BMW can’t stop itself.
The BMW 3 Series has a reputation as one of the best performance machines among luxury compact sedans.
Since the mid-1980s, those serious about owning the sportiest 3 Series iteration have long had a more hardcore option: the M3. A 3 Series tuned by BMW’s in-house motorsports division, it can outrun an ordinary 3 — at a dear price.
In the 2000s, the company upped the ante again with the M3 Competition — yet another level of performance.
Still with us?
Yesterday, BMW topped the tippy top. The 2024 BMW M3 CS (that’s “Competition Sport”) outdoes the M3 Competition that outdoes the M3 that outdoes the 3 Series.
All it will cost you is $118,700 — almost as much as three 3 Series sedans — plus a laughably low $995 shipping fee.
More Power, Less Weight
The chief difference between the M3 Competition and the M3 Competition Sport is 40 horsepower. The CS gets 543 horses from its twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine. That power goes through an 8-speed automatic transmission to an all-wheel-drive system biased toward the rear wheels.
Other changes include a cooling system borrowed from the M4 GT3 race car and stiffer engine mounts. Stiffer mounts will increase engine noise and vibration, but let’s be honest — few of these will be driven regularly off the track.
The CS is also 75 pounds lighter than the M3 Competition, thanks to a generous use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. It’s in the roof and the hood. It’s in the front splitter and air intakes. Even the mirror caps are made of the expensive stuff.
But engineers shaved weight elsewhere, too. BMW says, “The titanium rear silencer shaves more than eight pounds off the weight of the exhaust system.” Yes, they built a lighter muffler.
Buyers get the choice of a set of track-only tires or street-legal high-performance tires at no added cost.
Four Exterior Colors, One Interior
Inside, it’s close to the standard M3 Competition, but the M Carbon bucket front seats are standard equipment. They’re upholstered in black Merino leather with red accents. And, shockingly, it seats five. If you ever ride in the middle rear seat of an M3 CS, we’d like to hear about the experience.
Buyers can choose from four colors — Frozen Solid White, Signal Green, Brooklyn Grey metallic, and Black Sapphire metallic.
BMW says it will build a limited number of these over-the-top machines but doesn’t say how many.
