The BMW M3 has won Popular Mechanics’ 2008 Automotive Excellence Award in the performance category, presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

“We are thrilled that the 2008 BMW M3 has won this year’s Automotive Excellence Award for performance,” said Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO, BMW (US) Holding Corp.

The all-new M3 Coupé and M3 Sedan—made their North American debuts at the LA Auto Show. The BMW M3 Coupé has been on sale in Australia since October this year and the 2007 allocation of vehicles is completely sold out.

In its December 2007 article about the awards, Popular Mechanics automotive editors praise the new V8-powered BMW M3 as:

“..one of the few performance cars that can triumph at weekend track days and still carry four friends in perfect comfort and luxury to an evening movie…The M3 is elegant and powerful, and it does its job at a comfort level not many cars can match.”

Just for those who may doubt the M3's potential on the track, here's a picture of someone getting it sideways.

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