You've just eaten an entire plate of yak intestine on Fear Factor and now you've got $50 grand to spend on a car. It can't just be any car. You've got to buy a vehicle so special it'll make beautiful women forget you're the guy who ate a plate of yak intestine on Fear Factor.
A tall order for sure, but this 2005 BMW M3 is up to the task. Thanks to a heavy sprinkling of hardware from the fabled 2003 BMW M3 CSL, which the fine folks from Bavaria have amassed into the $4,000 Competition Package, this is the best M3 ever sold in America. Until the V8-powered 2007 BMW M3 shows itself, this is the one to have.
The CSL
For those who think BMW stands for Berlin Motor Works, the CSL (Coupe, Sport, Lightweight) was a very special, very fast and very expensive M3 sold only overseas. At its unveiling at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, BMW said it was quite sure the car could break the 8-minute sound barrier on the legendary Northern Circuit of Nurburgring, which is considered the ultimate benchmark in driving dynamics.
But because of the model's carbon-fiber roof and extensive engine modifications, which bumped its power to 360 horsepower, selling the car in America would have forced BMW's brass to pay for expensive crash testing and emissions certification. The cheap asses chose not to, but they felt bad about it. To ease their guilt, the Competition Package was born. BMW says it makes this the best handling M3 ever.
Almost a CSL
For your $4 grand you get the CSL's 19-inch forged alloy wheels, larger Michelin tires, stiffer shocks and springs, a quicker steering ratio (15.4-to-1 to 14.5-to-1), larger cross-drilled front brake rotors (12.8 inches to 13.6 inches), cross-drilled rear rotors and brake pads with a more aggressive compound.
The CSL's less intrusive M Track mode is also part of the package. Actuated by a button on the steering wheel, it backs off the coupe's Dynamic Stability Control, but doesn't shut it down completely.
Inside you get a buttery-soft Alcantara-covered steering wheel, which we think is worth $4 grand alone; an Alcantara-covered handbrake grip; and uniquely textured aluminum trim. Plus, cruise control and steering wheel audio controls are deleted from the vehicle.
The Competition Package is available with a six-speed manual or the optional Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) and with all M3 Coupe interior and exterior combinations. However, Interlagos Blue is a new exterior color offered only with the package. Our Interlagos Blue tester had the standard manual transmission, three extra cost options including a Harman Kardon sound system ($675) and an as-tested price of $55,840.
Even Better Than Expected
Whatever. Don't worry about it. Money will mean nothing the first time you rip through the M3's first four gears.
Think M3, but with the knob cranked to 10 and a half. The suspension is a bit tighter, the steering a bit quicker and the car's responses, all of them, a bit sharper. This vehicle begs to be driven hard and usually gets its way. It's one of those cars that makes you redline every gear and storm into every corner.
"Oh, the M3," said one tester after a night in the car. "Unlock the door, buckle up and boom: instant jackass. I can't help it."
But the M3's brilliance really shows when you back it down a notch. Driving it around town at half speed and in the mire of stop-and-go traffic displays its impressive range of talents.
Its clutch, for instance, fluffs off drag strip launches like a twin-disc carbon unit, but its pedal effort is light. Its seats are wide enough for the freeway, and somehow bolstered perfectly for the corners. And its engine, man oh man, what an engine. The 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder is as smooth as molasses, and has the bottom-end torque of a V8, the midrange of a V12 and the upper-rpm rush of a superbike. Its official power ratings are 333 hp at 7,900 rpm and 262 lb-ft of torque at 4,900 rpm.
Despite all that comfort and drivability, it performs like a supercar. At the track we ran it through the quarter-mile at 105 mph and from zero to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds. It also blasted through our slalom at 68 mph and stopped from 60 mph in an awesome 112 feet. In other words, this is one of the quickest, best handling and best stopping cars we've ever tested.
Its ride might be a bit stiff for some, but those people shouldn't order the Competition Package. Those who should will sacrifice a little ride quality for this car's awesome grip and perfect balance. Flick it into a corner and you can choose whatever cornering attitude you want. But we'll warn you now, if it's tire-smoking oversteer you're after, those big rear Michelin Pilots are sticky suckers, and demand a healthy shot of throttle if they're going to cooperate.
A Last Hurrah
The 2005 BMW M3 Competition Package is really a last hurrah for this generation of M3. Its replacement is only a couple of years out, and is promised to be V8-powered like its rival the Audi S4 .
Certainly we would have preferred BMW importing the full-blown CSL, but this is a nice way to say good-bye to a car that will no doubt prove itself timeless. One ride through its gears and even your mother will forget how you came up with the coin.
A tall order for sure, but this 2005 BMW M3 is up to the task. Thanks to a heavy sprinkling of hardware from the fabled 2003 BMW M3 CSL, which the fine folks from Bavaria have amassed into the $4,000 Competition Package, this is the best M3 ever sold in America. Until the V8-powered 2007 BMW M3 shows itself, this is the one to have.
The CSL
For those who think BMW stands for Berlin Motor Works, the CSL (Coupe, Sport, Lightweight) was a very special, very fast and very expensive M3 sold only overseas. At its unveiling at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, BMW said it was quite sure the car could break the 8-minute sound barrier on the legendary Northern Circuit of Nurburgring, which is considered the ultimate benchmark in driving dynamics.
But because of the model's carbon-fiber roof and extensive engine modifications, which bumped its power to 360 horsepower, selling the car in America would have forced BMW's brass to pay for expensive crash testing and emissions certification. The cheap asses chose not to, but they felt bad about it. To ease their guilt, the Competition Package was born. BMW says it makes this the best handling M3 ever.
Almost a CSL
For your $4 grand you get the CSL's 19-inch forged alloy wheels, larger Michelin tires, stiffer shocks and springs, a quicker steering ratio (15.4-to-1 to 14.5-to-1), larger cross-drilled front brake rotors (12.8 inches to 13.6 inches), cross-drilled rear rotors and brake pads with a more aggressive compound.
The CSL's less intrusive M Track mode is also part of the package. Actuated by a button on the steering wheel, it backs off the coupe's Dynamic Stability Control, but doesn't shut it down completely.
Inside you get a buttery-soft Alcantara-covered steering wheel, which we think is worth $4 grand alone; an Alcantara-covered handbrake grip; and uniquely textured aluminum trim. Plus, cruise control and steering wheel audio controls are deleted from the vehicle.
The Competition Package is available with a six-speed manual or the optional Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) and with all M3 Coupe interior and exterior combinations. However, Interlagos Blue is a new exterior color offered only with the package. Our Interlagos Blue tester had the standard manual transmission, three extra cost options including a Harman Kardon sound system ($675) and an as-tested price of $55,840.
Even Better Than Expected
Whatever. Don't worry about it. Money will mean nothing the first time you rip through the M3's first four gears.
Think M3, but with the knob cranked to 10 and a half. The suspension is a bit tighter, the steering a bit quicker and the car's responses, all of them, a bit sharper. This vehicle begs to be driven hard and usually gets its way. It's one of those cars that makes you redline every gear and storm into every corner.
"Oh, the M3," said one tester after a night in the car. "Unlock the door, buckle up and boom: instant jackass. I can't help it."
But the M3's brilliance really shows when you back it down a notch. Driving it around town at half speed and in the mire of stop-and-go traffic displays its impressive range of talents.
Its clutch, for instance, fluffs off drag strip launches like a twin-disc carbon unit, but its pedal effort is light. Its seats are wide enough for the freeway, and somehow bolstered perfectly for the corners. And its engine, man oh man, what an engine. The 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder is as smooth as molasses, and has the bottom-end torque of a V8, the midrange of a V12 and the upper-rpm rush of a superbike. Its official power ratings are 333 hp at 7,900 rpm and 262 lb-ft of torque at 4,900 rpm.
Despite all that comfort and drivability, it performs like a supercar. At the track we ran it through the quarter-mile at 105 mph and from zero to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds. It also blasted through our slalom at 68 mph and stopped from 60 mph in an awesome 112 feet. In other words, this is one of the quickest, best handling and best stopping cars we've ever tested.
Its ride might be a bit stiff for some, but those people shouldn't order the Competition Package. Those who should will sacrifice a little ride quality for this car's awesome grip and perfect balance. Flick it into a corner and you can choose whatever cornering attitude you want. But we'll warn you now, if it's tire-smoking oversteer you're after, those big rear Michelin Pilots are sticky suckers, and demand a healthy shot of throttle if they're going to cooperate.
A Last Hurrah
The 2005 BMW M3 Competition Package is really a last hurrah for this generation of M3. Its replacement is only a couple of years out, and is promised to be V8-powered like its rival the Audi S4 .
Certainly we would have preferred BMW importing the full-blown CSL, but this is a nice way to say good-bye to a car that will no doubt prove itself timeless. One ride through its gears and even your mother will forget how you came up with the coin.
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