So It Begins.

My stripper’s maiden voyage 

Part 1: So it begins. 

This isn’t what you think it is.

I bought my 2nd M3 in November 2018. Coming from Porsche 987.2 ownership, I missed the savageness of the S65 and it’s all around’er nature, ever since I first drove and bought one in 2012. 

It is, in my very humble opinion, peak BMW M powertrain development. A true one off engine with its legendary MDCT transmission, better than anything Porsche was doing in 2007. 

There will never be anything like this.

My lust for another M3 was different this time around. I wanted a future classic, it had to be a Skittles car; Santorini Blue, Japan Red or Fire Orange. 

I admired Fire Orange ever since BMW announced the GTS version. Unfortunately, as a Northerner (that’s Canadian for you internationals) - we didn’t get the LimeRock edition.

However we did have a clever dealership in Calgary who used the BMW Individual Program to order a limited run of less than 10 Fire Orange E92 M3 ZCPs fitted at port with all M Performance gloss black trim.

I bought this car sight unseen from Montreal, it was at BMW of Kelowna, a dealership I wouldn’t recommend to anyone, full story for another time. 

I flew out to Vancouver for a quick a vacation and picked up the car in Kelowna a few days later. A one owner car with 70,000km on it. 

This M3 is a Civic edition, or Stripper Spec, depending on which side of the fence you stand.

No navigation, no premium package, no back up sensors, no rear sunshade, no power mirrors, limited power seats along with ZCP package, speed cloth seats, carbon leather trims and MDCT as the only weight increasing option - worth every single kilo added. 

I drove the car cross country for over 5,000 km in about 4 days, crossing the Rockies at night, in a snowstorm - on Audi R8 fitment Pirelli winter tires that were far too wide at the rear. These are my stories. 

Truckers thought I was crazy, in retrospect, I can see why. I crossed the entry point with 270km of fuel left in the tank.

Next fuel station: 250km. 

I made it.