BMW reveals '30 Years M3'

BMW is celebrating three decades of its iconic M3 sports sedan with a strictly limited special edition that has more power, a revised chassis and a dusting of trick bits, and the exclusive '30 Years M3' could be heading Down Under.

The United Kingdom has been earmarked for 30 examples of the anniversary special but the German car-maker has confirmed that it will allocate 500 globally, and if other regions are offered the same number as Britain then up to 15 more nations will get the awkwardly-named M3 30 Years M3.

With Australia's demand for both top-spec models and high-performance BMW's, the limited M3 version would appear a good fit for our market, and BMW Group Australia product communications manager Adam Davis confirmed the company was keen to offer the car here.

“We are obviously very interested and we have put our hand up,” he told GoAuto.

If the 30 Years M3 does come Down Under, it is likely customers will be asked to pay a handsome premium over the standard version, with UK 30th anniversary versions costing a whopping 47 per cent more than the less exclusive M3 sedan.

A similar price increase for Australian versions would pin a local pricetag of about $205,000 on the 30 Years M3, which costs $139,900 before on-road costs in standard trim.

Fans of exclusive BMWs have already demonstrated that they are not afraid to write big cheques for collectable cars, with all 25 examples of the $295,000 M4 GTS coupe selling to Australian customers before the car had been chalked for local sales.

For its four-door cousin, the M3 30 Years M3 uses the Competition-honed version as its basis including a power hop-up of 14kW to 331kW and Adaptive M suspension, but then adds a selection of unique 30-year touches.

Acceleration from zero to 100km/h is 0.1 seconds faster than the standard M3 dash of 4.1s and enthusiastic M3 pilots can crack a top speed of 250km/h.

On the outside, the 30 Years M3 gets the same 666 M Star style wheels as the Competition and M4 GTS, but for the M3 the hoops measure 20-inches in each corner compared with the exclusive coupe which rolls on 19s at the front.

The exterior anniversary alterations continue with a choice of Macao Blue or Frozen Silver metallic paint, carbon-fibre front splitter, mirror caps, rear diffuser and boot spoiler, a louder M sports exhaust, gloss black trims and 'M3 30 Jahre' (year) badging slotted into the front wing vents, dubbed “M gills”.

The festivities extend through to the interior where BMW has swapped the standard front seats for a more “skeletal” version that are upholstered in two-tone black and Fjord Blue or Silverstone Merino leather and are complemented by seatbelts woven in the light blue, dark blue and red M colours.

Driver contact points are also enhanced with an Alcantara steering wheel and gear selector, while the M3 30 Jahre name is applied to the door sills, carbon-fibre-trimmed dashboard and stitched into the seat headrests.

Standard kit includes the top-spec Harman Kardon sound system, adaptive LED headlights, carbon-ceramic brakes, head-up display, 360-degree manoeuvring camera and Comfort Access.

In the UK, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is included in the asking price, but European versions have a six-speed manual as standard with the option of the auto.

In 2014, BMW revealed a similar theme with the M3's larger M5 sedan sibling for its 30th birthday and the 30 Jahre M5.