Lime Rock Edition M3 - The Ultimate Poser Machine?

The just announced, soon to be released, Lime Rock Edition E92 M3 is another limited edition M3 from BMW North America. Painted fire orange with cloth seats, competition package and a driving experience vetted by none other then Bill Auberlen the specially spec'ed M3 has enthusiasts buzzing.

In this case, however, one enthusiasts isn't so happy. Bill Caswell from Jalopnik has heralded the Lime Rock Park Edition M3 as 'The Death of BMW's M Brand'. In a well written rant Bill qualifies the new M3 as -

It's for guys who want to be associated with racetracks but don't actually go to the track themselves. It's for the modern poser racer. A luxury version of those fast and furious Honda civics with race seats and belts but stock engines that kids drive around on the street.

His primary argument is that BMW named the car after a race track and it is supposed to be a track car but it has no engine or suspension upgrades. It is no more track worth then any other M3 with the competition package. If it is going to be named after a race track and be pitched as a track day car, then it should have track day goods. Perhaps a power bump, stiffer suspension, additional chassis braces, or something! I don't think Bill is giving enough credit to the M3 out of the box as a viable track machine, but I do understand his point.

He goes on to rip down just about every other BMW M car for becoming soft and luxurious and not built to go racing. Yes, I wish BMW would build more extreme road going cars like the E92 M3 GTS but to think that road going cars are going to be competitive at racing is simply no longer true. Road cars and race cars are no longer related in almost every level of competition. BMW can't build a streetable car that it could race in ALMS or almost any other form of motorsports. The ability to build a production car that can also go racing is simply no longer possible.

Read the entire Death of BMW's M Brand and let us know what you think. Has BMW sold it's M soul?

IMO, no different than any other "premium" brand that releases special editions of a car at the model's end-of-life. The M3 is going away soon, to be replaced by the new generation, so all the special versions come out to milk it for all its worth.

Purists are going to bitch and whine, but the fact is these special models sell out at list price (or higher!) every time, which fuels the fire to BMW and other manufacturers to keep making more special editions. Well, I suppose the good side is the profits can go to developing the next M3.

As for M cars going "soft"... well, BMW builds what sells, and apparently consumers want soft sports cars. Don't blame BMW.

Meh, none of the M cars were "race" cars right from the factory. Not even the E30.

The Limerock Park Edition and other regular E90 M3's are more race track worthy than 99.99% of all cars on the road. So, I'd tell the guy to quit his bitchin and enjoy the ride. If you want a race car, build a race car.....

Originally Posted by OBS3SSION

IMO, no different than any other "premium" brand that releases special editions of a car at the model's end-of-life. The M3 is going away soon, to be replaced by the new generation, so all the special versions come out to milk it for all its worth.

Purists are going to bitch and whine, but the fact is these special models sell out at list price (or higher!) every time, which fuels the fire to BMW and other manufacturers to keep making more special editions. Well, I suppose the good side is the profits can go to developing the next M3.

As for M cars going "soft"... well, BMW builds what sells, and apparently consumers want soft sports cars. Don't blame BMW.

YEP...... Just marketing plain and simple.

I guess he should just buy a Porsche GT3 RS. Its no different than every other manufacture taking on a name to add some prestige and heritage to a model. But to compare it too a riced out civic is going a little to far me thinks.

Sent from my thumb to your eyes

Originally Posted by MJS

Meh, none of the M cars were "race" cars right from the factory. Not even the E30.

The Limerock Park Edition and other regular E90 M3's are more race track worthy than 99.99% of all cars on the road. So, I'd tell the guy to quit his bitchin and enjoy the ride. If you want a race car, build a race car.....

Believe me you do not want to drive a race car on the street. The days of the daily driver street car that you drove to work every day and then drove to the track and raced on the weekend was over 40 years ago.

Lime Rock is the official car of Lime Rock and M3s are used ar LRP as pace cars, and safety cars and the Drivers Club has a few of them for the members to drive. They are very capable track cars in stock form and they are driven hard every day and stand up very well, The Lime Rock Edition is as much an M car as any M3 with a few bits added to make it distinctive.

CA

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Believe me you do not want to drive a race car on the street.

Indeed. Reminds me of the Top Gear episode where they go looking for the best road in the world. Hamster brought a GT3 RS and Jeremy had a Lambo Superlagerra (sp?). And of all people, Capt. Slow has an Aston Martin race car. Needless to say, James May wasn't very happy with his choice and suffered greatly driving a race car on the street.

There are posts all over Bimmerfest touting what a great track car the M3 is and how practical it is as a daily driver. The M3 is not a race car, is no marketed as a race car and BMW makes no claims that it is a race car. The M3 is a street car that works very well as a track day car in showroom stock form.

The Lime Rock Edition M3 is the same configurtion that is used every day at LRP as pace cars, in the Skip Barber School, for hot laps and as track cars by the Drivers Club.
It is painted a distinctive color, has some minor performance bits and some trim bits added. Somehow this transforms it into the "Ultimate Poseur Machine".

I have two friends who have ordered them, they are both members of the Lime Rock Drivers Club and each own several other cars including dedicated track cars and they are both involved in competetive racing. They both intend to use them as both street and track cars and I have no doubt that they will be excellent track cars and will be pushed hard by skilled drivers. A third member, who owns several M cars including an M3 GTS. is seriously considering purchasing one.


These people hardly fit the stereotype described in the Jalopnik article.

It's for guys who want to be associated with racetracks but don't actually go to the track themselves. It's for the modern poser racer. A luxury version of those fast and furious Honda civics with race seats and belts but stock engines that kids drive around on the street.

If you want a street legal car that is a great track car, a blast to drive, is light, has no unnecessary gimmicks get one of these,



CA

Caswell was outed on Jalopnik for turning on BMW and a few other companies when his sponsorship shakedowns failed. After reading a few stories about his antics, its clear those sponsors made wise decisions. Read the story's comments for the gory details, and you won't think much of the article after that- I didn't.

Originally Posted by MJS

Meh, none of the M cars were "race" cars right from the factory. Not even the E30.

I thought by definition the E30 M3 was a homologation model and therefore a streetable race car?

As for the car, if there were suspension or performance mods it would greatly increase the cost with such low volume of production. I don't see the big deal. The M3 GTR was great, but who could afford that?

Originally Posted by Chris90

I thought by definition the E30 M3 was a homologation model and therefore a streetable race car?

As for the car, if there were suspension or performance mods it would greatly increase the cost with such low volume of production. I don't see the big deal. The M3 GTR was great, but who could afford that?

It's more like the M3 is a trackable street car.

Driving on a track on a BMWCCA or PCA track day is a very diffenent experience than driving in a race. The M3s that are used in race series are highly modified from the steet versions and have full roll ages, racing seats and 5 point harnesses etc.

BMW is he official car of Lime Rock and they supply LRP with pace cars, safety cars, cars for hot laps at major events and cars for the Drivers Club. These cars are for the most completely factory stock and are very capable track cars.

The pace car drivers and Drivers Club Coaches are huge M3 fans. The Lime Rock Edition M3 is a very capable track car
(as is anr M3) and does have a few minor performance enhancements (such as the perf ormance exhaust) and I suspect that they will sell out quickly and that many of them will be used as track day cars.

CA

at least it's an m3. 335 m-sport - now we're talking poseurs.

The Lime Rock Edition BMW M3 on the track at Lime Rock Park.




Skip Barber's comments on the
2013 BMW M3 Lime Rock Park Edition Coupe
"A newcomer looks at the track map and thinks, 'Oh, this is easy.' It's not. Lime Rock is an extremely difficult track to drive quickly. It has three of what many drivers think are some of the most challenging corners in North America: The Uphill, West Bend and The Downhill," Barber said. "There are tricky cambers, extreme elevation changes, very high speeds... all Lime Rock signatures since it opened 55 years ago. And the BMW M3 Lime Rock Park Edition Coupe, when equipped with the six-speed manual, is geared perfectly – and I mean perfectly – for the track. I agree with Bill Auberlen's take: I wouldn't change a thing."

Wow, just checked one out at BMW of Warwick! Suppose to be the only 1 in New England. Not crazy about the exterior color but loved the interior! All sport model seats should be like these and hold cradle the driver. Price was list, around $82,???. (Told selling $15,000 over on West coast)Best part was that it even had a real clutch!

Originally Posted by JackalopeZX3

Wow, just checked one out at BMW of Warwick! Suppose to be the only 1 in New England. Not crazy about the exterior color but loved the interior! All sport model seats should be like these and hold cradle the driver. Price was list, around $82,???. (Told selling $15,000 over on West coast)Best part was that it even had a real clutch!

Newport BMW had one about three months ago. The sales guy said it was slated for a local guy with a stable of sports cars. It's the only time I've seen one up close. I'm not so keen on the color.

Originally Posted by JackalopeZX3

Wow, just checked one out at BMW of Warwick! Suppose to be the only 1 in New England. Not crazy about the exterior color but loved the interior! All sport model seats should be like these and hold cradle the driver. Price was list, around $82,???. (Told selling $15,000 over on West coast)Best part was that it even had a real clutch!

It may be the only one available for sale in New England but it is definitely not the only one in New England. I have two friends that live in Connecticut that have Lime Rock M3s.

That's what I meant to say...."Only Lime Rock FOR SALE in NE." (at least as of last week)
I also live in CT. Your two friends, U know were they bought their Lime Rocks & how much they paid? Curious to know if Warwick dealer was quoting correct list price. Going online to BMW of N. America, I could not find any info. on the Lime Rock. Any links from BMW on it?

The sales manager at a local BMW dealer just bought a Lime Rock Edition.

He traded in his Atacama Yellow 2011 Z4 35is. I guess he likes bright cars! If any one is interested it has only 7,505 miles and they're asking around $58,000.

Think I'll stay with my Z3. The 2013 Z4 is a slight better then the original Z4 but I just love the classic "Shark" look of the Z3.

Originally Posted by JackalopeZX3

That's what I meant to say...."Only Lime Rock FOR SALE in NE." (at least as of last week)
I also live in CT. Your two friends, U know were they bought their Lime Rocks & how much they paid? Curious to know if Warwick dealer was quoting correct list price. Going online to BMW of N. America, I could not find any info. on the Lime Rock. Any links from BMW on it?

I actually know of 4 Lime Rock M3s in CT. Two of them are used by the Lime Rock Drivers Club and the Lime Rock Track and one is driven by Lime Rock Owner Skip Barber. I am reasonably sure they came directly from BMWUSA. The fourth was purchased by a member of the Lime Rock Drivers Club and I am not sure where it was purchased or what was paid.

CA

For 80-90k I think I could find better things to buy...

Not buying, just curious since it is an "M" figured it would be closer to 6 digits.