German Car Zone

I have seen the M3!! This a perk when you work for BMW and it sure as hell made my day. There were 3 M3's:
Alpine white with 19"
Interlagos blue with 19"
Interlagos blue with 18"

Exterior:
These pictures just don't capture the full effect this car has on you. The first one I saw was the white car and I was blown away. I've been drooling at these pictures and finally get to see one in real life. To put it simply, I felt the same way as when I saw the E46 for the first time.
It is extremely muscular, yet retains the very elegant line of the E92. And the contrast between the white color and CF roof was just amazing! The hood bulge is quite obvious even from far away. The thing that stuck out from the side where the sideskirts. The picture don't quite capture the full 3D effect. They make the car look quite aggressive. Also those 2 holes on the hood were very cool. There were concerns in other forums that the exhaust can be seen under the car. From what I can tell, not really a problem.

I couldn't evaluate the blue cars as well because they were still covered in wax (from the transport). Although they are very nice colors (seen them on M5's and M6's), the white one just looked much better imo.

Interior:
Only really paid attention to the white car. It came with grey leather and the CF looking trim, which was quite nice. But to be honest, the interior was not what I was focusing on.

Wheels:
The 19" wheels are a combination of the old 19" m3 wheels and new M5 wheels. Looked right at home on the car. However, I thought the smaller 18" looked fantastic!! It was really dark gunmetal and it would have looked so mean on the white car.

Engine:
The first thing that I noticed was when I opened the hood. The hood itself was quite considerably lighter than the ones I'm used to working on (regular E90). To be honest, if it is a flaw, the M3's engine bay really isn't all that exciting. Not a cool shape like the V10.
The guy started the car up, and to my surprise, it was quite tame. We all know that the V10 almost sounds like a diesel, but not this one. He revved a few times up to 3000 rpm and that was very nice. Loud and powerful, but not overwhelming. Then the real fun came... he redlined it. My goodness! I had goosebumps as soon as he did that. The engine sounds like it came out of an exotic car. It's not really like the V8 I expected to be honest. As we all know, V8's are usually have that rumble. However in this engine, the V8 was a bit higher pitched. It literally shook the ground that I was standing on when it was revved. What an experience.

Conclusion:
This car in my mind will be just as successful as the E46. It's mix of understated looks and German muscle will be a classic. The engine, ground breaking (literally). What can I say, the next best thing would be to drive it (but that won't happen for me unfortunately).

That was about a 20 min experience. Feel free to ask any questions

Thanks for your sharing your "20 min experience"! It sounds awesome...

Thanks for your review.

I got a question, which is probably not related to your review, but here goes. I notice from a few photos that there is a little outlet which is connected to the right bonnet vent, do you have any idea what it is for?

I believe that is for extra cooling. I think I read somewhere the engine sucks in more air due to that hole. I'm pretty sure a few of the members here can answer that

It looks like the hole is connected to the airbox, but i find this arrangement a bit strange. Maybe the air is the cleanest and the coolest when it is travelling over the bonnet.

Thanks for your review, I saw a white E92 just over a month ago, and agree it looked awesome, I still have the picture in my head.

I had the exact same feeling when I first saw the E46 M3....completely blew my socks off! Thanks for sharing

Right! That hole is for the right air vent in the hood next to the powerdome.....the one sitting on the left of the powerdome is fake and purely for cosmetics, much like the new Mini Cooper S.

Yes it sucks air into the engine. But only on the left side off the car, the right one is fake and non functional and only ther for reasons off symetry.

I was may 23 th myself in Garching, there I saw the Alpine White M3 myself, I had a seat behind the weel, could feel and smell it`s leather,I felt the clutch and leather trimmed shift knob, I heard the engine at idle and high revs.................It is realy a verry, verry good looking car IRL. Engine at idle is unbelieveble smooth, soft and quiet, but in high revs it is a complete monster.......................
This is definatly the car worth waiting for...........................

Is it as loud as say, an RS4? Or louder?