Base 2dr Rear-Wheel Drive Coupe
2013 BMW M3

2013 M3 Photos
Sic Transit Gloria I like difficult cars. I like turbo "moments," dramatic weight distribution, low-grip, peaky power delivery, and overly quick steering, along with ultra-short wheelbases and any number of other non-racecar-perfect dynamic foibles. I love the newest generation of BMW cars and engines – all turbo'd up with tons of torque and power everywhere in the rev range, too. But what I think the enthusiast community will miss when this 2013 M3 Coupe becomes the 2014 M4 Coupe – replacing its idiosyncratic, small-displacement, revvy V8 for something like a triple-turbo, directly injected, inline six-cylinder powerhouse in the process – is the work it takes to drive the car fast and perfectly. Sometimes small flaws just make things better; my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, and all that. The idea of this E92 M3 going away then, magnified by the loss of the M3 badge for the coupe, is at best bittersweet for me. This generation of M car is already surpassed in terms of raw thrills by the better-than-ever Mercedes-Benz C63, a car that doesn't ask its driver to sacrifice low-end grunt or the very latest in amenities in return for stellar backroad performance. Yet any time I've been lucky enough to lap a track in the M3, it has quickly become clear that the Bimmer is the better on-edge tool. With the freedom to wring the neck of the 4.0-liter V8 and room to exercise the lovely balance of the car, the E92 is hard to match (even six years after its debut). Still, when the 2013 BMW M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition rolled into my driveway, its Fire Orange bodywork flashing over gloss-black 19-inch rolling stock, the car had me a little crossed up. BMW has been tossing out special edition M3s for the last few years now, all asking thousands of dollars extra for the limited production-run vehicles. I knew that the LRP was more than a mere trim and tape package, but would it be an appropriate send off for a spectacularly departing sports car legend, or just $10,000 down the drain where a stock M3 Coupe would have happily sufficed? The Sport setup makes the LRP M3 a stabbing weapon with which to stick curvy roads. It's helpful to understand at the start just what your ten large buys, over and above the typical M3. Perhaps the most important component of the LRP suite is BMW's Competition Package, which lowers the suspension by 0.4 inches, includes 19-inch Y-spoke wheels and electronic damping control. That EDC system ("Dynamic Damper Control" in the BMW options catalog), offers three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. The three settings give the car a truly malleable range of ride characters, with the Sport button doing the automotive equivalent of a boxer bouncing up onto the balls of his feet. Engaged at speed, the sporting damper setting is immediately palpable, and allows for heightened mid-corner response from an already very good suspension setup. Combined with the hyper-sticky Pirelli …
Full Review
Sic Transit Gloria I like difficult cars. I like turbo "moments," dramatic weight distribution, low-grip, peaky power delivery, and overly quick steering, along with ultra-short wheelbases and any number of other non-racecar-perfect dynamic foibles. I love the newest generation of BMW cars and engines – all turbo'd up with tons of torque and power everywhere in the rev range, too. But what I think the enthusiast community will miss when this 2013 M3 Coupe becomes the 2014 M4 Coupe – replacing its idiosyncratic, small-displacement, revvy V8 for something like a triple-turbo, directly injected, inline six-cylinder powerhouse in the process – is the work it takes to drive the car fast and perfectly. Sometimes small flaws just make things better; my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, and all that. The idea of this E92 M3 going away then, magnified by the loss of the M3 badge for the coupe, is at best bittersweet for me. This generation of M car is already surpassed in terms of raw thrills by the better-than-ever Mercedes-Benz C63, a car that doesn't ask its driver to sacrifice low-end grunt or the very latest in amenities in return for stellar backroad performance. Yet any time I've been lucky enough to lap a track in the M3, it has quickly become clear that the Bimmer is the better on-edge tool. With the freedom to wring the neck of the 4.0-liter V8 and room to exercise the lovely balance of the car, the E92 is hard to match (even six years after its debut). Still, when the 2013 BMW M3 Coupe Lime Rock Park Edition rolled into my driveway, its Fire Orange bodywork flashing over gloss-black 19-inch rolling stock, the car had me a little crossed up. BMW has been tossing out special edition M3s for the last few years now, all asking thousands of dollars extra for the limited production-run vehicles. I knew that the LRP was more than a mere trim and tape package, but would it be an appropriate send off for a spectacularly departing sports car legend, or just $10,000 down the drain where a stock M3 Coupe would have happily sufficed? The Sport setup makes the LRP M3 a stabbing weapon with which to stick curvy roads. It's helpful to understand at the start just what your ten large buys, over and above the typical M3. Perhaps the most important component of the LRP suite is BMW's Competition Package, which lowers the suspension by 0.4 inches, includes 19-inch Y-spoke wheels and electronic damping control. That EDC system ("Dynamic Damper Control" in the BMW options catalog), offers three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. The three settings give the car a truly malleable range of ride characters, with the Sport button doing the automotive equivalent of a boxer bouncing up onto the balls of his feet. Engaged at speed, the sporting damper setting is immediately palpable, and allows for heightened mid-corner response from an already very good suspension setup. Combined with the hyper-sticky Pirelli …
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Retail Price

$60,100 MSRP / Window Sticker Price
Engine 4.0L V-8
MPG 14 City / 20 Hwy
Seating 4 Passengers
Transmission 6-spd man w/OD
Power 414 @ 8300 rpm
Drivetrain rear-wheel
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