Skip to main content

While some used sports car sales regularly cross into the hundreds of Gs, the fourth-gen BMW 3 Series, or E46, does not. Sales tend to stay under the $50k range with exceptions on trim and condition bringing in closer to $100k. In November 2022, though, one E46 M3 CSL smirked at its own comps and sold out of RM Sotheby’s for more than €325,000 – or over $350k…why?

Floor modelesque M3 CSL comes out of museum glass

A full right profile view of a silver 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL
Right front angled view of a 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL
Front interior and dash view of a 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL
The engine compartment of a 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL is shown
A silver used 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL front view parked inside an auction house showroom

While studying recent E46 sales figures, I came across a wild outlier. Used BMW E46 M3 CSLs are special, of course, with only 1,383 produced and just 841 built with left-hand drive. They have a stripped-for-speed weight, beefed-up suspension and brakes, and were the first CFRP roof in a BMW M production car. $350k, though, might be the highest in recent history. I hopped into RM Sotheby’s listing and soon understood the big cha-ching.

An early production CSL built in July 2003, this one is in pristine condition. It apparently spent most of its life in a museum. With only 4,698 km, or 2,912 miles clocked, this CSL has been driven so little that RM Sotheby’s straight-up warns the winning bidder to have it inspected before taking it full throttle.

The listing was also rooted in Munich, the birthplace of all M3s. Considering this CSL was a museum piece, perhaps the consigner is connected to BMW directly?

Considering the average U.S. market sale of E46 M3s YTD has been well under $50k, a CSL showing up as it did and ringing the bell as it should is just dizzying, well, sanity.

Read more MotorBiscuit sports car content in our Sedans & Coupes section.

Photos courtesy of RM Sotheby’s. Sales data source: Classic.com

Best in Sedans & Coupes
Avatar photo
Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Kennedy

Sarah Kennedy joined the MotorBiscuit team as managing editor in 2021 and brings with her a bevy of automotive expertise. She’s an ASE-Certified Automotive Service Consultant and licensed car salesperson with over a decade of shop operations experience.

Sarah was the creator of “Shop Smarts” for MOTOR Magazine and was a contributor from 2013 to 2020. Her work earned her a Gold Medalist award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors in 2014 and Bronze Medalist awards from the International Automotive Media Competition in 2014 and 2015.

She has attended the Automotive Management Institute and earned her bachelor’s degree in English from The Ohio State University.