Classic pearls of the future - BMW M3 E46
10/14/2015
You probably don't have to be a great soothsayer to predict that the third series M3 - BMW called it the E46 - will one day become a classic, if it isn't already one today. The first M3 E30 was already attracting attention with price hikes even before it had really become a classic car and its successor, the M3 E36, is also steadily increasing in price, even though the racing gene is/was no longer so dominant.
And the M3 E46? Well, like its direct predecessor, the M3 E36 , it also relied on an in-line six-cylinder engine. This now produced 343 hp. However, the weight had also increased, from around 1550 kg you could drive an M3 E46 off the shelf, as it was built from 2000 to 2006.
For lightweight fetishists, however, there was an alternative in 2003 and 2004, the BMW M3 CSL, whose name was derived from the lightweight coupé 3.0 CSL.
The CSL weighed almost 200 kg less than the normal M3, even though it had an automated six-speed gearbox ("SMG II") and 19-inch wheels. The weight savings were achieved primarily through the use of modern materials - visible, for example, in the carbon roof - and by sacrificing comfort. Together with further refinements, they turned the coupé into a really fast sports machine, as demonstrated by the 7:50 minutes on the Nordschleife.
Only 1383 examples of the 360 hp CSL are said to have been produced during the one-year construction period; it was significantly more expensive than the normal M3, but its collector's value is also likely to develop noticeably more dynamically in the future. Only CSLs with few kilometers are likely to be significantly fewer than comparable cars, because the BMW simply gave too much pleasure in everyday life ...
Mention should also be made of the M3 GTR, which was also available as a road version in addition to the racing car, but which never went into series production and served more as justification for the use of the eight-cylinder engine in the E46 in racing.
More classic pearls can be found in our "Classic pearls" theme channel.
