BMW plans to sell 100,000 M3s
click above image to view a gallery of the new BMW M3
Since its creation, nearly everything about the M3 -- cylinders, horsepower, weight, price, you name it -- has grown. The 2,866-lb, 4-cylinder, 192-hp E30 M3 cost a little more than $30,000 dollars when it was new, and sold 18,000 units. The new E92 M3 weighs in at 3,650 lbs with its 420-hp 8-cylinder lump, and will leave you more than $60,000 dollars lighter. It's more than twice the car at more than twice the money, and BMW wants to move more than five times as many of them, hoping to shift 100,000 models.
Said Carsten Pries of the M division, "With every new model, we want to offer a better product and sell more." That's only a 10,000 unit increase on the 3rd generation M3 that ceased production last year. With the variants to be offered on the new model, reaching the goal shouldn't be a challenge. But the move to a greater mass market draw also explains the pealing choir of journalists declaring that while it's still a fantastic driver's car and a lot of fun... it's soft. Of course, "soft" is a relative term in this case, and there could be worse things than having to see more M3s on the road.
[Source: Auto News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kwesi 5:42PM (7/16/2007)
Thats a lot of m3's. BMW is showing some real ambition. but selling 5 times as many cars ....were are those sales coming from??? not with the new lexus, Benz Audi and infinity competitors,...to name the main ones.
kudos for the effort, and i would like to see BMW succeed
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500 6:50PM (7/16/2007)
I would guess those sales are coming partly from those of us who used to buy American coupes like the Chevy Monte Carlo, Buick Regal and Riviera, Olds Toronado, Camaro and Firebird, etc. We've grown up, but the American manufacturers haven't grown up with us; in fact, they offer virtually NO choices in this market (upscale/performance coupes.) Sad. So it makes sense for the M3 to grow a little bigger and softer to fill the void.
FLR 7:45PM (7/16/2007)
I have an fbody now (Trans Am WS6 Convert) and I'm looking to get a more mature, responsible car....the G8 GT.
362 HP V8 with a 6 speed manual powering the rear wheels.
Or if you want more...how about the upcoming CTS-V which should absolutely smoke the new M3 with over 500 HP.
maverick 9:29PM (7/18/2007)
Good Luck BMW my money is going to the next generation AUDI rs4 and I will be absolutely content. :)
Gerard 5:55PM (7/16/2007)
Wow. 100,000? So much for exclusivity. I'll take a 335i instead.
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Joe 5:58PM (7/16/2007)
Hey Auto News, have you morons ever heard of inflation?
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Randall 2:04PM (7/23/2007)
Inflation is the key here you are correct, just ran some numbers, here is my analysis: The E30 M3 was a 1987 model, basically 20 years ago from today 2007. Inflation has on average ran 3% i the US, give or take a few tenths of a percent. Now the math, 20 years of 3% inflation compounded yearly equals a factor of (1.03)^20=1.81
So to convert the $60k into 1987 dollars, just divide $60k/1.81 and you get $33,149! which is quite close to the $30k Autonews reports in the article. Additionally the car is actually cheaper than in 1987 because the dollar has lost lots of value versus European currencies, and although the euro did not exist back in 1987, Germany uses the euor today and it's almost definite that BMW is actually absorbing the higher cost of the euro and no passing it on the Americans and their weak dollars, I haven;t ran the math on this, but I am sure if currency was adjusted as well (besides inflation) the care would be even more expensive than $60k, so it's actually a good deal.....
Aetius 6:17PM (7/16/2007)
That number includes all those newly-rich businessmen in Shanghai and Moscow who want to sit in gridlock traffic in an M3.
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akatsuki 6:40PM (7/16/2007)
Aren't all BMWs now super nose-heavy luxury tourers? Sad that they are even softening the M3 (the so-called hardcore car) as well. Once they get their V5M minivan out, then their suburban-mom lineup will be complete.
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YouFaceTheTick 6:56PM (7/16/2007)
Sad really. The e46 M3 was heavy but still fun. The e9x chassis just is too big, soft and solid to be much in the way of edge-of-your-seat driving.
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E46 M3 Owner 7:26PM (7/16/2007)
It would be nice if BMW would use the M5 as the softer/heavier/more powerful car and use the M3 to target the more hardcore/low weight/sharp handling car. Instead they keep making both versions softer. When I bought my E46 ZCP M3 last year I did it figuring if I wanted a great car like the M3 then I had to buy it now because there's no guarantee BMW would make it fatter and softer (E30 and E36 M3 owners would say the same of my car). IMO I did the right thing. I wouldn't mind having the E92's lump to throw in my car though - then I'd throw my S54 into my 323 ;)
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SOhp101 9:34PM (7/16/2007)
100,000 over the model LIFETIME is actually not very many, so cool your jets.
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Nick 10:07PM (7/16/2007)
I agree 100,000 isn't very much for then entire lifetime of the model, specially under the circumstances that the car has already proven itself worthy of acclaim in past generations. BMW should have no problem with this goal.
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REALITY CHECK 10:23PM (7/16/2007)
What a perfect time for the new G8, Camero, GTO, GT500 and Chalanger to ruin their party! Low cost performance just like the M3 was when it started.... Ironic?
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remo 11:19PM (7/16/2007)
i think bmw will have a tough time considering all the competition of sport cars coming out...and the fact that the car is softer and heavier than before.
btw whats the deal with those detached headlights? i dont like them.
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remo 11:20PM (7/16/2007)
i mean side mirrors, not headlights.
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Ian 11:48PM (7/16/2007)
a 135i coupe with an LSD should be all the M3 I need.
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vetter 1:39AM (7/17/2007)
Yet another bloated barge.
Well, let's hope they keep the weight down on the new M1. That could be the real driver's car and what the M3 used to be.
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Gooch 7:27AM (7/17/2007)
Tighten up on your comprehension, people. It's 100,000 units over the car's lifetime. That'll be about six years, if BMW sticks with what it has been doing lately, and a target I believe will be easily accomplished, given the car's reputation.
Despite the coming deluge of V-8 American performance machines, which I have no doubt will be excellent, the M3 has always played in a different league and attracted a different customer than the heavy metal Detroit iron. And all of you calling the new M3 soft -- uhhhh... when have you driven one? Can you give us a report on its softness? What exactly is soft about the car? Suspension? Seat cushions? Dashboard material?
Or is this a case of you believing everything you read?
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ottomobeel 9:59AM (7/17/2007)
Wow, this is in stark comparison to the mighty RS4 which will have at most 6k units made in its 2 year production lifetime, *globally*...
So much for individuality and semi-exotic status. Just another notch on the RS4's belt.
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