This Rare Manual F80 BMW M3 Is Yours For £32k

It won’t be long before we have to say a teary goodbye to the F80 M3. After receiving a mixed reception on its debut, M Division’s latest badass compact saloon has spent the last four years worming its way into our hearts, to the point we’ll be quite sad to see it go. Already, there’s talk of the next of the next one being lighter and more powerful than the recently introduced CS version, but before the current car bows out, we thought we’d dig an early example from the classifieds for closer inspection.

At £32,000, this one is among the cheapest in the country. Actually, we were hoping for more savage depreciation than that - holding on to more than half its value (depending on the options it had fitted) in four years is pretty good going.

But there’s something particularly special about this M3, and that’s the little stick poking out between the front seats. Yep, this one is a manual, and a manual F80 is a rare beast indeed. The vast majority of buyers for the car thus far have opted for the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and that’s reflected in the classifieds population: on Autotrader UK, there are currently 186 autos for sale, and just five manuals.

The advert’s pictures are all pretty terrible - they look to have been taken through a smudged smartphone camera lens by someone who was pretty much standing on top of the car at the time. So, to give you an idea of how an M3 should look in Sakir Orange - we’d argue the best colour for the car - you’ll find one pinched from another advert below. We’ll award extra points for the Photoshopped background.

For your £32,000, you’re getting a twin-turbocharged straight-six that develops 424bhp, making 0-62mph possible in just 4.1 seconds - half a second quicker than the E90 version. It’s lighter than its V8-powered predecessor, too.

Earlier F80 M3s are said to be twitchier (I do recall a 2015 M3 almost giving me a code brown several times when driving one a few years ago), and the Sport Plus steering is - as is the case with many recent M cars - heavy in an excessive, very artificial way, but put in the effort, and you’ll be rewarded 10-fold by the way this thing drives.

Our classifieds pick is showing 33,000 miles on the clock, which is about average for the year. It has a full BMW service history, and looks to be wearing the correct OE rubber.

Tempted?