Skip to content
FastestThings

Cars

BMW M3

BMW USA lists 155 mph for the M3 sedan. Autoweek and J.D. Power print that standard cap. The M Driver's Package at 180 mph, and the M3 Competition Touring, are not this car. BMW lists a starting MSRP of $79,300.

Also known as M3, M3 Sedan
Post on X (opens in a new tab)

Top speed

Published as 155 mphPublished as 155 mphPublished as 155 mph

Manufacturer claim for the current BMW M3 sedan without the M Driver's Package. BMW USA's technical table lists 155 mph, and BMW's 2025 release says every M3 variant is limited to 155 mph as standard. Autoweek and J.D. Power print that 155 mph cap. The optional package's 180 mph limiter, and the M3 Competition Touring's 280 km/h, are different variants and are not stored.

ClaimedBMW USA (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 2.4× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 1.3 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 22 h 20 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A car is fast when the force pushing it forward still beats the air, and when the tires and the gearing can use that force. A limiter is a different fact from an unlimited run.

  1. Drag and gearing

    Top speed is the balance point: thrust equals aerodynamic drag. The gearing has to still be pulling when the car gets there, or the engine falls off its power.

  2. What the sources signed

    A manufacturer claim, a magazine test and an electronic governor are not interchangeable. The measurement line says which one this page ranked.

A limited example is the Bugatti Chiron.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 249km/h155mph69.3m/s135knRanked figure

    Manufacturer claim for the current BMW M3 sedan without the M Driver's Package. BMW USA's technical table lists 155 mph, and BMW's 2025 release says every M3 variant is limited to 155 mph as standard. Autoweek and J.D. Power print that 155 mph cap. The optional package's 180 mph limiter, and the M3 Competition Touring's 280 km/h, are different variants and are not stored.

    Claimed
    BMW USA (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Model
M3 Sedan, rear-wheel drive
Limiter
155 mph without the M Driver's Package
Base MSRP
Base MSRP from manufacturer, MY2026: $79,300
Not ranked
M Driver's Package at 180 mph, and the Touring

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.