M3 Competition

The south of the island was made for this car. From Cagliari, the provincial road to Villasimius runs between sea and rock, the route to Chia rises and falls past glimpses of white dunes — and in between sit five proper seats for the people you actually want with you. The M3 Competition is the sports car that never asks you to choose between the corners and the company.

Here is a concrete idea: land at Cagliari-Elmas, load the luggage and follow the Cagliari–Chia–Villasimius itinerary, with dinner overlooking the sea on the way back. With 510 hp and 0–100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, transfers stop being dead time and become the best part of the programme.

The twin-turbo straight-six pulls hard from the off, but past the midpoint of the rev counter it changes its face: the note turns raw, almost race-bred, and the surge seems never to end. The eight-speed M Steptronic carries three-stage Drivelogic: in its most aggressive setting each upshift lands with a clean shove in the back; in its gentlest, the M3 plays the executive sedan to perfection.

Rear-wheel drive gives back a steering wheel rich in information and weighted just so, while the Competition chassis keeps the body flat through the rapid direction changes of the southern coast. It is a car you steer with two fingers on the motorway and your whole arm between the hairpins — and it never changes character halfway through.

The M3 Competition is also available as a Touring: the same mechanicals, the same 510 hp, but with a tailgate and a genuine estate-car boot behind them. It is the answer for those travelling as a family with beach kit, golf bags or simply too many suitcases — and with no intention whatsoever of trading away the fun.

Sedan or Touring, it remains one of the most versatile choices among the sports cars available to rent in Sardinia: fast enough to thrill, spacious enough to keep everyone on side. For collection, delivery in Cagliari is among the most popular with our guests in the south, at the airport and at the hotel alike.