BMW M3 (E36), US model

Two versions of the BMW M3 Coupé were sold in the US market from April 1994 onwards but by contrast only a single US version of the sedan was marketed there. It shared the same engine with the revised version of the BMW M3 Coupé, which already went on sale in January 1996. The six-cylinder inline engine (S52B32 US) was based on the M52 engine from the BMW 3 Series (E36) and delivered an output of 243 hp. In contrast to the coupé, the customer had a choice between a sedan with a manual five-speed gearshift and an automatic five-speed transmission. A total of 8,610 US sedans were manufactured and out of these around 47 % were factory fitted with an automatic transmission.