Nobody at the Chengdu Auto Show expected this: a Tarantas News photographer stumbled on one of the rarest cars on BMW's stand — the M3 40th Anniversary Limited Edition. The Bavarians built two versions at once, a sedan and the M3 Touring wagon, marking 40 years since the very first M3, the E30, launched back in 1986.
The run is brutally short: just 40 cars for the Chinese market — 20 sedans and 20 wagons. The four-door M3 costs 1.038 million yuan, while the M3 Touring runs 1.068 million yuan — roughly $145,000 and $149,000 at current exchange rates.
The sedan gives itself away instantly — Laguna Seca Blue, one of BMW M's most iconic historical colors. Black 19- and 20-inch 826M wheels and blue brake calipers finish the look.
The wagon plays a completely different card. Its body is finished in Wildberry, with wheels in a gold-bronze shade. Both versions share black-trimmed kidney grilles, darkened lighting, and special anniversary badging.
Inside sit carbon bucket seats, Merino leather in Silverstone/Black, and an M steering wheel wrapped in Alcantara. Anniversary emblems show up on the headrests, sills, and center console. The sedan gets blue stitching, the Touring gets Amethyst.
Under the hood, nothing's changed: the familiar 3.0-liter inline-six with twin turbos. In M xDrive trim it makes 530 hp and 650 Nm, paired with an 8-speed M Steptronic automatic and all-wheel drive. The standard M3 M xDrive hits 62 mph in 3.5 seconds, the M3 Touring in 3.6.
BMW also loosened the electronics for the occasion: top speed climbs to 180 mph for the sedan and 174 mph for the wagon. It's an anniversary, after all.
The price tag underlines the collector status too. A standard Chinese M3 M xDrive costs 913,900 yuan, and the M3 Touring 943,900 yuan. So the anniversary premium works out to roughly 124,000 yuan — about $17,300.
This series was never announced for other markets. But with a production run capped at just 40 cars, even a single example arriving through grey-market import would make it a far rarer find than a regular M3 or M3 Touring.
