10:27 01-06-2026

The slowest M3 CS in years is becoming the most wanted one

No extra power, no all-wheel drive — but US buyers are lining up for the manual M3 CS, and dealers are already asking over MSRP.

The BMW M3 CS with a six-speed manual has turned into a unicorn faster than anyone saw coming. Demand for the three-pedal version in the US is so strong that dealers are already building waiting lists — and that’s despite one awkward detail. Unlike most previous CS models, the new CS doesn’t get a power bump over the standard M3. Buyers don’t seem to mind.

What pulled them in isn’t the output figure but the configuration itself. This is a rear-wheel-drive BMW M3 of the G80 generation with the S58 engine, CS-spec tuning and details, a six-speed manual, and throwback paint codes like Imola Red and Techno Violet. For American BMW M fans, that’s about as close to a dream recipe as it gets. The US is currently one of the last strongholds for high-performance BMWs with a stick — and Munich finally listened.

Preliminary numbers suggest roughly 800–900 manual M3 CS units will reach the US market. Allocation is tight: BMW M dealers reportedly get two cars each, regular dealerships about one, unless quotas shift. As a result, most stores already have waiting lists, and some are asking serious money over MSRP.

And here’s the paradox. While most brands are quietly burying the manual gearbox, the BMW M3 CS with three pedals is causing a frenzy precisely because of it. The lack of a power increase hasn’t scared anyone off. For these buyers, rarity, rear-wheel drive and a manual matter more — especially because all three are on borrowed time.

Previously, the BMW X10 Pickup concept hinted at a possible truck based on the brand’s flagship SUV.