First drive: the BMW M3 ‘Competition Pack’ / 2009 BMW M3
Clearly a BMW M3, less clearly a BMW M3 with the new Competition Pack fitted. But you don’t have to look too closely to spot the design tweaks: the exhaust tips are black, so are the grille, window surround, mirror caps and side gills, and even the badge. I like that last one – it looks stealthy and cool. Plus there are new wheels: 20-inch rims running 265/30 and 285/30 tyres (the standard M3 runs 19s that are 10mm narrower front and rear). I’m not sure about the design, although they’ve got plenty of visual clout.
Favorite Features: I’d have the M3, not because it’s the cheapest, but because it looks the best. No-one else agrees – I think the sales split is well over 80 per cent M4. BMW expects take up of the Competition Pack to be around the 75 per cent mark. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have it. The Competition Pack takes the slack out of standard car, and the waywardness, too. It’s purer and more focused, usefully sharper and no less refined to live with. I reckon it’s borderline transformative, the car the M3 always should have been.
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Original owner of this vehicle? Yes
Would you recommend this
vehicle to a friend?
Yes