Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of BMW's latest M3

It's been 30 years since the first BMW wearing a trademark tri-color marking was introduced in a homologation effort as the M1. Since then 300,000 vehicles have been graced with that coveted "M" telltale, and still countless others have had the logo applied in the hopes the letter would add some magic to a plebian 318 or 528. Fully one percent of BMWs sold in 2007 were M models, and the milestone 300,000th car, an alpine white M3 Coupe, will live with its owner in the town of its birth, the East Bavarian hamlet of Regensburg. The M3 is likely the most legendary M car, with the original E30 version also existing for homologation purposes and morphing into the current V8-powered technical tour de force that can now be had in Coupe, Sedan or Convertible guise - a true triple threat. There appears no end in sight for BMW's M division's masterful application of the art and science of high performance engineering. Now, if BMW would just return our calls, we can permanently add the 300,001st M-model to the Autoblog Garage, though we're certain it's already built and sold. Press release after the jump.


[Source: BMW]

When the BMW M3 sedan made its debut, we knew based on its two door counterpart,'s performance that it would be fast. But this is one bit of ground we didn't anticipate the V8 super-sedan would cover quite so quickly: Barely on the market already, the M3 Sedan is getting a facelift.

The revisions, of course, will be minor, but spy shots like the one above suggest that, in addition to the new tail lights being fitted to the regular four-door 3-Series, the M3 Sedan is expected to get some new LEDs up front. Other minor changes will be made to the rear, including a modified rear bumper and diffuser, along with a few updates to the interior. We won't be complaining, just as long as it's as fast as the existing model.

[Source: M3Post.com]

The saga of Ken Tanisaka and BMW of Lincoln, Nebraska is almost over, as the embattled eBay winner of a nicely-priced BMW M3 sedan has exchanged funds with the dealership and the car is set to be shipped for delivery. It's been a long road for Ken involving lawyers and lots of patience as the dealership, part of the Husker Auto Group, stubbornly fought not to honor its eBay auction that Ken won for $10,000 below MSRP.

Now that it's almost over, BMW of Lincoln should be glad that the firestorm of negative media attention with which it's had to deal is about to end. That's what you would think, but this particular dealership seems to relish in making the wrong choices. Autoblog reader Dale pointed us to this advert that was emailed to him from the Husker Auto Group, which paints the whole ordeal as a case of the dealership bending over backwards to make a customer happy. Read the most choice paragraph below.

Being the honorable dealership that Husker is, [it] agreed to honor the price of $60,000 for the BMW E90 M3. This vehicle typically would have been priced around $70,000. At Husker BMW, we honor all contracts. And in this case we covered the $10,000 for the vehicle to make our customer happy.

True, the Husker Auto Group eventually honored the auction that Ken rightfully won, but we'd hardly describe its behavior as honorable. The decision to let go of the car for $10k below sticker appears motivated less by the desire to make Ken happy than to get out from under the harsh spotlight of attention that was aimed at the dealership by a loosely organized but large group of compassionate internet citizens. The last thing this dealership should be doing is bragging about its customer service.

[Source: imakenews.com]

Click the above image for more pictures of the BMW M3 Sedan

There hasn't been a BMW M3 sedan since the E36 generation, but that doesn't mean BMW has forgotten how to build a fast saloon car. The M3 Sedan takes everything good about the M3 coupe and adds two doors to the mix, allowing you to better justify the purchase with your significant other. BMW has thrown out the standard headlights on the sedan and replaced them with the lights found on the coupe, giving it a more sporting design in the process.The basic specs are all the same as the coupe, but you should check out our previous post on the M3 Sedan to find out more.

All live photos ©2007 Siddharth Raja / Weblogs, Inc.

click on any image to view high-res gallery of 2008 BMW M3 Sedan

In our haste to bring you news of the 2008 BMW M3 sedan being unveiled, we showed you the best official pics we could find at the time, which were only 800 pixels wide. We don't know many people with 800 pixel-wide monitors, so we updated our gallery with high-resolution pics straight from BMW. They're 1,280 pixels wide, which should cover most screens corner to corner.



We noticed a couple of things about BMW's new M sedan this time around that we missed before. Take a closer look at the steering wheel, which features red and blue stitching that mimics the M colors. Also notice two shots of the M3 Sedan's trunk at the end of the gallery. One shows a parcel shelf that slides out from underneath the trunk's ceiling, while the other shows how much cargo room is available with the back seats folded forward. We thought these pics particularly interesting because they illustrate the entire point in BMW making an M3 sedan: more utility. The M3 Coupe is great, but not nearly as practical as the M3 Sedan will be.

To download the larger pics, just browse the gallery and right click on your favorite pics. Save the images to your computer, and the 1,280 pixel-wide version will be downloaded regardless of what size pic you're looking at.

[Source: BMW]

click above image to view 28 pics of the 2008 BMW M3 Sedan

We've been waiting a long time for BMW to snap out of its haze and bring us a four-door version of the venerable M3 coupe. That time has officially come. And it turns out the leaked photo from earlier today was probably from BMW itself, as even though it wasn't included in the official batch of images released tonight, it's the same car you're looking at here.

On the outside, the M3 sedan gets plenty of work done to its front and rear fascias, leaving everything between the A-pillar and C-pillar intact from the base 3-Series sedan (sorry, no carbon fiber roof for the sedan). The front end is a complete carryover from the M3 coupe, with wide fenders, a dramatic front clip, bulging hood and vented quarter panels. Out back, a small lip spoiler sits atop the trunk, while M-specific quad pipes let Bimmer cognoscenti know that they're behind something special.

Naturally, the M3 sedan benefits from BMW's new 414 (SAE) HP 4.0L V8, allowing the 3,531-pound four-door to reach 60 MPH in 4.9 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155 MPH. In a move that should make family-oriented speed freaks burst into tears, BMW will only be offering a six-speed manual version at launch. Although, according to previous reports, BMW's dual-clutch M-DCT gearbox should be available at a later date. The chassis, suspension and interior also benefit from a host of upgrades, all available to read about in the press release after the jump and view in our gallery below. Look for the M3 sedan to debut in Los Angeles next month.

[Source: BMW via Motive]

UPDATE: Truth be told, these could be photoshops. At first glance they looked like brochure shots to us, but we'll let you decide.

click above image to both pics of the BMW M3 sedan

God bless forums, you have to love them. The occasional flame war aside (who are we to talk?), they're often the repository of choice material like this, what appears to be the first official images of the BMW M3 sedan scanned from a brochure. The main shot is large enough to appreciate how well the M3 style plays with the proportions of the 3-Series sedan, while the tiny pic gives us a profile comparison between the M3 coupe and sedan. What do you need to know about the M3 sedan that's different from the M3 coupe. Well, it's got two extra doors, but aside from that the same 420 HP V8 will be powering the rear wheels, which is all that's important to us. Any more details will have to wait until BMW officially takes the wraps off of its super sedan, which is expected to happen at an upcoming auto show, hopefully the L.A. Auto Show in mid-November.

Thanks for the tip, Mark!

[Source: M3post.com]

The expansion of BMW's M3 lineup is expected to take place sooner than we anticipated, and a new version of the Bavarian bomber will finally put the oft-maligned sequential gearbox to rest. According to Auto Telegraaf, BMW will be debuting the M3 sedan at a major Stateside auto show, likely L.A. or Detroit, and along with an extra set of doors, it'll be sporting the automaker's new dual-clutch gearbox. Rumored to be dubbed "M DCT," the new 'box will get seven forward gears that can be controlled by either a new shift lever, much like the one found in the new X5, or steering-wheel mounted paddles shifters. BMW also plans to offer a traditional six-speed manual for those who prefer to row their own gears.

The regularly spied convertible version of the M3 is also on its way, which is proving to be an engineering challenge for the M-division due to the extra tonnage the retractable hardtop tacks onto the curb weight. We've heard that a track-bred CSL is also under development, and that its debut is likely to take place some time in 2009.

[Source: Auto Telegraaf via Motor Authority]