Patience is a virtue that usually doesn't come easily to car zealots. For us, it's all about getting things done, quickly, swiftly and efficiently. No waiting please!

This means that when the grapevine tells you the still-in-the-works E90 M3 will have a honking vee-eight, and, with competitive evolution being

2005 BMW M3 (Photo: John LeBlanc, straight-six.com)

what it is in the car business these days, improved handling and performance, what's an impatient M3 nutter to do?

Well, the folks at BMW know your lack of patience only too well. Heck, they've built their whole business on it. So, to tide you over, may I present to you, arguably, the best driving E46 ever--the M3 Competition Package.

"Best driving E46 ever? Wouldn't that be the M3 CSL with its lightweight, carbon-fibre roof, stripped out interior, and balls-to-the-walls 360 horsepower straight-six?", say you, oh Bimmer addict.

Um, yes, you may have me there, mate. Its just BMW never sold that model here. What with the cost of certifying the high-power engine for North America, the expected limited sales, and the fact that the M3 CSL is

2005 BMW M3 (Photo: John LeBlanc, straight-six.com)

priced about 50% on top of a cooking M3 coupe in Europe. It may have made sense to the enthusiastic few, but not to BMW's bottom line.

So, there's no Santa Claus, and no North American E46 CSL. But BMW does claim that with the Competition Package, this is the best handling M3 ever. And what do you get for your $6,900 the Competition Package costs on top of the M3's base price of $74,400?

The first thing you'll notice, beyond the new Interlagos Blue exterior paint exclusive to the package, is the as unique Alcantara-covered steering wheel with the deletion of cruise control and steering wheel audio controls. All business. A six-speed manual is standard, but my test car came with the optional Sequential Manual Gearbox ($4,900). The M3 standard eighteen-inch wheel/tire

2005 BMW M3 (Photo: John LeBlanc, straight-six.com)

combo is upgraded to nineteen-inch forged-aluminum wheels wearing 225/40 fronts and 255/35 rear Michelin Pilot Sports. Firmer shocks and springs--that all '05 M3s received--are here as well. A quicker steering ratio, brake pads with a more aggressive compound and larger cross-drilled front brake rotors complete the hardware upgrades.

Software upgrades include one of the more interesting features for those who intend to take their M3 on the track--the less intrusive M Track Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) mode, also found in the out-of-reach CSL. Punch the button on the steering wheel and DSC becomes less intrusive, but doesn't throw you completely to the wolves.

I recently had the opportunity to take the M3 Competition Package back and forth from Toronto and Ottawa on a preferred backroads route that surprisingly didn't involve the dreaded Four-Oh-One. With no upgrades to the regular M3's 333 horsepower mill, there are no gains in straight-line performance, but what is immediately noticeable is the upgraded braking system.