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Directly on the heels of SEMA, the matte capital of the world, BMW announced a special run of the 2012 BMW M3 Competition Edition coupe in Frozen Silver matte paint. And we mean extremely limited: just 40 cars celebrating 40 years of BMW racing in North America will be made.
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Each car will have the Frozen Silver paint, black hood intakes and dark chrome exterior trim. Black M3 GTS wheels will sit at all four corners.
![Click to enlarge BMWM3Frozen4.jpg&MaxW=630.jpg](./download/file.php?id=2862&t=1&sid=b5dec2dc95703407f3657c241aa7c9d3)
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The interior will stand out from your neighbor's M3 thanks to palladium silver accents and palladium silver-contrast stitching on the front seats, headrests, door trim panels, center console and center armrest. The steering wheel is covered in Alcantara and the dash is trimmed in carbon fiber.
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The special-edition M3 gets the same powerplant as the base car: a 4.0-liter V8 providing 414 hp. And with Bimmer's M dual-clutch transmission, a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.5 seconds is standard. No manual-transmission versions will be offered.
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The Competition package is standard on the special-edition M3, bringing with it a ride-height reduction, custom wheels and electronic damping control with modified programming for the M mode. The Cold Weather package and Premium package are also included.
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The company says the cars will go to the first 40 authorized BMW centers to become M certified in the United States. The MSRP will be a cool $81,060.
Something tells us that BMW won't have any problem moving these cars: In 2011, BMW offered a small run of Frozen Gray M3 coupes, and they sold out in just 12 minutes.
![Click to enlarge BMWM3Frozen.jpg&MaxW=630.jpg](./download/file.php?id=2859&t=1&sid=b5dec2dc95703407f3657c241aa7c9d3)
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Care instructions for the impossibly fragile paint is below:
-Never polish or wax the vehicle
-No products that are even mildly abrasive, such as polishes, glazes, or compounds, should be applied to the surface of the paint
-No mechanical means of cleaning the surface, such as a buffing wheel, should be used
-The only recommended surface applications are BMW insect remover and car shampoo
-Any outside materials, such as insect remains, resins, tar spots, oils, etc. must be removed immediately using approved products
-Hand washing the vehicle is preferred
But wait, there’s more:
-If surface scratches, swirl marks, etc. are present, they must not be repaired by polishing or using other surface abrasives
-Paint damage should only be repaired by a BMW-trained body shop
-Special repair instructions are available for this paint and should always be consulted before attempting a repair
-When painting a panel with matte finish, special attention must be given to color matching as blending of the clear coat into adjacent panels is not recommended
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