For many performance car manufacturers, there is one style of engine that they are most closely tied to; for Porsche, it is a Flat-6, with Ferrari a V12, and for BMW, since the 1930s, that motor has been the Inline-6. As technology advanced, the engine was improved and refined with every subsequent generation, and at numerous points, an inline-6 powered nearly every car in the brand’s lineup. When people talk about the peak of BMW’s inline-6 development, the S54 developed for the E46 M3 comes up frequently. A supremely flexible engine, the S54 offers fantastic in-town usability, but when you get on it, it will rev to the stratosphere and both sound and feel like a race car while you’re doing it.

Built in November 2003, this E46 M3 is finished in Mystic Blue over Grey Leather and shows just 27,147 miles from new. When this car first arrived at our workshop in 2018, it was already in very good condition, with the majority of the exterior work consisting of a thorough detailing and replacing some faded badges. Although this is not a Competition package car, it sits on a set of BMW’s coveted 19” Competition pack wheels, which perfectly complement this extraordinary vehicle.

Without a doubt, the S54 found in the E46 M3 is one of the best inline-6s ever produced by BMW. With dual overhead cams, individual throttle bodies, and VANOS on the intake and exhaust cams, the S54 feels like a proper motorsport engine in the high revs, but that maintains the ability to be happily used around town as well. In this example, this is paired with a solid feeling 6-speed manual gearbox, which offers great shift action and is really the ultimate way to enjoy the sublime powerplant. While under our care, we performed our standard list of checks, including inspecting the VANOS, rear subframe, and multi-point mechanical inspection during the course of carrying out an early complete factory Inspection II Service. After our rejuvenation process, this 22-year-old M3 feels showroom fresh and runs and drives as it should.

At Enthusiast Auto Group, we have handled hundreds of E46 M3s over our 20 years in business and have quite an affinity for them. The timeless design, paired with an engine that is quintessentially BMW Motorsport, the E46 M3 transcends being considered one of the great BMWs, and should instead be seen as one of the great performance cars from any brand. Period.