike the V10, the V8 has milder torque pressures so there is no need for high-pressure oil set-ups for the double VANOS continuously variable intake and exhaust cam adjustment. The world's most anticipated car of 2007 will be shown at the Frankfurt motor show in September and available later in the year. This super coupe promises fuel savings over the six cylinder of up to 8 per cent. It is fractionally behind the current M3 in the power-to-litres ratio, with the V8 measuring 77.2kW/litre compared with the six cylinders 77.6kW/litre. But BMW has left plenty of room to develop the V8. For example, it doesn't get the high-precision direct-injection technology afforded many of its new-generation engines. It also uses a conventional water pump rather than an electric pump so there are plenty of areas where BMW can raise the power bar for the four-litre unit in future. Perhaps the yardstick by which any bullet-like production car is measured remains the lap time it can generate at Germany's fabled Nordschliefe circuit. BMW engineers were cagey when cornered about suggestions the V8 is up to 15 seconds a lap quicker than the six cylinder. Official timed runs are slated for June, however it is known that what the M3 has produced on the track so far is impressive — although it is not as quick as an M5, nor for that matter the superlight M3 CSL, which has the bragging rights as the fastest M car. Curiously, there was no concept version of the M3 shown when BMW had the official press reveal of the engine details at M headquarters in Munich last week. When the concept car was shown at the Geneva show in early March there was a considerable backlash over the huge power dome on the bonnet. Blogs gave the bonnet bulge a universal thumbs down, forcing BMW to possibly fine-tune some of the design elements. The new V8 engine test facility that is encased in 2800m2 of reinforced concrete tests extreme temperature fluctuations from -20C to plus 60C. Durability runs, which mirror the F1 process BMW undertakes with its Sauber program, have been conducted over nine-day periods at an average speed of 183km/h, which in real-world tests BMW calculates would take between six to eight weeks. The Engine Control Unit, developed by Siemens, is based on the M5 and uses three processors. Up to 200 million calculations are made per second and each cylinder is scanned 250 times per second. This MSS60 management system is highly sophisticated and co-ordinates all of the engine functions with the various other control units on the car. The M3s knockout lightweight V8 is down on torque compared to Audi's fabulous RS4 rocketship and is expected also to be overshadowed by Mercedes-Benz's much anticipated and forthcoming C63 AMG. First drives of the M3 will be slated for July, when the wild child V8 coupe is put through its paces at the Ascari racetrack in Spain.