Owning an M3 has been a 20 year dream in the making for me with it all starting around the time the E46 was released. Sure, I knew of the E30 & E36 but those just didn't speak to me like the E46 did, especially when I'd come across an E46 in Laguna Seca Blue.
I've had a fair amount of cars over the years (11 prior to this car) but the M3 still remained my one true love and desire for a vehicle. I was so close to getting an F80 at launch but as life would have it, it wasn't in the plans at the time. Instead, it was my wife getting pregnant with our first daughter, which meant daycare costs were going to be coming ahead of any additional increases in car payment by picking up an F80! As time progressed and better promotions at work came about I was again close to picking up an F80 when low and behold, my wife was pregnant with our second daughter! That of course meant daycare payments times 2 for the time being so again I held off on picking up my first M car.
Fast forward to this year with a few more promotions over the years, one kid out of daycare and the other one finishing up in the next year, I could finally start looking towards getting my dream car.
I've always followed the M3 news and have been an active reader of Bimmerpost for a long time. When the leaks first appeared about the G80 and G82 I was a bit thrown back by the design direction BMW was headed in but kept an open mind to it all. As the official launch got closer, more leaks occurred, and then official photos and reviews started to come out I began to fall in love with the looks and the performance. I just knew this generation was the one I finally had to jump onboard with my first M car.
I initially placed my order back in March of this year with Chapman BMW in Chandler, Arizona. I obtained an allocation for a May build within a week or so of sending my initial specs over to my CA. I initially chose Sao Paulo Yellow over Yas Marina Blue full leather with carbon buckets. Not long after getting my allocation I started to think about how I wanted this car to be more special and began going down all the list of individual colors I jotted down over the years. I eventually landed on Twilight Purple and chose to go with a Silverstone interior since Tartufo wasn't available in the carbon bucket seats. My CA sent the individual request over to BMW and we obtained approval for the color about a week later, however, with the caveat that I would push my car out to be a 2022 model. I was bummed I was going to have to delay to being a July build at first but happily accepted as it meant I was going to get the color that I really wanted.
The agonizing wait for the July build allocations to release was really only the start start of what turned out to be rather lengthy ordeal for getting this car in Twilight Purple. As promised by my CA we secured a July build slot and resubmitted the paperwork for the individual color and thought all was good, however, the MyBMW site never seemed to update to the "Special Color" denoting that I had an individual order. As we got closer and closer to the production week started to stress quite a bit and my CA was frantically trying to figure out what was wrong with the allocation. Unfortunately we couldn't get the color issue resolved prior to that allocation going into production and getting built to my full specs except for in Alpine White. My CA and the dealership scramble and immediately began pressuring BMW NA to secure another allocation for me. After what felt like an eternity, we were able to get me an allocation in Twilight Purple for a week 35 build. As time went by my build ended up getting bumped out to be a week 39 build and eventually stuck there without any further delays.
Fast forward from week 39 to this past week and I was finally able to take delivery. Walking into the dealership and seeing the G80 in Twilight Purple for the first time in person just blew me away. I was speechless and in awe to see not only my dream of owning an M3 coming true but just how much this color pops under the right lighting!
So many of the guys that worked at the dealership were coming up to me and complimenting the color and said that it was definitely one of the best colors they'd seen come through there in a long time. Of course I would have to agree with them, but I am a bit biased after all!
For those that read my little story, I appreciate it. For those that didn't and just scrolled down for the photos, I don't blame and you!
Timeline:
7/13/21 - Obtained production order
7/13/21 - Order received
8/4/21 - Scheduled for production
9/16/21 - Production begins
9/27/21 - Exterior Body Assembly Begins
9/28/21 - In The Paint Booth
9/29/21 - Entering Assembly Line
9/29/21 - Assembly In Progress
9/30/21 - Quality Check
10/1/21 - Final Assembly
10/1/21 - Ready For Transport
10/1/21 - Awaiting Carrier Assignment
10/1/21 - Dispatched From Factory
10/5/21 - At The Port
10/8/21 - In Transit
11/5/21 - At The Port
11/17/21 - RAM Stop Sale Closed
11/19/21 - In Transit
11/22 - At The Dealership
Specs:
M3 Competition
P28 Twilight Purple
X3IA Silverstone/Black Full Merino Leather
ZPK Parking Assistance Package
ZPX Executive Package
1MB M Drive Professional
1U0 19"/20" M Double-Spoke Black Wheels, Style 826M, w/Performance Non-Run Flat Tires
3M5 M Compound Brakes with Red Calipers
3MF M Shadowline Lights
4MC Carbon Fiber Trim
5AZ Icon Adaptive LED Headlights with Laserlight
48C M Carbon Bucket Seats
71C M Carbon Exterior Package
Parts: (Massive shout out to Ryan with
IND-Distribution . Always amazing to work with!)
IND Painted Rear Reflectors
IND Painted Front Reflectors
IND Painted Side Marker Set
IND Painted Hood Roundel
IND Painted Trunk Roundel
IND Painted License Plate Frame
IND Painted Engine Cover
Downstar purple dress up kit
Fall-Line Motorsports Front Tow Strap & IND Painted Cover
BMW Floating Wheel Center Cap Set
BMW LED Door Projector Light Kit 50mm
Goldenwrench Blackline Performance Fuel Cap - Edition Red
BMW M Performance Carbon Front Lip
BMW M Performance Carbon Door Sill Set
BMW M Performance Carbon Rocker Blade Set
BMW M Performance Carbon Rear Winglet Set
All of the photos below were taken today at some different time intervals in the morning. Some are before I had any of the IND parts or M performance parts installed and others are after they were installed. I tried to ensure that these photos are the best representation of Twilight Purple and stuck with only some minor edits. No filters have been applied to any of the photos.
12/6/21:Edited post to include additional photos during various part installations the week of delivery as well as photos taken after PPF, ceramic, and tint were completed. Also adding to the first post a YouTube video of a brief walk-around I did this past weekend.