Benjamin M. Monroe Blog: BMW M3 30 Years American Edition one-off launches at SEMA

Monday, October 30, 2017

BMW M3 30 Years American Edition one-off launches at SEMA

Designed to help celebrate 30 years of the BMW M3 in America, the Bavarian brand has just debuted a new, one-off car at SEMA — the BMW M3 30 Years American Edition.

Sitting next to the brand-new BMW M5 M Performance Parts car was the M3 American Edition. While fans were excited to see the former, no one could take their eyes off the latter. It’s certainly the most polarizing production BMW M3 we’ve ever seen. Love it or hate it, it’s certainly an eye-catcher.

The BMW M3 30 Years American Edition has been designed and created by BMW’s DesignWorks and was built by BMW Individual. It’s a unique, one-of-a-kind, M3 that’s been built to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the M3 being sold in America. So it’s not to be confused with the BMW M3 30 Jahre that debuted last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the M3 as a whole. This American Edition is literally one of one, so it’s a bit more special. And it shows, as BMW went to much further lengths to make it special.

It wears very unique Frozen Red II paint work with black accents. Its Kidney Grilles are black, as are the air breathers and the mirror caps. One of the most noticeable parts of its exterior is its fixed, carbon fiber M performance spoiler. While fans may not love the big fixed wing, it does make it look more aggressive and help it stand out.

But the best part of the BMW M3 30 Years American Edition is its wheel package. It gets similar wheels to the BMW M4 CS, the Style 763M wheels that look so incredible. Except they’re finished in a faint gold, which looks really good. The wheels are said to resemble those of the original E30 M3 Warsteiner DTM car. But the red and gold color scheme actually reminds me of the original Lamborghini Miura SV, which is an immense compliment.

Though, inside, things get a bit wild. The BMW M3 American Edition is by far the most interesting production BMW M interiors we’ve ever seen. It’s been given a tri-tone interior, done by DesignWorks, in red, white and blue, as in the American flag. There are also some logos on the trim, which depict an American flag with the number “30” in it. It’s certainly an interesting interior color scheme and if you’re going to make a one-off, why not make it interesting?

We also like that it’s a six-speed manual, as evidenced by the new M Performance shift lever. That makes this car ever more special than it already is, as manual M3s are becoming rarer and rarer.

Mechanically, it’s the same as a standard BMW M3 Competition Package. So it gets the same 444 hp 3.0 liter turbocharged I6, revised suspension, steering and differential as that car. That’s no hardship, though, as the M3 Comp Pack is one of the best all-around sport sedans on the planet.

The total cost for this BMW M3 30 Years American Edition is $128,635 plus $995 in destination fees. While that’s a lot for an M3, considering the base car starts in the mid-$60,000 range, it’s a very unique, one-off BMW M3 designed to celebrate 30 years of the M3 in America. That’s quite special and I’m sure BMW will have no problem selling it.