What: 2016 BMW M3 Color: BMW Individual Signal Green(signalgrün; non-metallic UNI; P56/6; BMW) VIN: Unknown Mileage: 113,000 miles Price: $34,999 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Trumbull, CT Listing: Link
Are F80-generation M3’s finally starting to get… cheap? This Signal Green example has a few headwinds- 4 previous owners, 2 accidents reported (claimed), DCT, high miles, secondary cat deletes- but has even more tailwinds in the form of Euro bumpers, GTS model reprogramming for steering, transmission and differential, and upgraded cooling by CSF among others. So are you ready to roll the dice on a $35k Tailored Driver M3, or would you prefer to hold out for an example with fewer ‘stories’? Either way- this is market where depreciation is finally taking hold.
What: 2018 BMW M3 CS Color: BMW Individual Frozen Dark Blue II(dunkelblau; matte; WP5Z; BMW) VIN: WBS8M9C54J5L01077 Mileage: 33,241 miles Price Estimate: $69,991 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Auto Boom, Scottsdale, AZ Listing: Link
BMW Individual Frozen Dark Blue II might look familiar to fans of the F80-generation BMW M3 CS, and that’s because it is. Sharing its base coat with the CS-standard San Marino Blue but with a matte finish as opposed to the traditional clear coat, Frozen Dark Blue II is just the right amount of different. And with BMW’s CS being widely recognized as ‘the new M’, this M3 is certain to be a future collectable.
What: 2024 BMW M4 Competition Color: Sepia Brown II (sepiabraunii; non-metallic Uni; P7Y; BMW) VIN: WBS33AZ09RCP43984 Mileage: 12,093 Price: $81,990 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: N/A Location: Beaverton Nissan, Beaverton, OR Listing:Link
Why We Love It:
We’re solid fans of “tone-on-tone” cars, where the exterior and the interior are coordinated as the same color, perhaps off by a degree of shade. Now, throw in an unexpected color like brown and you’re playing at a whole other level of originality.
In the case of this G82-generation M4 Competition, that exterior color is BMW Individual Sepia II Brown and it’s paired with Tartufo Brown Leather. No doubt brown-on-brown is going to be polarizing, but to the people who get it this car likely has a whole other level of attraction.
What: 2023 BMW M8 Competition Color: BMW Individual Santorini Blue(santorinblauii; non-metallic uni; 327; BMW) VIN: WBSAE0C03PCK87272 Mileage: 13,557 Price: $98,995 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: Pictured below Location: Manhattan Motorcars, New York, NY Dealer Listing:Link
Why We Love It:
An M8 Competition that could’ve easily been ordered by a big fan of BMW’s racing efforts, this Santorini Blue Tailored Driver is a very bold play. For years the M8 saw duty as BMW’s GT3 race car homologation of choice, most notably campaigned by Turner Motorsports here in the US. It also just happens that the Blue and Yellow livery donned by Turner features a blue that’s strikingly similar to the Santorini Blue seen here. While that’s all speculation, what isn’t is this Tailored Driver‘s ability to turn heads.
What: 2000 BMW Z3 3.0 Coupé Color: Evergreen (immergrün; non-metallic uni; 358, BMW) VIN: N/A Mileage: 208,930 km (129,823 miles) Price: € 19,950 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: AutoMooij, Beek en Donk, The Netherlands Dealer listing:Link
Why we love it:
This particular BMW Z3 Coupé isn’t low mileage, though not hatefully high. It’s not a one-off BMW Individual paint, though it is fairly rare. At the time, BMW offered Evergreen with dual-tone black and green interior. That was the late 1990s / early 2000s when such combinations were kitsch cool for those in the know. The take rate wasn’t high, which made them rare. And Evergreen, we’d argue, should be due to have its day again given the uptick in pastel colors we’ve been seeing in paint to sample catalogues.
Back to this car, don’t be fooled that it’s a Z3 M. It’s a 3.0 wearing M Coupé wheels, but hardcore aficionados will recognize that the bumpers are different, the side vents and single side exhaust. Even still, for someone seeking a rare spec “clown shoe”, this car’s a great spec and appears to be a solid driver.
This is one of our Euro market finds, so the usual caveats apply for our primarily North American readership. For Europe and other markets, we focus on cars older than 25 years, meaning a relatively easy import into the USA. This is often done by working with firms such as our friends at Orchid Euro, you can have the car purchased, transported to port, shipped to America and cleared through customs for clients seeking this sort of service.
What: 2020 BMW M4 Competition Color: BMW Individual Java Green Metallic II (javagruen; metallic uni; P7V/6; BMW) VIN: WBS4Y9C05LFH12964 Mileage: 8,184 Price: $71,000 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: N/A Location: Premier Auto Lounge, Clearwater, FL Dealer Listing:Link
Why We Love It:
Java is an incredibly dynamic green- loud, but not obnoxious- at least to us. This M4 Competition’s prior owner took that Comp badge to heart, adding some choice track-focused OEM+ modifications, further helping it to stand out from the other M cars at Publix. That’s something we can get behind. Believe it or not, this is the second Java Green F80-gen M car we’ve featured from Clearwater, Florida’s Premier Auto Lounge. The dealer seems to pride itself on having a few Tailored Drivers in stock at any given time, meaning that there’s a good chance you’ll be seeing them again soon.
Porsche 993 remaster firm Gunther Werks has been teasing its idea of a reimagined E30 BMW M3 for a few years now, though recent activity on their stories has us believing they’re finally ready to pull the wraps off of their box-flared beauty.
Just last week we got a story with a potential name “Incignia”, and now we’ve got another story with a new rear quarter rendering revealing taillight design, and a link to a new Instagram account @incigniadesignthat appears to be the official account of their M3 business line.
We’ve taken the image, flipped it horizontally and used an AI tool to fill in the gap for a better look at the whole car. We’ll keep watching Gunther Werks for more information, but for now enjoy what we’ve got here and give them a follow on Instagram HERE.
BMW Macao Blue Metallic is a color that’s only ever been standard on M cars. It debuted on the BMW M3 (type E30) in 1986, though didn’t carry over to more modern M-cars until 2016 when it resurfaced as the spec color for the BMW M3 30 Jahre (type F80).
Macao Blue Metallic is a darker blue, sitting more on the purple side of the blue spectrum. Most often, it appears as blue, though purple undertones seem to pop under certain lighting.
Given its history with BMW’s M division, Macao Blue is a subtle choice that can be had from BMW Individual, harkening an if-you-know-you-know appreciative nod from other BMW aficionados while largely going unnoticed to average members of the populace.
What: 1990 BMW M3 Johnny Cecotto Limited Edition Color: Macao Blue Metallic (macaoblau; metallic uni; 250; BMW) Chassis #: 06HRN5 | 1941915 Mileage: 71,804 km, 44,616 miles Price: €149,950 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: DTM Collectibles, Hilversum, Netherlands Auction Link:Link
Why We Love It:
The E30 generation M3 is already one of the most sought-after classic BMWs on the planet, now throw in one of the rare limited editions and that compounds the value to enthusiasts – particularly enthusiasts of the 80s “rad-era” variety. In this case, the E30 M3 in question is a 1990, one the Johnny Cecotto Limited Edition models, and one of just 50 to be sold to in Swiss specification.
For the uninitiated, Johnny Cecotto was a multi-talented professional driver of Italian and Venezuelan decent who won the motorcycle racing world championship at just 19 years old, and would later compete in F1 and the DTM where he raced for BMW in the E30 M3. Due to his success there and apparent participation int he development of the E30 M3 road car, BMW introduced this special edition as a tribute to him and unveiled it in 1989.
BMW M created a video featuring Johnny Cecotto talking about the car and his career with BMW. Watch it here.
The Johnny Cecotto Edition boasted several notable changes, including an upgraded 215 horsepower version of the BMW’s S14 2.3-liter engine, plus larger front splitter and revised rear wing that would later also be used by the M3 Sport Evolution. Thinner side and rear glass helped reduce weight, while components like valve covers and intake manifold were color-matched to the car and the centers of the car’s 16-inch BBS 2-piece wheels were painted black. Body colors available were limited to Misano Red, Nogaro Silver and Macao Blue like this car. A plaque showing his name could be found on the center console.
Over its production run, BMW built 5,000 E30 M3s, which qualify as a homologation special having been produced explicitly to meet production requirements in order to compete in the German DTM touring series. Over the course of production, 480 Johnny Cecotto Edition M3s were built, with another 25 similar cars built as tribute to fellow M3 DTM driver Roberto Ravaglia. Interestingly, it would be Ravaglia who netted BMW a championship in 1989, while Cecotto’s best BMW DTM season result was as runner-up in 1990 when this car was manufactured.
Back to this car, it is a great specification from the factory, with Macao Blue Metallic paint and grey interior including rare grey M Tech fabric seat centers, a design that was unique to the special edition M3s including the Cecotto and the Evolution. M Tech is more commonly found in black, with reproductions available in the market.
Making this car a little more unique is the fact that it was built to Swiss specification. Only 50 cars were imported into Switzerland, and this Macao Blue example was one of those cars. It was delivered first to a dentist in Zürich, who later sold it to the final previous owner more than 20 years ago. The paint is said to be original.
What: 1999 BMW M3 Evolution Convertible Color: BMW Individual Violet Blue(violettblau; non-metallic; 528; BMW)) Chassis #: WBSBK920X0EX67158 Mileage: 46,400mi Price: Auction CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Ryan Friedman Motorcars, Glen Cove, NY Auction Link:Link
Why We Love It:
The M3 we didn’t get, in a color we couldn’t- there’s a ton to like here. Sure the E36 generation’s M3 was offered in the US, but to many enthusiasts (or snobs), the S52 that powered it wasn’t really an M motor, just a 328i motor that’d been hot rodded a bit. Regardless of opinion, this M3 has the full-fat M3 Evo motor, and more importantly, the 6 speed manual that was specific to the Evo version. Further adding to the conversation is that this Tailored Driver is a right hand drive version, and a convertible- hardly the hardcore enthusiast’s choice. But to us, this represents a great opportunity to get in the Tailored market with a genuinely cool car.
