Has there ever been a new car pricing story on PH that's received well? Probably not. If the car itself isn't too much money, then the options are expensive, there isn't enough power, or you just can't get hold of one. And it seems the opprobrium is unlikely to come to an end with the latest news: the new BMW M3 costs from £75k.
Or £74,755 to be precise, as the configurator now tells us with the car on sale in the UK. That's for a rear-wheel drive Competition with the automatic gearbox, the price rising to £76,055 for the M4 coupe. For reference, an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio starts at £67,195 and a C63 S saloon from £76,903 - so perhaps that price isn't entirely shocking. Up the '63 to Premium Plus specification and the recommended OTR price is £80,017.
As for the M4 Coupe, again the Mercedes is the most obvious rival. The only C63 two-door currently available is the Night Edition Premium Plus S, which costs £83,800. And, as our most recent twin test displayed, it's easy to spend £90k on one. But that will be the case for the M4 buyer, too...
Frozen Brilliant White bumps up the price by £4k, the M Carbon Pack with the bucket seats costs £6,750 and the M Pro Pack (adding ceramic brakes) is £7,995. And Ultimate Pack as seen on the M5 combines the M Carbon, Comfort, Visibility and Technology packages for £11,250, but that still leaves the brake upgrade box unticked. Go berserk with wheel and upholstery upgrades and it is possible to make a £100k M4 Competition. So there's some news for a Tuesday morning.
With the M3 and M4 on sale, deliveries are expected to begin in March; it isn't absolutely clear just yet when the xDrive variants will follow, but they will of course command a premium over the RWD Competition. Finally, before you get too cross with BMW again, a couple of things: back in 2007, an E92 M3 costs £52,910, and that's £74k today with inflation taken into account. And don't forget there's that Touring on the way, too...
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