BMW M3 Coupe Pure Edition II 2012 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $145,000
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Internet Functionality $200; Harmon/Kardon Surround Sound System $2550
Crash rating: N/A (3 Series sedan achieves five-star EuroNCAP)
Fuel: 98 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 12.4
CO2 emissions (g/km): 290
Also consider: Audi RS 5 (from $161,400); Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG (from $152,800 - $154,800); Nissan GT-R (from $170,800); Porsche Cayman R (from $165,000 - $170,700)

You’ve got to spend money to make money, or so the saying goes. But unfortunately, for most of us, the amount of money we’d have to spend to make the sort of money we’d need to buy a car like this is, well, a little out of reach.

And that’s a shame, because as a driver’s car the M3 Pure Edition II is nothing short of brilliant. It's the type of car that any enthusiastic driver would really enjoy -- but that few will ever have the chance to own.

The Pure Edition II is what BMW calls a Life Cycle Impulse (LCI), an update or facelift. The E92 (KG92) series Coupe is still underpinned by the previous generation E90 3 Series framework, and is yet to join the current F30 3 Series generation. Best of all, the Pure Edition II is $10,100 cheaper than the ‘regular’ M3 Coupe.

Limited numbers of the Pure Edition II are offered locally but the model consisting primarily of cosmetic upgrades. These include gloss black 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels, dark chrome highlights on the kidney grilles, exhaust tips, and side sills, and a range of vivid colours (our Laguna Seca-coloured test vehicle looked like a Peacock). As well, chequered flag door sills and a BMW ‘M Power’ handbrake lever sleeve are standard.

Otherwise, the BMW M3 Pure Edition II shares all the kit found in the regular model, including the weight saving carbon-fibre roof.

The M3 Pure Edition II utilises the same powerplant found across the M3 range. BMW’s normally aspirated high-revving S65 V8, a 4.0-litre unit based originally on the 5.0-litre S85 V10 from the previous generation M5.

In M3 it delivers 309kW at a very high 8300rpm and 400Nm at 3900rpm. Pure Edition II is offered exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox. With a skilled driver, the quick-shifting six-speeder allows the M3 to accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 4.8sec.

The V8 engine loves to rev and responds beautifully to throttle input. With the chassis communicating freely its intentions, you can literally feel the moment the car is about to break traction and adjust your foot accordingly. Whether that means plying on more and correcting the oversteer effortlessly or grabbing traction and accelerating briskly through to the next apex we’ll leave to your imagination.

The pedal box is remarkably responsive, and there’s so few of the competitors listed above (except maybe the Porsche) that do this as well as BMW. Be it the clutch, the brake or the throttle, all three have a seemingly infinite degree of modulation, and all summons the appropriate response.

It’s part of the ‘purity’ of the package (pun intended) and the main reason M3 is such a rewarding car to drive at speed. You don’t have to adjust your intentions to fit the car’s shortfalls. There just aren’t any. The level of communication and precision work harmoniously to ensure you extract every morsel of power from that sonorous V8 engine, and use it in whichever way you see fit.

Sure, it doesn’t have the hooligan of a Nissan GT-R, and the on-paper figures pale when compared to the 600Nm C 63 AMG but to look only at the numbers is to miss the point. There’s little rationale behind big numbers if the power can’t be used. In M3, you can use every last bit of it, as delicately or as, err, candidly as you wish.

Equally as honest is BMW’s 'old-school' hydraulic steering. The weight and feedback of the wheel is just about perfect and so accurate you can almost feel every crease and crevasse in the road. This really helps with placement. Through every apex you can place the front wheels with absolute accuracy – no excuses for poor lines here!

The suspension reacts to steering and surface inputs with the same military precision of the rest of the package. Body control is tight and while suspension response is firm I wouldn’t say M3 is so stiff that it’s uncomfortable. In fact, it was not even as stiff as the 6 Series GranCoupe tested a week prior.

On the practical (read: boring) side of things, the M3 Pure Edition II still retains all the virtues of the regular 3 Series Coupe. The boot space is generous, the back seat tight (but not unusably so for two adults) and the front seat accommodation glove-like. The driving position is spot on and the placement of controls near-ideal. If I had one issue, it would be the compromised oddment storage and tacky, floppy fold-out cupholders.

Yes, the M3 Pure Edition II is one of those cars you’d smash the piggy bank for. In fact, I’d safely say you’d enjoy every last moment behind the wheel, even when stuck in traffic.

Sell the kids, mortgage the house, and rent out your significant other. It’s worth every penny.

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