This Phoenix Yellow Rocketbunny M3 is a build that ticks all the boxes. It combines a gorgeous exterior wrap and a perfectly executed widebody kit, creating a unique look for one of the most popular high-performance vehicles to ever grace the road. Furthermore, the vehicle features several performance mods, visual additions, and upgrades, all wrapped up with a set of CCW Classic three-piece wheels – giving this car that quintessential finishing touch. The resulting product is a BMW M3 that will turn heads and draw prying eyes anywhere it goes.
For anyone unfamiliar with the platform, the BMW E46 M3 comes with a gorgeously sounding 3.2-liter naturally aspirated engine. It produces 343 horsepower and 269 lb⋅ft (365 Nm) of torque. While clearly a lot less than the current F80 M3, even with this amount of firepower, the car will sprint from 0-62 mph (0-100km/h) in around 5.1 seconds. Like with every normal production car from the German Big Three, the M3’s top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph (250 km/h) – some special edition models, however, will achieve a top speed of 171.38 mph (275.81 km/h).
While the performance aspect is a bit below the current cream of the crop, the M3 of this generation still offers supreme handling and acceleration characteristics. These are most notably visible through the near perfect 50:50 front/rear weight distribution, great cornering performance, and an impressive exhaust note coming out of the quad exhaust pipes. To many, the current prices of an M3 of this generation, matched with the coveted performance aspect, make this vehicle a perfect foundation for an aftermarket build.
This particular Phoenix Yellow BMW M3 comes with several aftermarket mods. The build started off with a Pandem Rocketbunny aero kit. This kit consists of a fiber reinforced plastic front lip, front fender, rear fender, front lip bar and a rear duckbill spoiler. The entire kit for this vehicle will set you back just $2,700 and you can buy it online or off the shelf at your local tuning store … so, it’s no wonder we’re seeing more and more M3s with this widebody kit these days.
Additional visual mods for this M3 consist of a set of custom headlights, a carbon fiber trim (vents, grille, and mirrors) and a carbon fiber GTR hood, giving this M3 a much cleaner & aggressive exterior appearance.
When the performance aspect came into play, the owner went in a rather peculiar direction. The BMW M3’s OEM engine was replaced by what is pretty much the same S54B32 engine – but of a newer date. This ensures the engine longevity, full performance specs and a peace of mind for the owner. Additionally, the vehicle received a newer transmission system, using the same logic of the engine swap done earlier.
The M3 is also equipped with a custom aftermarket exhaust and header setup, dyno tuned alongside an Afe intake, a CAE racing shifter, and a full ECU tune – giving this M3 a bit more power and overall torque.
Furthermore, this BMW E46 M3 is equipped with polyurethane bushings and mounts. In turn, this gives the vehicle a much more stable ride and improves its tire life, ensures decreased deflection, increased responsiveness and overall better handling, alongside improved safety of the vehicle itself when compared to the OEM rubber bushings that come stock with most of today’s cars. The most impressive touch to this M3 is the gorgeous Phoenix Yellow vinyl wrap, which will fool most casual onlookers as you can barely notice that it isn’t an OEM BMW Individual Finish, but a wrap applied to this vehicle.
Finally, the owner turned his attention to the wheel department. The wheel of choice, the CCW Classic. The wheels are custom built for this application, these wheels take into account all the particular requirements of the vehicle platform, accompanied by any special customer demands. In turn, this ensures that the end product ticks all the performance, safety, and visual boxes. In a nutshell, our engineers collected all the necessary data & information regarding this widebody E46 M3, then proceeded to provide our production department with all the engineering data that allows them to machine a set of wheels that make this M3 shine in every way possible.
Add the Matte Gunmetal and Polished Aluminum finish combination and you’ve got a vehicle that will turn heads anywhere it goes.
You can grab a detailed view of this Phoenix Yellow BMW M3 beauty right below. For any questions about these wheels, make sure to contact us right away. Our sales team will help you choose that perfect wheel size, fitment, finish and wheel and tire combination. Grab a detailed look at this BMW M3 build, thanks to a Mike Kuhn photoshoot in the media gallery below.
