BMW Debuts Limited M3 Coupe Competition Edition

BMW isn't quite as special-edition happy with the M3 as Porsche is with their cars, but they're getting closer.  They introduced another limited-edition version of the M3 today, limited to 40 units total in the US called the Coupe Competition Edition.

Built to celebrate the M Division's upcoming 40th birthday (40 years already?  Really?), the Competition Coupe is a number of visual changes along with a bit of extra hardware.  The paint is a special "Frozen Silver Metallic," similar to the M3 Frozen Gray special edition from last year, but a little lighter.  This semi-matte-finish color looks simply amazing in pictures; hopefully it won't be as hard to maintain as the Frozen Gray is.  Black hood ducts, and dark chrome kidney grills, side grills and exhaust tips round out the changes on the outside.  It looks great, but so does a regular M3.

Inside, "Extended Novillo Leather seats with Palladium Silver inserts" (wow, that is descriptive) coddle the driver and passenger, and there's silver color-matched stitching on the seats, doors, console, and armrest.  The steering wheel is covered in Alcantara, and there are checkered-flag inlays on the door trim panels, as well as carbon fiber trim for the center console and dash.  I think the "M Power" parking brake handle is worth at least 40 horsepower, as well.

Mechanically, the Coupe Competition gets a 10mm lower suspension from the Competition Package and wider 19" black-colored M3 GTS alloy wheels.  The electronic damping programming is more aggressive, and the stability control's "M Dynamic Mode" setting has higher thresholds.  All Competition Coupes will come with BMW's 7-speed M-DCT twin clutch automated manual mated to the 414bhp 4.0L V8.  BMW claims 4.5s 0-60 for the Coupe Competition Edition.

All 40 units destined for the US are identical, and will be priced at $81,060 - which is $21,700 more than the base price of an M3 Coupe, and $18,325 more than a Competition Package M3.  Although if you include some of the other stuff this special edition has (the Competition Package, the Premium Package to get the Extended Novillo Leather seats, Cold weather, M-DCT which is optional on regular M3's, etc) the price difference drops down to $6,525.  Which is still a pretty expensive paint job, but what price exclusivity?