BMW Z3M Price Guide

The BMW Z3 M Roadster and M Coupe are the performance variants of the Z3. They used the S52 and, later, S54 straight-six engines in the Z3 body to create something genuinely exciting rather than merely pretty. The M Coupe in particular, with its extraordinary shooting brake roofline and the S54’s 3.2-litre howl, is one of the most charismatic small cars BMW has produced.

The Car

The early M Roadster and M Coupe used the S52B32 3.2-litre producing 321bhp in European specification. From 2001, the S54B32 raised this to 343bhp thanks to sharing the same engine with the E46 M3. The M Coupe’s roofline (added by BMW designer Marcus Syring in 1997 as an internal project that management approved against expectations) created a fastback shooting brake silhouette that attracted the description “the clown shoe” from those who disliked it, and passionate devotion from those who understood it.

Buying

The S54-engined cars are the ones to seek because of the higher output and improved character over the S52. They justify the premium. The M Coupe is rarer and more desirable than the M Roadster. S54 rod bearing concerns apply as with the E46 M3.

The BMW Z3 M Coupe has been appreciating sharply and good examples are now becoming increasingly expensive.