One option box, four upgrades: what BMW's M Sport package II put on each E46
Bumpers, wheels, seats and steering wheel: what the M Sport package II contained, body by body and year by year, from BMW's own release and German price lists.
By zauberlabs
"M Sport package" is one of the most quoted phrases in E46 listings, and one of the least precise. Owners use it for a bumper, a set of wheels, a steering wheel or a whole car. BMW used it for one thing: an option you ticked on the order form, which changed four of the parts owners most often swap today, all at once. This article sets out what that option contained, using BMW's own launch release and the German price lists from 2002 to 2006, body by body.
The short version
- One option, many parts. BMW's second-generation M Sport package brought an M aerodynamics kit, 17-inch M double-spoke wheels on mixed tyres, lowered sport suspension, an M Sport leather steering wheel and sport seats, plus trim and lighting details. 1
- Launched in May 2001 for every 3 Series except the Compact. The German price lists call it Sportpaket M II, code 338, and later list it for the Compact too. 1,2
- The wheel differs by body. The lists name the 68M for the Sedan, Touring, Coupé and Convertible and the 97M for the Compact; from March 2004 the 135M is allowed instead of the 68M on the four larger bodies. 2
- The Edition Sport is the package plus extras, in BMW's own words. 3,2
- M parts on a car are not proof of a factory package. M bumpers, wheels and steering wheels are often fitted later.
What BMW launched in May 2001
On 14 May 2001 BMW announced "the new M Sport package" as an option for all models of the 3 Series range except the Compact, developed by BMW M. The release calls it the M Sport package "of the second generation" and lists its contents: 1
- Outside: the M aerodynamics package, with its own front apron, a modified rear apron and side sills. On the Sedan and Coupé, a small spoiler on the boot lid is part of it. All variants get door handles and bumpers in body colour, fog lights and white indicator lenses front and rear.
- Wheels and chassis: 17-inch M light-alloy wheels in double-spoke styling on mixed tyres, 225/45 R 17 at the front and 245/40 R 17 at the rear, and a sport suspension with lowering.
- Inside: a new M Sport leather steering wheel, sport seats for driver and passenger in "Laser" cloth and Alcantara, "Alu Black Cube" trim strips developed for the package, and M door sills.
The release does not name the wheel style. BMW's German price lists do. 2
What the German price lists name, body by body
In the lists we hold from September 2002 to March 2006, the package appears as Sportpaket M II, code 338, as an option on every model in each list, priced per model; the March 2003 lists were not read for packages. 2 On the September 2004 Touring list, for example, it costs between €3,150 and €3,950 depending on the model. 2
The lists describe the contents in their own words, and the wording varies a little from list to list. The table shows what the lists name; an item a list does not name is not evidence that it was missing. 2
| Body | Wheel named | Also named in the lists |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 17" Doppelspeiche 68M | M aero kit, rear spoiler, sport suspension, sport seats "Laser", M leather steering wheel, Shadow Line, white indicators, anthracite headliner, aluminium trim, M sills and footrest |
| Touring | 17" Doppelspeiche 68M | as the Sedan, without the rear spoiler |
| Coupé | 17" Doppelspeiche 68M | M aero kit, rear spoiler, fog lights, sport seats, M leather steering wheel, Shadow Line; the sport suspension is not named in the Coupé lists |
| Convertible | 17" Doppelspeiche 68M | M aero kit, fog lights, sport seats, M leather steering wheel, Shadow Line, sport suspension (named from 2004-09) |
| Compact | 17" Doppelspeiche 97M | M aero kit, sport seats, M leather steering wheel, sport suspension, body-colour exterior parts; no Shadow Line named |
All from the German price lists 2002-09 to 2006-03. 2
Two dates need care. The May 2001 release excludes the Compact, and the earliest Compact list we hold is September 2002; when the Compact's package started is not established. 1,2 And a hand-summarised scan of the September 2000 Convertible list already shows the package, eight months before the release; that scan is graded LOW and we record it as a conflict rather than a date. 6
The wheels
The single most useful fact in the lists is the wheel. For the Sedan, Touring, Coupé and Convertible, every list names the 68M, a 17-inch staggered M double spoke, as the package wheel or, on the Coupé from September 2004, as one of the two allowed wheels. For the Compact it is the 97M. 2 From the March 2004 lists, the package on those four bodies may be ordered with either the 68M or the 135M; the Compact keeps the 97M. 2
That matters when a seller writes "original M Sport wheels". On a Sedan built before 2004 the honest answer is the 68M; a 135M on such a car came later. How to tell the styles apart, and their sizes, is in "Six wheels, three families".
Bumpers, seats and steering wheel
Bumpers. BMW's parts catalogue keeps two M aero front groups under option codes S715A and S716A; the earlier S715A version is listed for the Sedan, the later S716A for the Sedan and Touring. 5 The catalogue names the package S338A "M Sports package II". Linking that code to the 2001 "second generation" release is our inference from the two names; no document we hold prints them side by side. 5 Why owners call the aero kit "M-Tech" is in "'M-Tech' is not a steering wheel".
Seats. The package's sport seats are in "Laser" cloth with Alcantara. 1,2 On the September 2004 Touring list, sport seats were also a separate option, code 481, at €500; the package is one of two ways to get them. 2
Steering wheel. The release and the lists name the M Sport leather steering wheel. 1,2 It is part of the package, not a separate trim level.
The Editions and the Clubsport
Edition Sport (724). BMW's 2003 press kit says the Edition Sport for the Sedan and Touring "essentially corresponds to the familiar M Sport package with additional options". 3 The German price lists confirm it: the Edition Sport includes package 338, plus seat heating, a rain sensor and aluminium trim; on the Coupé and Convertible, from September 2004, also xenon headlights, headlight washers and the multi-function steering wheel. 2
Edition Lifestyle and Edition Exclusive (722, 723) are different: they bring their own upholstery, trim and wheels, not the M package. 3,2
Clubsport. In the UK, BMW announced in February 2002 a 330Ci Clubsport Coupé, arriving in May, at £31,380, with a rear M spoiler, sports suspension settings, 18-inch double-spoke wheels and leather/Alcantara sports seats. 4 In Germany the Clubsport appears as option 768 on the Coupé from the September 2004 list, on most Coupé models, at €4,200, and names the 135M wheel among its contents. 2
Before the facelift: the first generation
BMW called the 2001 package the second generation, so there was a first. The catalogue lists an earlier "M Sports package" code, P337A, together with the S715A aero kit. 5 The only earlier German list we hold, September 1998 for the Sedan, shows the M aerodynamics package alone, with no full M package. 6 What a first-generation package contained is not established.
What this means for a car on sale today
- "M Sport" in a listing is a claim about a box on an order form. Many M parts have been fitted or swapped since, so check each part rather than the phrase.
- Check the wheel against the body and date. A 68M on a Sedan, Touring, Coupé or Convertible, a 97M on a Compact, and a 135M only from 2004. 2
- Sport seats are not proof. They were also a separate option. 2
- Edition Sport cars carry the package, plus heating, rain sensor and trim. 2,3
- Outside Germany, check the local lists. This article covers the German price lists; other markets may have offered the package differently.
Notes on the evidence
Confidence. The 2001 release, the 2003 press kit, the UK Clubsport release and the German price lists are BMW's own documents, read in full; the price lists are private copies supplied by the owner, used for facts only and never quoted. Option codes come from one parts-catalogue mirror. The two earliest German lists exist only as scans and are graded LOW.
Conflicts recorded. (1) The September 2000 Convertible scan shows the package before the May 2001 release. (2) Forum sources say the second generation began with the 2001 facelift; BMW's release says May 2001, and the release is used. (3) Code S338A is linked to the 2001 package by name only.
Not established. The start date of the Compact's package; the contents of the first-generation package; whether every item a list does not name was really absent; option codes in markets other than Germany.
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