[vbb]

First off, let me say it's nice to be back in a BMW. I had a 335i from '07-'10. It had the high pressure fuel pump issues common to the N54 and the time in and out of the shop (though everything was covered by warranty) turned me off to BMW for a long while. That said, I always loved the way it drove when it was working. I tend to switch cars pretty frequently and that was one of the vehicles I kept longer than most.

Anyway, after having all sorts of different vehicles over the past 12 years or so, I decided I wanted something that could do well as a daily driver and as a weekend fun car, and I wanted a manual transmission. I am the happy new owner of a '22 M4 in black sapphire over fiona red... my absolute favorite color combination for a car.

One of the things that I always thought was true about M cars is that they kind of blended in, but people who were "in the know" recognized the car was more than just another BMW. I'm not sure if it's the fact a lot more people know about these cars now, the fact that it is still a relatively new body style/design, or if the car stands out for some other reason, but it draws a ton of attention. More than a lot of other vehicles I've had recently, including a C7 Corvette, a 911, and a Lexus RCF. The number of people trying to initiate a race with me, even if we're in heavy traffic, is very surprising. I did not expect this at all, but I've had the car less than 2 months and it is definitely noticeable. Even the non-car people at my work ask me how fast it is and what's the top speed and things like that. It doesn't jump off the page to me as a car that looks fast (especially when compared to other vehicles I've owned) but for whatever reason it gets treated like that.

Have other people experienced the same?

My second and third favorite colors are aventurine red and isle of man green. I can only imagine the attention those cars draw!

[Rollidude]

I noticed the same thing G80 gets a lot of attention .. One thing about the F80 unless you knew about cars most people thought it was a 328i and you would have to go in deep explanation on how its far from that lol this one stands out a lot whether people like the grill or not. Overall im super happy with my G80 awesome purchase

[Forzanerazzurri]

Yes. I figured nobody would care about another 3 series BMW on the road, especially in grey but it's pretty funny to see how many people look at it on the road and how every single time I get gas I am asked about it.

[G-Mann]

I've noticed it. It's gotta be that bad ass Grill

[docjavier]

Originally Posted by G-Mann

I've noticed it. It's gotta be that bad ass Grill

lol,,,

[tac3331]

Try keeping it filthy like it's a beater. Seems only car people know what it is in Houston. Any cars that get my attention don't seem to want to run.

[M3coco]

Sao paulo is hard to miss. I think that's the only reason people notice me. Usually it's a bunch of mustangs and camaros that want to play

[evoi19]

I'm glad it doesn't draw a lot of attention where I am. Predominately only car enthusiasts take a second look or give a nice compliment.

[jmg]

It's that grill. It's polarizing, and instantly grabs people's attention, for better or worse.

[BGM-M3COMP]

Depends on location, and perhaps color (and mods).

My brooklyn G80 gets NO attention. No one bats an eye. Some dude in a sentra gave me a thumbs up when i first got it and that was it.

I have a C7 still, to this very day that car gets a ton of looks, stares, thumbs up and i still see people pull out their phone for a picture. It is lowered with aftermarket wheels so perhaps that helps with keeping it "fresh" looking.

The M3, around me, gets zero attention.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP

Depends on location, and perhaps color (and mods).

My brooklyn G80 gets NO attention. No one bats an eye. Some dude in a sentra gave me a thumbs up when i first got it and that was it.

I have a C7 still, to this very day that car gets a ton of looks, stares, thumbs up and i still see people pull out their phone for a picture. It is lowered with aftermarket wheels so perhaps that helps with keeping it "fresh" looking.

The M3, around me, gets zero attention.

It's funny how it is so area specific. My C7 was lowered on stock bolts, black wheels over gunmetal (Watkins Glen) with black interior and looked modern and pretty menacing, and while it did get attention, it didn't get a ton of race challenges or people coming up to me at the gas stations. I guess part of it is that you see C7s around pretty frequently. I thought for sure my M4 would get less attention than my C7 did, which I was fine with, but it has been the opposite.

[forumlurker]

even during my grill hating phase, i broke my neck whenever i saw one passing by

[BulkBen]

Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP

Depends on location, and perhaps color (and mods).

My brooklyn G80 gets NO attention. No one bats an eye. Some dude in a sentra gave me a thumbs up when i first got it and that was it.

I have a C7 still, to this very day that car gets a ton of looks, stares, thumbs up and i still see people pull out their phone for a picture. It is lowered with aftermarket wheels so perhaps that helps with keeping it "fresh" looking.

The M3, around me, gets zero attention.

I have a slammed black G80 wearing big spacers and I feel the same way as you.
Difference is that I live in a part of Australia where G80’s are quite rare, so it’s not an exclusivity issue.

Given you have a C7, I wonder if it’s a perspective thing?
I own various Lotuses, all bright colours, these get a crap load of attention - as would a C7.

Makes me wonder if those of us who own more wild cars have a bit of blunted perspective? We’re used to a LOT of people staring at our cars and giving compliments, so when you’re in something stylish, albeit mundane in comparison like a G80 we hardly notice….

[BGM-M3COMP]

Originally Posted by vbb

It's funny how it is so area specific. My C7 was lowered on stock bolts, black wheels over gunmetal (Watkins Glen) with black interior and looked modern and pretty menacing, and while it did get attention, it didn't get a ton of race challenges or people coming up to me at the gas stations. I guess part of it is that you see C7s around pretty frequently. I thought for sure my M4 would get less attention than my C7 did, which I was fine with, but it has been the opposite.

Did you have a GS/Z06? I think the widebody plays a big part. I have a white C7Z with black aftermarket wheels and it's dropped a full inch all around. With a stage 3 aero in the front. I think that helps to keep it looking very aggressive and up to modern times. Widebody cars will have more appeal than their narrow body counterparts. Like the dodge charger hellcat narrow body vs widebody etc. The widebody will pull more looks.

[BGM-M3COMP]

Originally Posted by BulkBen

I have a slammed black G80 wearing big spacers and I feel the same way as you.
Difference is that I live in a part of Australia where G80’s are quite rare, so it’s not an exclusivity issue.

Given you have a C7, I wonder if it’s a perspective thing?
I own various Lotuses, all bright colours, these get a crap load of attention - as would a C7.

Makes me wonder if those of us who own more wild cars have a bit of blunted perspective? We’re used to a LOT of people staring at our cars and giving compliments, so when you’re in something stylish, albeit mundane in comparison like a G80 we hardly notice….

Corvettes in general are pretty common (aside from the C8 which is considered rare lol) but don't forget the vast majority of corvette owners barely drive their car. So even if GM sold many in the past, owners are very selective on when they take their cars out. Some owners do 2k miles a year, some 5k, and very few actually daily them.

I rarely see a C7 around me. Hardly ever see a C6 anymore. Don't see C5's anymore. I saw 2 C8's the entire summer. And i drive a lot during the summer. They're rare.

I think for a sports car (that looks like a race car), it will appeal to many, regardless of color.

Now if you have something ordinary looking like a G80, because that is ordinary looking as it's just a slightly aggressive looking over an M340I, it would need an outrageous looking color or extensive mods for people to be like damn ok that's pretty sweet.

But these cars stock will get no attention. It's just a sporty looking sedan (or coupe). It doesn't have that wow factor an actual sports car will have.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP

But these cars stock will get no attention. It's just a sporty looking sedan (or coupe). It doesn't have that wow factor an actual sports car will have.

Except I am telling you this isn't true base on my real world experiences. That's the whole reason I started the thread. I thought what you just typed would be true before I got my car, but I'm finding that it isn't. I've had more people trying me at stoplights, in traffic and on the highway than I every expected. I've had more people coming up to me randomly at gas stations than I did in other sports cars, and as you said, this is just a stock sporty coupe. And it's black, so it isn't an attention grabbing color.

Maybe it just has a lot to do with where you live and how many of them are around.

[BGM-M3COMP]

Originally Posted by vbb

Except I am telling you this isn't true base on my real world experiences. That's the whole reason I started the thread. I thought what you just typed would be true before I got my car, but I'm finding that it isn't. I've had more people trying me at stoplights, in traffic and on the highway than I every expected. I've had more people coming up to me randomly at gas stations than I did in other sports cars, and as you said, this is just a stock sporty coupe. And it's black, so it isn't an attention grabbing color.

Maybe it just has a lot to do with where you live and how many of them are around.

Yes definitely depends on location and color (mods) like i said.

I'm in NJ. So i see BMW's and other luxury performance cars all the time. Porsches, audi's, AMG's, all of them.

Perhaps that's why no one bats an eye at my M3. Because people are used to see these luxury performance cars as regular daily commuters. Plus i rarely see a G80 on the road. I see more M4's than M3's in the 1 year of my M3 ownership.

[Gizmo 335i]

Originally Posted by vbb

I am the happy new owner of a '22 M4 in black sapphire over fiona red... my absolute favorite color combination for a car.!

If you have some pics handy, please post. This is also my favorite color combo. Have the build sitting in the configurator. BSM/Fiona red M4 with 6MT. Doesn’t get any better. Unless BMW offered the 6MT in the M8C.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP

Yes definitely depends on location and color (mods) like i said.

I'm in NJ. So i see BMW's and other luxury performance cars all the time. Porsches, audi's, AMG's, all of them.

Perhaps that's why no one bats an eye at my M3. Because people are used to see these luxury performance cars as regular daily commuters. Plus i rarely see a G80 on the road. I see more M4's than M3's in the 1 year of my M3 ownership.

Maybe it'll calm down as these cars become more popular in my area. I see the other competitors (AMGs, Audi RS/S, etc) but just haven't seen many G8X in the area at all. But even more than seeing the cars around, it's the people driving aggressively and trying to get me to play that I didn't expect.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by Gizmo 335i

If you have some pics handy, please post. This is also my favorite color combo. Have the build sitting in the configurator. BSM/Fiona red M4 with 6MT. Doesn’t get any better. Unless BMW offered the 6MT in the M8C.

Here are a few pics.

[Gfit]

I'm going to disagree and say it's not the grill. A significant number of new car models these days have large grills. Many of those are much much larger than the M3s grill. BMW wasn't even first the the party yet for some reason it's still treated at patient #001.

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by M3coco

Sao paulo is hard to miss. I think that's the only reason people notice me. Usually it's a bunch of mustangs and camaros that want to play

Twilight Purple attracts some attention as well.

Luckily don't usually attract much attention from Mustang or Charger/Challengers. Oddly enough, I usually have other BMW owners that like to try and be dicks. Usually 340/330i owners.