Photo: Bringatrailer.com
The standard BMW E46 M3 had around 340 HP depending on the market it was sold on. In Europe the power output was a little higher while in the US things went a little downward. Either way, the sensations provided by this car, especially in stick shift guise would turn anyone into an enthusiast.
Shame it went out of production nearly 10 years ago, right? Well, if you’re still one of the fanatics that wants one but never got to buy it when it was brand new, the second-hand market has some options for you.
Not too many though, as this is still a very sought after car but those you do find might even be better than expected at first. Take this one we found on bringatrailer.com
The seller claims it has just 16,700 miles (aprox 27.000 km) on the chassis and that it’s accident-free. As far as optional features go, you can include the Luxury Package, Cold Weather Package, Harman Kardon sound system, power seats and xenon lights. Basically, it has almost everything you could get back then. On top of that, it’s also a manual!
That’s just the prelude though, as this little sleeper will surprise you even more with what is hiding under the bonnet. Even though there’s no badge on the outside to tell you this, we’ll let you in on a little secret: this is actually a Dinan S3-R.
For those of you that don’t know what that means, we’ll dissect the issue in a moment. On the S54 inline 6-cylinder engine was installed an S3-R supercharger along with new throttle bodies, 4.10:1 final drive ration, exhaust system and a stage IV tune. The power output was therefore taken up to 465 HP.
According to the ad “StopTech rotors and Hawk brake pads are also fresh, and a CSL-spec suspension alignment should offer noticeable handling improvements,” and we tend to agree.
Ready to buy it? Well, you should know that the car is currently located in Toronto so if your reside in the US some inquiries about importing it should be done. Oh, and you’d better hurry up, at the time of writing, there were just 12 hours left on the clock to grab it and the bid reached up to $24,000.
Not too many though, as this is still a very sought after car but those you do find might even be better than expected at first. Take this one we found on bringatrailer.com
The seller claims it has just 16,700 miles (aprox 27.000 km) on the chassis and that it’s accident-free. As far as optional features go, you can include the Luxury Package, Cold Weather Package, Harman Kardon sound system, power seats and xenon lights. Basically, it has almost everything you could get back then. On top of that, it’s also a manual!
That’s just the prelude though, as this little sleeper will surprise you even more with what is hiding under the bonnet. Even though there’s no badge on the outside to tell you this, we’ll let you in on a little secret: this is actually a Dinan S3-R.
For those of you that don’t know what that means, we’ll dissect the issue in a moment. On the S54 inline 6-cylinder engine was installed an S3-R supercharger along with new throttle bodies, 4.10:1 final drive ration, exhaust system and a stage IV tune. The power output was therefore taken up to 465 HP.
Keeping the new power in check required even more changes
A new Brembo Big Brake kit was also added to the mix, TC Kline adjustable coilovers, Rouge Engineering short shift kit, a new limited slip differential at the back, new clutch and new gearbox. All of them were included to keep the new power output in check.According to the ad “StopTech rotors and Hawk brake pads are also fresh, and a CSL-spec suspension alignment should offer noticeable handling improvements,” and we tend to agree.
Ready to buy it? Well, you should know that the car is currently located in Toronto so if your reside in the US some inquiries about importing it should be done. Oh, and you’d better hurry up, at the time of writing, there were just 12 hours left on the clock to grab it and the bid reached up to $24,000.
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