All-new for 2021, the M3 and M4 are back after a two-year hiatus. The pair debuted with one of the most polarizing designs BMW ever has brought to market, but their performance should be easy to agree on. Here’s the pricing and options breakdown.
First up is the M3. The benchmark performance sports sedan starts at $69,900 (not including $995 destination fee, taxes, title). The M3 comes in two trims, each powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six. In a nod to enthusiasts, a six-speed manual transmission is standard in the 473-horsepower base car.
The second trim is the M3 Competition. It gets a 503 HP version of the same turbocharged I6 but with an eight-speed automatic as standard. While the six-speed is the obvious enthusiast choice, that eight-speed auto helps give the Competition a 0.3-second advantage getting to 60 mph. The M3 makes the sprint in 4.1 seconds vs. the Competition in 3.8.
The M3 buyer gets a choice of 12 exterior colors. Ten of them are metallic, and two are non-metallic. All of the metallic options are an extra charge. There are five wheel choices, all in staggered sizes. The standard wheels are 18 inches in front and 19 inches at the rear, with 19-inch fronts and 20-inch rears as an option.
One of the coolest things about the new M3 is the number of interior color choices. The seats, covered in Merino leather, come in your choice of Yas Marina blue and black; Silverstone (silver) and black; Kyalami orange and black; and black/black.
For a further $2,550 that leatherwork can cover the doors and bottom half of the dash. Dash inlay/trim options come out to five. The standard trim is Aluminum, while Carbon Fiber is a $950 option. You can also select a choice of three BMW Individual inlay options at a cost of $1,080 — Piano Black, a high gloss Aluminum trim and a Black/Silver open pore wood trim. But BMW says these options could extend the build time for the vehicle.
From a tech standpoint, the M3 comes pretty loaded as standard. There are just two options. The first is an $800 Parking Assistance Package. It includes BMW’s Parking Assistance Plus and Drive Recorder. This system uses an exterior camera mounted on the front of the vehicle that lets you record your driving and play it back in the vehicle on the infotainment screen. The second option is the $2,800 Executive Package. It includes BMW’s gimmicky (I say this from personal experience) gesture control, a HUD display, LED LaserLight headlights, wireless charging pad with in car hotspot, heated steering wheel and a power-operated trunk.
The M3 Competition is more track-focused than the standard M3. Starting at $72,200, it gets slightly different optional and standard features. The Competition comes standard with launch control, for instance. Exterior colors and wheel designs are the same as those available on the base model, though the wheels become no-cost options.
The Competition has three available option packages. The Parking Assistance package is $800. And then there is the $1,700 Driving Assistance Professional package. That comes with an active driving assistant (pretty much a suite of driving aids like lane keep assist) and a traffic jam assistant. The Competition also gets the same Executive Package option as the base car. On this model, it’s $200 more because it comes with remote start. With none of these packages selected the M3 Competition rings in at $76,850.
Next up is the the two-door version, the M4. It gets the same 473- and 503-HP twin-turbo engines along with both six-speed manual and eight-speed auto transmissions. It comes in both standard M4 and Competition trims with starting prices of $71,800 and $74,700 respectively.
Literally every single thing is the same as the M3, from wheel designs and colors to interior colors and dash inlays — even the pricing for those items.
