The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed byBMW's in-housemotorsportdivision,BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986.

The M3 model of theE90/E92/E93 3 Seriesrange was powered by theBMW S65V8 engine and was produced in saloon, convertible and coup body styles.

The E9x is the first and only standard production M3 powered by a V8 engine as its successor would revert to using a straight 6 engine.

In the standard M3, the S65 engine rated at 309kW (420PS; 414hp) at 8,400 rpm and 400Nm (295lbft) at 3,900 rpm. Initially, the M3 was produced with a 6-speed manual transmission.

In April 2008, the E90/E92/E93 M3 became the first BMW to be available with adual-clutch transmissionwhen the 7-speedGetrag"M-DCT" transmission was introduced as an option.

The official 0100km/h (62mph) acceleration times for the coup and saloon are 4.6 seconds with the DCT transmission (4.8 seconds with the manual transmission)and 5.1 seconds for the convertible.

The E90 and E92 versions received many positive reviews, including "the greatest all-around car in the world", "the finest car on the market, period"and "the best, most complete car in the world"