M Coupe Buyers Guide

This week’s overview of what’s happened in the M Coupe market.

Most Popular Sales Listings

These are the cars that have been viewed most often this week:

Best Deals

These are what I think are the best deals still available that are not already on the most popular list:

Sold This Week

These are the cars that went to lucky new owners this week. The cheapest S54 sold as well as a couple low mileage, fairly priced S52s. Almost all of them were relatively stock. Congratulations and enjoy your coupes!

• 2000 Titanium Silver Metallic over Black Nappa
  List Price : $23,990 – Sold Price: $23,990
• 2000 Oxford Green over Black Nappa
  List Price : $21,990 – Sold Price: Unknown
• 2001 Titanium Silver Metallic over Black Nappa
  List Price: $18,800 – Sold Price: Unknown
• 2000 Cosmos Black over Dark Beige Oregon
  List Price: $19,500 – Sold Price: Unknown

For quite a few years before a full scale M Coupe was a financial possibility, I searched high and low for a 1:18 scale model to complement my model collection. Being the picky buyer I am, the normal cosmos black store sold UT model didn’t cut it for me. I wanted the silver model. For a while, I wasn’t sure this model even existed. My only evidence was a single photo posted on Car Domain, but that was enough to keep me going. I eventually found out that it did exist but could only be purchased through dealers and there obviously were not very many of them.

I searched Ebay, emailed dealers and contacted model resellers for several years before one fateful night in 2006. On my nightly Ebay search for “1:18 m coupe”, there it was: a 1:18 scale silver, M Coupe.  And better yet, it had a buy it now. And even better still, it was only $45 with free shipping. I wondered why no one had purchased it yet because even the more common cosmos black coupes were selling for at least that. I check the posted date and saw it had been listed 2 minutes ago. I ran full-speed upstairs to confirm with my new wife that it was OK to pull the trigger on what was then the most expensive model I had ever purchased. After receiving the confirmation, I raced back downstairs and hit buy-it-now before even sitting down.  It was mine. I still thank her from time to time for letting me splurge a little before we had much extra money.

It came 3 days later packaged in a small, plain, black box with silver BMW letters across the top front. At first I was worried that it had been mistakenly listed as a 1:18 scale as the box looked tiny. But when I opened it my doubts were relieved as the box was fitted like a glove and my beautiful coupe awaited. As with all the 1:18 scale UT coupe models, you receive the European version complete with headlight washers, clear front corner lights, European license plates and revised hatch, and a beautiful S50 engine. And it’s a sunroof-delete! The hood and doors open, but the rear hatch does not.

There are several people on Bimmerforums that I have heard have one as well. Good luck trying to get them to sell though. For those interested in trying to track one down it is BMW part number 8043 0020 856. BMW offered scale models of the M Coupe in the following variations:

• 1:18 UT Arctic Silver with Black interior – Part No. 8043 0020 856
  I’m guessing Arctic rather than Titanium model because it’s listed as a 1998
• 1:18 UT Cosmos Black with Kyalami Orange interior – Part No. 8043 9422 193
  Also available as consumer version and some think the interior is actually Imola Red
  
• 1:18 UT Estoril Blue with Black interior – Part No. 8043 9422 194
  Also available as consumer version
• 1:18 Imola Red with Imola Red Interior
  This wasn’t sold through BMW but was a consumer version

• 1:43 Schuco Estoril Blue – Part No. 8043 0020 856
• 1:43 Schuco Blue? – Part No. 8042 9422 195
• 1:43 Schuco Imola Red – Part No. 8042 9422 196

• 1:73 Schuco Cosmos Black – Part No. 8042 9423 172

• 1:87 Herpa Silver – Part No. 8041 9423 112
• 1:87 Herpa Estoril Blue – Part No. 8041 9423 113

Since purchased, my silver M Coupe has been sitting just to the right of my computer monitor. Free for me to gaze at throughout the day and motivate me to keep working hard toward the purchase of a full-size one.

The Black Box

 

While the M versions get most of the attention, not all Z3 Coupes got the motorsports treatment. BMW built a non-M Coupe from 1999-2002 available with the most powerful engine offered in the Z3 each year. In 1999-2000, the Z3 Coupe was sold with the 2.8L 193 hp, 206 lb-ft torque M52 engine and in 2001 was upgraded to the new 225 hp, 214 lb-ft torque 3.0L M54 bringing it within 15 hp of the S52 M Coupes.

While they weren’t graced with the motorsports engines or suspensions, they share much of the same unique styling. Many think they have narrower rare fenders, but this is just an illusion of the higher offset and narrower rear wheels that lack the deep lips of the M models. Other obvious exterior styling differences include:

• Standard Z3 front bumper and side gills
• Single exhaust with 2 tailpipes rather than the M’s 4 tailpipes
• License plate in rear bumper rather than hatch
• Unique wheel options
• Higher offset rear wheels (46 or 41 mm rather than the M’s 8mm)
• Additional and unique paint color availability including:
  • Alpine White (1999-2002)
  • Arctic Silver Metallic (1999)
  • Atlanta Blue Metallic (2001-2002)
  • Black Sapphire Metallic (2002)
  • Boston Green Metallic (1999)
  • Bright Red (1999-2002)
  • Cosmos Black Metallic (1999-2001)
  • Dakar Yellow (1999-2002)
  • Estoril Blue Metallic (2000)
  • Evergreen Metallic (2000)
  • Imola Red Metallic (2000)
  • Impala Brown Metallic (2000)
  • Jet Black (1999-2002)
  • Montreal Blue Metallic (1999)
  • Oxford Green Metallic (2000-2002)
  • Pistachio Green Metallic (2002)
  • Siena Red Metallic (2000, 2002)
  • Steel Gray Metallic (2000)
  • Sterling Gray Metallic (2002)
  • Titanium Silver Metallic (2000-2002)
  • Topaz Blue Metallic (2000-2002)

Other noticeable interior difference include:

• Available wood or metallic trim
• Unique black faced gauges
• Revised center console without accessory gauges
• Re-styled seats
• Unique interior colors including:
  • Beige (1999-2002)
  • Black (1999-2002)
  • Dream Red (2002)
  • Impala Brown (2000)
  • Tanin Red (1999-2001)
  • Topaz Blue (2000-2002)
  • Walnut (1999,2001-2002)

The other large difference is the availability of automatic transmissions (4-speeds in 2.8L and 5-speeds in 3.0L). Automatics were never offered on the M models, so if you can’t drive stick, you do have an alternative.

You can tell the difference between 2.8L and 3.0L models by their taillights (3.0L models have clear turn signals), their wheels (although the standard wheels remained unchanged), and the wider chrome strip on the revised rear hatch of the 3.0L cars.

According to 368s.com there were 16,649 Z3 Coupes produced with most being the 2.8L model. I’ve heard, but cannot find the exact number, that there were fewer 3.0L coupes produced than S52-engined M Coupes.

Prices of Z3 coupes when new were around $5000-$7,000 less than comparable M models. Now you can typically find a similar year/mileage/condition Z3 Coupe for much less than it’s M counterpart. For example, the Topaz Blue 2001 Z3 Coupe 3.0 pictured is currently listed by Bimmerforums member Eric Jacobs for only $13,500 with many desirable modifications and only 59,000 miles (click here). (Sold to a Blog Reader!) With his modifications it should keep up with a stock S52 M Coupe but at a substantial discount.

While I desire an M Coupe, I have nothing but respect for the non-M’s. After all, it was a Z3 Coupe 3.0 nearly identical to the Titanium silver one pictured on the right that first inspired my fascination with these cars.

In a previous post, I listed all the sites I check every day for M Coupes. This week I decided to take it one step further and compile a list of all M Coupes currently for sale in the U.S. from all of those sources. For each car, I also gave my own subjective ratings on Condition, Rarity, and Value as well as a couple comments about what I think of that particular car and anything extra I know of its history. Hopefully this will be a great resource for others searching to find the perfect coupe. Many of the cars are posted on multiple sites, and I will try to link to each listing individually. The price I post is the lowest I’ve seen on all the various listings. If the specific car has been discussed on one of the forums I frequent, I will also try to post those threads for additional information. I plan to update my listings directory daily.

In the future, this will also turn into a recently sold coupe directory as well. If I somehow find out the exact price a car sales for (typically only Ebay listings or cars sold through the forums), I will record it to try and assist people following the market.

Just click on the “Sale Listings” link at the top of the page to access the listings directory. They are default sorted by “Last Updated”, so the most recently listed or updated cars will show up first. Because the directory is new and all the cars were entered out of order, this will not be very effective at first, but as time goes by it should work well. You can choose your own sort order from the drop down list. The choices are: Last Updated, Date Listed, Price, Mileage, Condition Rating, Rarity Rating, Value Rating and Popularity. Click on “Search Listings” to filter the listings by Year, Price, Mileage, Sunroof-Delete, Exterior Color or Interior Color. I did the sort and search results as a url querystring, so once you setup the search and ordering you need you can bookmark it. The side effect is slower processing and no progress bars.

Features I’ve thought of adding in the future are displaying featured, recently added and best deal cars on my main blog page, adding the recently sold directory, and the ability to sign up for email alerts if a coupe is added meeting your specifications.

I’m open to any suggestions people might have or additional information that would be helpful in your search. I was initially thinking of recording the VIN numbers of each car and possibly link them to the M Coupe production database, but I wasn’t sure sellers would appreciate me reposting their VINs. I also decided not to post the seller’s contact information directly. You’ll have to click on the link to one of their listings to get that information.

Please let me know if any of the cars I have listed have sold, if you know of any cars for sale that I’ve missed, or if you have additional information on any of the cars you think would be helpful to potential buyers. If your car is listed and you’d like for me to add additional information or photos, I’d be happy to. All my ratings and comments are subjective, and I’m sure debatable. I kind of just went with my gut based on the photos and my impression of the seller. I’m definitely not an expert and open to suggestions and correction. There is a discussion of the feature on Bimmerforums; feel free to chime in on that thread, PM me, or email me directly with any comments or suggestions.

The only thing I ask is that if the site helped you find your coupe or if you happen to know it helped you sell your coupe, please email me at jon@mcoupebuyersguide.com just to let me know and encourage me to keep this updated. And if you don’t mind sharing the price paid to help other coupe shoppers, that would be nice too. I hope this will be helpful to other M Coupe shoppers and dreamers.

These are the production numbers for each M Coupe color combination produced for North America in order of commonality.

Total Production: 2858 (452 sunroof-delete)

1998: 26 (20 sunroof-delete)
1999: 1076 (138 sunroof-delete)
2000: 1078 (184 sunroof-delete)
2001: 338 (61 sunroof-delete)
2002: 340 (49 sunroof-delete)

Titanium Silver Metallic (544, 93 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (363, 54 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (106, 17 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (43, 14 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (25, 5 sunroof-delete)
Laguna Seca Blue & Black Nappa (6, 3 sunroof-delete)
Evergreen & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Cosmos Black (516, 75 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (277, 31 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (94, 14 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (79, 11 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa( 36, 12 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (29, 7 sunroof-delete)
Evergreen & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Estoril Blue (472, 83 sunroof-delete)

Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (313, 62 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (82, 16 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (62, 0 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (15, 5 sunroof-delete)

Imola Red (422, 58 sunroof-delete)

Imola Red & Black Nappa (201, 31 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (183, 19 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (22, 3 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (15, 5 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Arctic Silver Metallic (276, 42 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (125, 19 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (105, 11 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (32, 10 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (13, 1 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Steel Gray Metallic (121, 18 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (47, 5 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (46, 8 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (23, 2 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (3, 2 sunroof-delete)
Kiwi & Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete)

Black Sapphire Metallic (120, 11 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (74, 8 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (17, 1 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (17, 1 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (10, 1 sunroof-delete)
Laguna Seca Blue & Black Nappa (2, 0 sunroof-delete)

Alpine White (103, 17 sunroof-delete)

Dark Beige Oregon (36, 3 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (36, 2 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (9, 4 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (9, 2 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (7, 3 sunroof-delete)
Evergreen & Black Nappa (3, 1 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (2, 0 sunroof-delete)
Alpine White & Black Nappa (1, 1 sunroof-delete) – Last Produced

Boston Green Metallic (73, 6 sunroof-delete)

Dark Beige Oregon (61, 2 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (8, 1 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (3, 2 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Dakar Yellow II (51, 14 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (41, 10 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (8, 3 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete)

Oxford Green II Metallic (46, 16 sunroof-delete)

Dark Beige Oregon (24, 11 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (16, 4 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (5, 1 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Laguna Seca Blue (41, 6 sunroof-delete)

Dark Gray & Black Nappa (21, 2 sunroof-delete)
Laguna Seca Blue & Black Nappa (16, 3 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (2, 0 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (1, 1 sunroof-delete)

Evergreen (41, 5 sunroof-delete)

Evergreen & Black Nappa (27, 1 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (10, 2 sunroof-delete)
Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete)

Phoenix Yellow Metallic (21, 3 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (17, 2 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (3, 1 sunroof-delete)
Laguna Seca Blue & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Bright Red (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Imola Red & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)

Special Ordered (10, 4 sunroof-delete)

Black Nappa (5, 2 sunroof-delete)
– LC61412 – Jet Black 2
– LC61883 – Steel Gray (Jeff’s)
– LC62131 – Topaz Blue
– LK60168 – Carbon Black
– LK61334 – Dakar Yellow
Dark Beige Oregon (2, 1 sunroof-delete)
– LC61371 – Steel Gray
– LC61937 – Impala Brown (would love to see it)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete)
– LC61959 – Steel Gray (Rupert’s)
– LC62180 – Steel Gray (It’s for sale!)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (1, 0 sunroof-delete)
– LC61372 – Steel Gray (my color combo :))

If you wonder why steel gray is considered a special color, it’s because it was not officially available on M’s in 2000. It was available on the non-M Z3s and it’s easy to see why people wanted to order it on their coupes. While Dakar Yellow was available on 1999-2000 M Coupes, it was not available in 2002 when LK61334 was ordered.

Interior Colors

Black Nappa (1273, 175 sunroof-delete)
Dark Gray & Black Nappa (450, 73 sunroof-delete)
Estoril Blue & Black Nappa (365, 74 sunroof-delete)
Imola Red & Black Nappa (361, 74 sunroof-delete)
Dark Beige Oregon (314, 35 sunroof-delete)
Kyalami Orange & Black Nappa (36, 12 sunroof-delete)
Evergreen & Black Nappa (32, 2 sunroof-delete)
Laguna Seca Blue & Black Nappa (24, 6 sunroof-delete)
Kiwi & Black Nappa (2, 1 sunroof-delete) – only on pre-production S54 coupes

Observations

• It’s interesting that almost all the early build cars were sunroof-delete.
• Titanium Silver is the most common exterior color and Phoenix Yellow is the most rare.
• There is a Bright Red M Coupe out there somewhere.
• Most gutsy color combo selection has to go to Phoenix Yellow over Laguna Seca Blue.
• As well known as the two-tone interiors are, solid black is far and away the most common interior color.
• Laguna Seca Blue is the most rare interior color.

In compiling this I noticed a few rather adventurous color combos:

• Imola Red/Estoril Blue
• Boston Green/Kyalami Orange
• Dakar Yellow/Kyalami Orange
• Oxford Green/Kyalami Orange
• Phoenix Yellow/Laguna Seca Blue

So there you have it.  I was initially going to separate these out by year, then by engine, then got too lazy.  I may come back and at least break them out by engine.

February 21, 2013 Update – The very first data anomaly has been found. VIN LK61060 is actually Titanium Silver over Laguna Seca Blue rather than Titanium Silver over Dark Gray. The data has been updated accordingly.

If you wonder where I get all my production numbers, they were collected by a Bimmerforums member wildag (www.dreamingwell.com).  The original CSV file can be downloaded here.  Another forum member has created a more user friendly database interface for the less technically inclined at: www.bmwmdata.com.  This set of data includes all North American M Coupes and Roadsters with their production dates and options.

With the arrival of the Z4 M Coupe in 2006, many people and even some auto publications have relabeled the 1999-2002 M Coupe the Z3 M Coupe.  This is not technically correct.  While based on the Z3, the name from BMW was simply “M Coupe”.  Before the M Coupe and Roadster arrived, BMW M models of the time were named according to their series (i.e. M3 for the 3-series, M5, M6, etc.).  BMW probably could have named it the MZ or MZ3, but they chose to name it simply “M”.  To me this always meant BMW distilled all the M essence into one unique car, and you could choose to have it in coupe or roadster form.  Whether or not that’s what the BMW product planners intended, that’s what I like to think :-).

Lately, BMW has been adding the M to the end of the title of its off-series M cars.  For example, X5 M, X6 M, Z4 M.  I assume this is probably because MX5 was already taken by the Mazda Miata and they wanted to be consistent.  They didn’t do that with the 1998-2002 M cars.  While it’s convenient to add the “Z3” for reference, it takes a way some of the specialness of THE “M”.

While I’ve looked at a lot of cars over the years and have always stayed faithful to my initial search to find a steel gray with imola red interior M Coupe, there is one car that may make me stray.  No, not one color combination, one car.  That’s why it’s called a “unicorn”.  It’s a fabled creature that you know is out there somewhere, but the chances of seeing it are slim to none.  My unicorn is the one and only 2002 alpine white over imola red coupe that just so happens to be a sunroof-delete.

After seeing an M Roadster in this color combination on Ebay a few years ago, I was intrigued.  There were seven coupes sold in this color combination.  Five of them are S52 cars, one was built in 2001, and the last is VIN 5UMCN93422LK61273.  If anyone knows any information about this car (or any of the others), I’d be curious.  I am far from having the money to buy a car that’s not for sale but to me it’s a cool part of coupe history, and I’m always hopeful when I seen an alpine white S54 come up for sale.

What’s your unicorn?

I’ve spent quite a few years compiling a list of sites that would hopefully cover nearly all currently listed M Coupes for sale.  Here it is in the order I see most potential:

Edit: You can now click on the “Sale Listings” link at the top of the page for a complete listing of all coupes from these sources updated daily.

My Favorite

These are the sites I visit most frequently as they tend to have the most turnover and overall listings.

• AutoTrader
  Most of the people serious about selling their cars will post them on AutoTrader.  Asking prices are generally a little bit on the high side.  All the new listings are marked as such so it’s easy to find the changes.
• Google Craigslist Search
  If you’re going to find a “steal”, it will probably be on Craigslist. It also has the least informative listings and more potential for scams. Because Craiglook got shut down, I wrote a query for Google to search all Craigslist for me.  The downside is that it sometimes links to expired or removed listings.
• Ebay Motors
  Obviously the most turnover of cars and pretty good prices, but there are generally only 1-3 coupes listed at any given time.

Forum Classifieds

Classified sections of car forums are one of the best places to look for a coupe for a number of reasons.  Forum members tend to me more knowledgeable about their car and its maintenance requirements, they obviously have a passion for the car so it will probably be better taken care of than most, and other forum members will be familiar with the car to give second and third opinions about it.  They are also sorted by activity date so the most recent listings will be on top.

• Bimmerforums Main Classifieds
  You have to wade through a lot of 3-series and roadsters, but most of the best cars are listed here.  I’ve tried a few different variations of searches to try and filter the listings but haven’t found anything that consistently gives me the results I want.
• Bimmerforums Z Classifieds
  This section is meant primarily for parts, but some people post their cars here as well.  Often times they are moved to the main classifieds, but to get the right coupe you have to find them before anyone else does.
• Bimmerfest
  Unfortunately Bimmerfest does not categorize their classifieds at all so you need to wade through all the BMW listings.
• Roadfly
  Roadfly usually has a pretty nice selection but seems to be priced higher than other sites.  They also seem to charge for images so very few of the listings include photos.
• BMW CCA
  M Coupe listings are usually sparse and prices generally much higher, but there have been exceptions over the years.  Often times listings are not listed elsewhere though.

Other Classified Sites

These sites’ listings are generally covered by one of the above sites, but not always.

• Cars.com
  Not a whole lot or turnover of cars and most are listed elsewhere.  There are unique listings sometimes though and new ones are marked as “Newly Listed”.
• Carmax.com
  They rarely have a coupe, but have had a couple in the past for great prices.
• Vehix.com
  Basically worthless…but you never know.
• AOL Autos
  Most the times the listings are duplicates of above sites, but not always.
• Trovit Cars
  This site collects listings from a bunch of other sites.  It’s not always accurate though and there are quite a few duplicates. It does include Automobile Magazine classifieds which do not pop up often but for some reason always seem to have great prices.
• Oodle
  Similar to Trovit but sometimes has different cars.  Sorry, but it looks like you have to search from Fort Collins, CO.  I couldn’t figure out how to generalize my location.
• Ebay Classifieds / Kijiji.com
  No coupes yet, but I’m sure there will be with this local classifieds backed by Ebay

Canadian Sites

I’ve heard of quite a few coupes going back and forth across the border, so it must be doable. If you’re willing to expand your search further, or if you’re from Canada, here you go.

• AutoTrader.ca
  This is the Canadian AutoTrader. It doesn’t seem as stable or consistent as the one I’m used to.
• Craigslist.ca by Google
  A Google search of the Canadian Craigslist
• Kijiji.ca by Google
  A Google search of the Canadian equivalent of Craigslist

So there it is, all my secrets and a few years worth of accumulation.  If you have any sites to add to the list or need help customizing a search more specifically to you, please post in the comments.  If you happen to find a steel gray/imola M Coupe on one of the links above before I see it, be an upstanding citizen, don’t steal it, and let me know immediately. 🙂

In the four short years of BMW M Coupe production, there were essentially 3 different versions produced (6 if you count right hand drive and differentiate the European S54).  The first and most common is the North American S52-engined car.  Produced in 1999 and 2000, these cars produce 240hp and 236 lb/ft of torque.  This is the same engine as found in North American versions of the 1996-1999 E36 M3.   Europeans – as they did with their version of the E36 M3 – were offered the 321hp, 258 lb/ft S50 engine.  For 2001 and 2002, both North America and Europe received the 315hp S54 engine from the 2001-2006 E46 M3.

Model Year 2000

While the drivetrain carried over to the model year 2000 cars, a number of other changes were made beginning in cars produced after April 1999.  These include:

Exterior Color Changes

• Discontinued
  • Arctic Silver Metallic
  • Boston Green Metallic
• Added
  • Titanium Silver Metallic
  • Oxford Green II Metallic

Other Changes

• Chrome slats added to front kidney grilles
• Chrome surrounds added to headlights
• Fuel door added to central locking system
• Airbags upgraded to two-stage
• Smaller chrome trimmed mirror with auto-dimming function added
• “Coupe” detail removed from door sill (“M” remained)

Model Year 2001

The 2001 model year (cars produced after February 2001) brought the new S54 engine as mentioned above as well as an additional round of upgrades. These include:

Exterior Color Changes

• Discontinued:
  • Evergreen
  • Dakar Yellow II
  • Cosmos Black Metallic
• Added
  • Laguna Seca Blue
  • Phoenix Yellow Metallic
  • Steel Gray Metallic
  • Black Sapphire Metallic

Interior Color Changes

• Discontinued:
  • Evergreen and Black Nappa Leather
  • Kyalami Orange and Black Nappa Leather
• Added:
  • Laguna Seca Blue and Black Nappa Leather
  • Kiwi and Black Nappa Leather (never officially offered in North America)

Other Changes

• 3.15:1 differential replaces 3.23:1
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) replaces Automatic Stability Control plus Traction (ASC+T)
• Tire pressure monitoring system added
• Gray faced gauges replace black
• Exterior “M” badges now curved rather than flat
• Chrome shadow finish for the RoadStar wheels replaces satin chrome finish

Model Year 2002

• In-dash CD player becomes standard in place of now optional cassette player

Chrome on the headlight pull knob, interior door pulls, and door lock buttons seemed to come and go at random throughout the model run.  It is not indicative of model year. (Thanks Josh)

Top Gear

Top Gear has always been one of my favorite shows.  So if you have ever wondered what Jeremy Clarkson thought about the S50-engined M Coupe, watch this video.  Hint: “handling…perfection”.

Here’s the full version that the clip above is taken from including the S50 M Coupe beating the STI and Evo VI in a drag race around 1:15:

Tiff Needell also drove it back when he was still on Top Gear:

Fifth Gear

Tiff Needell of the other British car show Fifth Gear also test drove an S50 M Coupe. Here are his thoughts:

Motor Week

While not as entertaining is its British counterparts (and slightly critical of the “compromised” styling), this Motor Week test of an S52-engined M Coupe is very informative.  I thought it was interesting that their test cars were a silver sunroof-delete and a pretty rare evergreen/evergreen.

Auto Motor und Sport

Dont’ worry, it’s in English. This test is of a European S54 model and highlights some of the difference between the new 2001 model vs the 1999s and 2000s.

The BMW M Coupe is commonly referred to as a shooting-brake style car.  Shooting-brake refers to a 2-door car with a squared-off backend.  The term seems to have originated in Great Britain referring to custom-built 2-door estate cars wealthy owners modified for additional space for hunting or sporting equipment.

There is much debate over what is and is not a shooting-brake throughout history.  Some of the most common shooting brakes are:

• Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake (1963-1965)
• Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake (1992-1993)
• Jensen Gt (1975-1976)
• MGB GT (1966-1974)

Some modern manufactures such as Audi and Bentley have released recent concept cars labeled shooting-brakes, but most would just call them hatchbacks or wagons.  These include:

• Bentley Continental Flying Star (2010)
• Audi Shooting Brake Concept (2005)
• Aston Martin Bertone Jet 2 (2004)
• Chevrolet Nomad Concept (2004)

Some of the more “unique” shooting-brakes built over the years are:

• Ferrari 250 GT “Breadvan” (1962)
• Chevrolet Corvette Shooting Brake (1973)
• Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona (1975)
• Porsche 944 Turbo Shooting Brake (1994)

A great resource for additional shooting-brake information, photos and history is www.shooting-brake.com.

The BMW M Coupe may be one of the few cars where you may not want a sunroof.  Sunroofs came standard on the M Coupe with the option being a “sunroof-delete”.  Very few dealers ordering for their lots wanted to de-content their cars, so very few have this rare “option”.  It’s been reported that only 16% of coupes are sunroof-deletes (452 of 2858 to be exact).

Why Wouldn’t I?

First of all rarity.  M Coupes are rare cars to begin with, but if you’re one of the few and proud to own a sunroof-delete, you truly have something special.

Second, the M Coupe was designed to be raced.  Having a heavy glass panel on your roof raises the car’s center of gravity and takes away some structural rigidity.  So if you plan to track or autocross your coupe or if you want your coupe to be more in tune with the intentions of it’s original design, go sunroof-delete.

Third, the sunroof of the M Coupe only tilts, it does not open.  It seems almost an afterthought by the designer (see #2 above).

Fourth, the roof of a sunroof-delete coupe looks more clean.

Why Would I?

First, you dont’ like paying more for less.  There seems to be a price premium on sunroof-delete coupes, and if not in price, they seem to sell faster.  Many people don’t like paying more to not have something they typically have to pay more to have.

Second, you like the open-air feeling in the interior.

Third, you like fitting in.

Last, there is actually a little more headroom, especially when the sunroof is tilted.  This could be critical for taller people who need to fit a helmet at the track. (thanks Chuck)

Personally, I think I’m neutral on the issue.  I don’t think it’s a make it or break it issue in my own car purchase.  I typically love having sunroofs in my cars.  The reasons above are what evens things out.  There’s something about having a car in a configuration you know there are less than 5 of.

The 1999-2002 M Coupe is one of the most polarizing designs ever released by BMW.  Both M Coupe lovers and haters will boast or disparage that it was designed by engineers not stylists.  With nicknames like “Clown Shoe”, “Breadvan”, and “Elf Hearse” even the most serious M Coupe owner has to have a sense of humor.   While it has many detractors styling-wise, you would be hard-pressed to find one complaining about the drive.

I, for one, was immediately taken by the design when it was shown at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show.  It was purposeful and curvy, striking yet classic, and caught my eye like few designs ever have before.  Thirteen years later I think it has stood the test of time like few others.  The M Coupe is styled so uniquely and without any of the design trends of its era that it looks just as modern today as it did then.  When I find my perfect M Coupe, I don’t plan on getting rid of it through any means other than my will.  I know because of its uniqueness, it will still be looking good many years in the future.

In early 2001, a guidance counselor at my high school purchased a silver 2001 Z3 Coupe.  It wasn’t an M, but still had all the curves I’d come to love.  Each day driving up to the parking lot, I would look to see if it was there and would park accordingly.  I always looked for excuses to walk by it.  I had a chance to talk to Mr. Graham one day after track practice and he was surprised that I knew everything about his car.  He promised one day he would let me drive it.  Months later, when the weather improved, I got my chance.  At the time, the only manual transmission I had ever driven was my grandpa’s pickup through an Iowa cornfield.  In the days leading up to the “big day” I drove several of my friends cars just to refresh my skills, so I wouldn’t embarrass myself in the coupe.  Well, it didn’t drive like my grandpa’s truck, nor any of my friends’ cars.  While my friends Geo Metro took a firm right foot just to get it up and moving, I had to be light on the gas pedal in the coupe.  I successfully pulled out of the school parking lot without an embarrassing stall.  I turned on to the country road that ran away from the school looking for some wide open spaces.  I babied the car for a while until we came to the end of the road and turned around.  Then Mr. Graham told me to stop babying it and punch it.  That was when I decided I had to have one someday.

The Denver Auto Show in March 2001 introduced me to the color Steel Gray that was offered starting in 2001.  While I liked the silver on Mr. Grahams’ car, Steel Gray was a much deeper color. It was also going to be more rare as it was only offered for two years.  The 2001 cars also brought the 315hp S54 engine from the E46 M3.  1999 and 2000 cars have the 240hp S52 engine from the E36 M3.  The topper was the display car’s black and Imola Red two-tone interior.  I knew then I had found my dream car.  While some might argue such an eye-catching car deserves an eye-catching color like Phoenix Yellow or Laguna Seca Blue, when I’m in the purchase for the long haul, I want a color I’m not going to get tired of.  The excitement is in the design itself and the beautiful Imola Red interior.

Since that time over 9 years ago, I’ve been in pursuit of this color combination.  I always knew this color combination would be a challenge to find, only recently did I learn just how hard it might be.  There are only 23 ever sold in North America in these colors.  At this time, I’ve only seen four come up for sale. The first came up for sale while I was still in college and did not have the funds, nor the garage to store it in.  The next popped up the day my son was born.  Yes, I was looking for M Coupes from my wife’s hospital room…they were both sleeping.  While it was a decent price, it was in Ohio.  Some things will always be more important than any car, so I let it go in order to spend that important time with my family.  It was soon sold.  The next was listed on Christmas Eve 2009.  At first I thought God had given me the perfect Christmas gift.  Not only was it my colors, it had 18,000 miles and is a sunroof-delete (1 of only 2).  The problem came when I saw the price…$59,995.  A month later, the other Steel Gray/Imola sunroof-delete coupe came on the market, and this one was only 50 miles away.  It seemed meant to be.  It only had 7,000 miles and was showroom stock.  And while a relative bargain, was priced at $49,500.  It’s just my luck that the only two cars I had seen in years in the color combination I had pursued were priced $15k and $25k more than any other M Coupe currently for sale (but worth every penny).  Both are still for sale, so visit my sponsors and help me buy one.