[simianspeedster]

One perspective that may not have been mentioned yet: a large percentage of U.S. BMW buyers (not sure about other markets) lease their cars, and that includes M cars. If a nicely factory modded car costs $5-10K more than its mainstream equivalent, it's very attractive to those of us who usually lease. Why?

For one thing, modifying a leased car then returning it to stock would be a PITA for all but the most motivated buyers with time to perform or manage all the mods on both ends.

Perhaps more importantly, when you lease a car like a 335is or M1 over a 335i or 135i, you don't pay the full difference in price. 3 year leases have residuals in the mid to high 50% range, so you'll likely pay less than half the difference over the duration of the lease. Also, BMWNA might offer special lease incentives on these models because they recognize that their prices could otherwise creep into markets where people can consider cars with more status, etc.

In short, if you're already looking to lease a 335i or 135i and you can get a 335is or 135i for $50-$100 more per month, it can be relatively easy to pull that trigger.

-simianspeedster