With an 8000-rpm, 333-hp inline-six that was unlike anything the world had ever seen, the E46 left burnout marks across showroom floors-and straight into most enthusiasts' hearts.
This time, BMW didn't withhold the Real Engine from U.S. customers - with 333 horsepower on tap, the E46 M3 launched with a bang. The E46 M3 was so much faster than the E36 - and just about everything else with a back seat and a trunk, for that matter - that its motor became its focal point. The E46's S54B30 six may have been a tad rougher and less aurally refined than its American-market predecessor, but it produced tremendous torque across its operating range and a demonic wail at high rpm.
The E36 M3's suspension was taught, but it lacked wheel travel, and consequently tended to bottom out over large bumps. The E46, by comparison, had a kidney-punishing ride, but loads of travel. It all served to make the car better in every way than the M3 that came before it, regardless of road surface. The E46 shrugged off its considerable weight with fantastic balance, great steering feel, and cat-like responses. It whipped the E36 in every category except versatility; there was no four-door E46 M3.
BMW's SMG automated manual transmission debuted on the E46 in 2002, and while European buyers loved its lightning-fast gearchanges, Americans complained about its truly awful shift quality. The North American market never got the lightweight, track-oriented M3 CSL, which featured up to 360 horsepower, a carbon-fiber roof, and a host of other weight-reduction measures, but a swan-song Competition Package gave the E46 other CSL features, including a revised steering rack, nineteen-inch BBS wheels, and an alcantara steering wheel.
By the numbers, an E46 M3 was:- 1.2 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the E36 M3.
- 1.4 seconds quicker in the quarter mile than the E36 M3.
- $7450 more expensive than the E36 M3.
- 93 hp more powerful than the E36 M3.
- 261 lbs heavier than the E36 M3. ...next page >>