nthusiasts will debate for decades to come which M3 was the best.  Any of you that know me will be aware that my roots date back to the revered E30 M3. I grew up with them and love homologation specials with competition pedigree. That said, one would argue that the E46 M3 will go down in the history books as the most all round, multi-tasking M3 of all time.  Utter day to day usability blended with track day ability when required.  

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Another debate that continues is which E46 M3 to own. Well, they are all great and all do slightly different things. The big discussion is still M3 CS versus M3 CSL and that really depends on personal circumstances.  We all aspire to own what is believed to be the ultimate incarnation. The M3 CSL. That would be great if we all had the ability to own multiple cars for multiple tasks but not all of us do. 

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The E46 M3 that really gave the most all-round package, the car for all occasions was the M3 CS. The CS insignia was borrowed from previous models and stands for Coupe Sports and applied to the cars built with Competition Package. A slightly more useable alternative to the M3 CSL. The Competition Package was only applied to 275 right hand drive cars with Interlagos Blue offered as the preferred option with brushed alloy interior trim and Alcantara steering wheel. Mechanically the CS benefitted from the CSL larger brakes, the CSL quicker steering rack, 19” staggered Motorsport wheels and M Track Mode.  The CS was the M3 that wore a Savile Row suit during the week with the ability to pound the race circuits of Europe at the weekends.