While BMW may have some of the best wheel designs in the biz, those on today’s M3’s prove that some folks still need something a little more flamboyant. Let’s see if this M3's price is equally as flashy.

For something that was more of a toy than a car, yesterday’s sure caused a lot of drama in the poll. It was neck and neck there all morning with the up-thumbs just edging by the down-thumbs by the narrowest of margins. There was a lot of pearl-clutching as a result, but in the end, the vote flipped taking the Bucket’s $23,500 price down in a 52 percent No Dice loss. I guess it wasn’t just seen as a drop in the bucket. I’ll show myself out.

Having a car that’s a plaything isn’t a terrible idea. What’s better, though, is having a plaything that’s also a fairly fully realized car and one that’s designed to keep you safe in the event things go pear-shaped or one that just offers civilities like air-con and windows.

Today’s is just such a car. And, with a four-liter S65 V8 barking malevolently under the hood, it should prove a pretty potent plaything too. The ad says that the engine puts out 420 horsepower or about six more than what is claimed by the factory. Those extra ponies may have been found by way of the secondary cat delete noted in the ad. That would eliminate some of the back pressure on the exhaust, and could up the output. Or, maybe it’s just a rounding error.

Either way, anything over 400 horses seems to be the ticket to ride these days. That being said, the present-day M3 makes even more than that, although it does so by way of a turbocharged six rather than a brawny V8. The E90 series was the last M3 to use a V8 (so far), and that was the pinnacle of the model’s cylinder count to date.

Here that big mill gets backed by a seven-speed DCT (Dual Clutch Gearbox) and before you get all excited about the Clutch portion of that triple-word title, understand that there’s no clutch pedal here and everything is done for you outside of slapping the stubby shift lever or flapping the paddles behind the steering wheel when the mood strikes. For those purists who long for a true stick, take solace in the fact that the DCT gives you a seventh gear with which to play, and if it were a full manual you’d probably get tennis elbow or something trying to find that extra cog. All the manual M3s of this era are mere six-speeds.

The rest of the car looks reasonably well kept for its decade-plus of life and 90,000 miles on the road. While not outrageously modified, It does come with a few add-ons. Those include the aforementioned re-plumbed and dirtier exhaust, a license plate bracket screwed into the tow hook mount, carbon fiber kidneys, and rear wing, and, in what’s likely to prove the most controversial of the changes, a set of metallic red Avant Garde M540 wheels standing in for the factory units. A tape measure shows those to be 19 inches across and in place of tires, they seem to wear some sort of art project where a molecule-thin coat of black paint replicates the Michelin brand style. I’m joking, of course, but those are some seriously skinny tires and probably make the ride a bit more brutal than the factory intended.

Still, wheels and tires are an easy fix. Mechanical issues on a BMW of the modern age are less easily rectified and can be hella costly. Fortunately, this M3 is described as being in “excellent running condition” and is said to have been “garage kept” making it at least on paper to be a good starting point.

The ad doesn’t mention maintenance and repair records so a good pre-purchase inspection might be warranted here. That will set the prospective buyer back a few hundred bucks. There’s also a noticeable ding just aft of the fuel filler that a paint-less dent puller could make fast work of. There’s another couple hundred. Other than those obvious issues, there don’t seem to be too many red flags here. A clean title might just seal the deal. That is, of course, if the car’s $20,990 asking price feels right.

That gets you the last of the V8 M3 convertibles and the bragging rights that 420 horsepower buys. What do you say, is this seemingly solid M3 worth that much? Or, does that price tag mean a new buyer will be hard to find?

You decide!

Queens, New York, , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!

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