2013 BMW E92 M3

“CCA Raffle”

VIN#: J595004

ENGINE  4.0-liter  S65B40 V-8

OUTPUT  414 hp @ 8300 rpm, 295 lb-ft @ 3900 rpm

TRANSMISSION 6-speed ZF manual

CURB WEIGHT 3650 lbs

TOP SPEED 155 mph

BUILD DATE  May 2013

COLOR  Le Mans Blue Metallic

OWNER  Paul Dunlevy

OWNED SINCE  2013

LOCATION  Kernersville, North Carolina

Every year, the BMW CCA’s membership eagerly anticipates the Club’s dream-car raffle. In 2013, the grand prize was special: A one-of-one E92 M3 in Le Mans Blue with the competition package and bespoke details like embroidered headrests indicating this was built especially for the CCA. Cash value? $105,000.

“I was on the CCA national board, so I couldn’t participate in the raffle,” recalls Paul Dunlevy. “But I saw this M3 in California. I was standing next to [former BMW CCA executive director] Frank Patek and told him, ’if whoever wins this thing is crazy enough not to take it, let me know.’” 

The winner was crazy enough.

The car was loaded with the competition package, cold weather package, premium package, premium sound, and more than $11,000 in special order equipment, among other options. You think that might be enough, but Dunlevy has further modified it.

With BBS wheels, Brembo brakes, Dinan intake, tune, and crank pulley and belts, a carbon fiber diffuser, BMW inconel exhaust, carbon fiber mirror caps, and every incandescent light has been replaced by LEDs, Dunlevy’s M3 has an OEM+ look.

Dunlevy has been the Club M3’s steward for 13 years, and in that time he’s added about 12,000 miles. Being a CCA driving instructor grew the appeal of getting an E92 M3.

“I’ve had several students with E92 M3s, and I really enjoyed working them up to speed,” Dunlevy says. “So, when this one showed up, I looked at the way it was equipped. It was attractive.”

It continues to impress.

“It really feels great,” Dunlevy says. “It has the manual transmission, which is kind of a rarity these days, and I enjoy that. The car feels like a glove. It tracks so well it’s hard not to enjoy.”

And being a final model year car, one of the biggest E92 issues was no longer a worry.

“This one was built in May, 2013, so it was the second to last month of production. By that time, they’d gotten all the bearing issues sorted,” says Dunlevy. Now all he has to do is enjoy the drive.