Another Inside Line BMW M3, another flamboyant red interior.
Every time I drive our 2009 M3 sedan, I'm reminded of a James May column (read it) in Top Gear. He wrote it a few years back when Jeremy Clarkson was shopping for a Gallardo. May's point, made convincingly I thought, was that it made no sense to buy a Lambo and do it up with understated black or dark green paint. There's no racing heritage in a Lamborghini; rather, these cars are all about flamboyance bordering on vulgarity. So you have to choose one of the wild and crazy paint codes, or else people will think you're delusional about the marque's history.
For different reasons, I feel BMW M3 buyers are obligated to get the Fox Red Novillo leather.
BMW builds some entertaining cars, but they take themselves so darn seriously. How else to explain their conservative designs (the company is doing its best to eradicate all traces of the Chris Bangle era) and dour, no-tolerance-for-nonsense interiors?
As capable as it is, our M3 sedan has no business taking itself seriously. Yep, this is a car a businessperson might drive, but it makes all sorts of nasty, vicious sounds at startup, and as you drive around town, you hear all sorts of noises and vibrations that you wouldn't hear in an ordinary 3 Series sedan. This is the soundtrack of a car, or a warship, with so much power and weaponry, it's trying to tear itself apart. Sold under a different brand by less prosperous dealerships, this car might be called "Lancer Evolution."
Of course, the M3 has evolved into a pretty luxurious car over the years. But there's still a streak of rawness in it and there's no sense hiding that under beige or black leather. So it's up to you to encourage BMW to be a little less serious. It's up to you to order the red hide.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 18,595 miles
7driver says:
12:25 PM, 03/23/10
Erin,
I wonder if you'll feel the same way in 2013 when the M3 gets downsized to a turbo 6cyl (and the regular 3-series to turbo 4cyls)?
roadburner says:
12:27 PM, 03/23/10
My dealer has a White/Coral Red 335i Coupe in the CPO lot. Gorgeous.
And tempting.
stephen987 says:
01:16 PM, 03/23/10
I love the red, especially with a silver or gray exterior.
questionlp says:
01:18 PM, 03/23/10
Having looked at and tried to budget for an M3 coupe, I had been looking at one in Le Mans Blue with either the base Anthracite & Black Cloth/Leather or Black Novillo Leather. I haven't been a huge fan of red leather interiors, unless if it is the right color combination (S5 Meteor Gray with Magma Red or M3 Silverstone or Alpine White with aforementioned Red Leather).
Even then, it would not be my first or second choice. I would rather opt for a Sprint Blue (or Le Mans Blue) with a Cinnamon Brown :) Alas, I think I'll opt for the all black or "panda" interior for the S5.
zcalvert says:
01:22 PM, 03/23/10
Looks cool in pics; not sure I'd want to live with it for several years.
Although as someone who's lived with the Interlagos cloth seats in my GTI quite happily for several years, I can see the irony in that viewpoint.
jacton says:
01:54 PM, 03/23/10
I second zcalverts feelings on the red; nice for about the first 6 months then annoyingly vulgar from there out.
jederino says:
02:05 PM, 03/23/10
+1 red leather with dark gray paint. Magnifico! You can't get read leather in the nearest competitors, so the exclusivity is nice.
zoomzoomn says:
02:10 PM, 03/23/10
Red is cool. I like it on a car like this!
ed124c says:
02:24 PM, 03/23/10
With apologies to Henry Ford:
I'll take any interior and exterior color, as long as they are NOT black.
Plus, I don't want leather-- hot in the summer, cold in the winter (and in the Northeast it takes a while for the seat heaters to kick in)
However, I would put up with leather if it was the only way I could get the options I want.
bkochuk says:
02:32 PM, 03/23/10
Red leather is cool. It reminds you to have fun.
marktmv says:
03:23 PM, 03/23/10
Silly Germans, red is for the outside of the car..
Sincerely,
Alfa Romeo
p.s. That quite a bit of wear on that driver seat bolster - nasty. Another reason to go with light coloured interior.
ptcdawg says:
05:03 PM, 03/23/10
I like the red seats...
clarkma5 says:
05:31 PM, 03/23/10
It's a mean car, black is mean, I'll take the black interior (preferably the cloth/alcantara option that BMW so kindly offers!)
The red is too bright. It's a performance car, not a bordello.
eriches says:
06:16 PM, 03/23/10
@ 7driver: Yes, I wonder, too. Leaner times are coming apparently. Hopefully, they'll take some time to get the throttle maps ironed out before bringing the new, small engines to prime time. --Erin
surfwagon56 says:
06:35 PM, 03/23/10
I like the red. The only BMW I'd buy would be a previous generous generation M3 coupe, manual transmission. I've seen the dark gray with red seats, that would be my choice.
I like red, but red on the INSIDE is likely to attract less unwanted attention than on the OUTSIDE :-)
majin_ssj_eric says:
08:30 PM, 03/23/10
I think people better hurry and snap up the last couple years of the awesome E9x's because the next-gen 3-series looks to be ruined (4 cylinder engines and a HYBRID M3?????). I sit here speechless at everything the eco-nazis have stolen from us car-guys....
mr42hh says:
03:23 AM, 03/24/10
BMW has some awesome interior colors available. My 1-series has black leather seats with orange cloth inserts. Sounds weird, looks great!
formerhpb says:
06:15 AM, 03/24/10
I don't know if I'd like the all red seats. I do love my G8 GT's Onyx/Red leather seats though. On the G8, it also puts some red accent on the gauges. Breaks up the black that is everywhere.
http://www.cargurus.com/images/2009/06/07/19/30/2009-pontiac-g8-gt-pic-39676.jpeg
bkochuk says:
07:18 AM, 03/24/10
@mr42hh: do you have an '10? got a pic???
yulookinatme says:
10:45 AM, 03/24/10
As long as the exterior isn't green, unless your Santa, the red interior looks absolutely beautiful. After seeing my friends silver E36 with red interior a few years back I went with the fox red and carbon trim on an alpine white and absolutely love it. My friends M3 is eight years old and still looks awesome. Waaay better than black.
epbrown says:
12:38 PM, 03/24/10
A small regret of mine that I didn't get the Imola red interior in my M Coupe. In pictures, like those above, it seems much louder than it is. First time I saw them in person I was kicking myself.
bimmerjay says:
02:54 PM, 03/24/10
@Erin,
"But there's still a streak of rawness in it and there's no sense hiding that under beige or black leather. So it's up to you to encourage BMW to be a little less serious."
Actually, I think that is the very beauty of the M3. There are plenty of high po cars with garish and extroverted styling - think CTS-V or 911 Turbo. The M3 (and BMWs in general) is all about the conservative style that hides the beast within - this has defined the ///M brand for years. It is the very antithesis of a Lamborghini. Personally I love a serious car.
m89 says:
07:09 PM, 03/24/10
I love a red interior on a car! I wish it was more common like it used to be.
I'm quite suprised with the amount of wear on the driver's seat of your M3 IL. That's one thing I have to say I don't like about BMWs is that their seats and interior materials tend to wear quite easily. When I was looking at some used bimmers not too long ago, most of them had quite a bit of wear on them.
cr_driver says:
10:32 AM, 03/25/10
Nahhh, I wouldn`t get in red.
It probably would bother me past some time with it.
Like I had enough.
andrewinla2 says:
11:33 PM, 03/26/10
I had a 2007 Z4 M Coupe Alpine white/Imola red interior.
Best color combo.
I was nuts to turn it in after the lease.
Bordello? Driving that car is like sex so red is the appropriate color for the leather inside.
The tightie white crowd can go with the boring black interiors.
You should not own an M then...get a regular 3 series and go with silver exterior and black interior.
Crazy car needs some crazy colors.
The Laguna Seca Blue M3 color was great too.
BMW use to have colors named after racetracks for some M colors.
I think BMW is losing touch with that side of itself.
Its a shame!