New BMW M3 Price Rise
Pricing for the 2008 BMW M3 is yet to be announced by BMW Australia, however in UK, BMW have announced prices starting at £50,625 ($123,000 AUD) - which is roughly £6,500 ($16,000) more than the previous version.
The last generation M3 retailed in Australia from $140,000 to $156,000. Given the price hike in Europe, we can make an educated guess and estimate the new M3 will also rise in price by at least $15,000 plus on roads (we still pay roughly $30,000 more than the brits!).
Nonetheless, its competitor, the Audi RS4 starts at $165,000, so there is a good chance BMW Australia will raise the price to match the RS4. We estimate the likely starting price for the new BMW M3 will be $164,500.
It all makes sense when you consider the twin-turbo BMW 335i starts from around $110,000 and BMW needed to differentiate the two models considerably.
But what justifies the $15,000 price hike? Well the new M3 is now a V8 (engine specs here). Apart from putting a smaller version of BMW's award winning V10 engine (in the M5/6), BMW have also given the new M3 a seven-speed DSG style gearbox. Lets not forget the Carbonfibre roof!