Rejoice! One of the most desirable BMW colors has officially returned. Made famous by the M3 E46, Laguna Seca Blue can now be ordered on the G80. You can also have it on the M3 Touring G81 as well as on the M4 G82 Coupe and G83 Convertible. The lovely shade of blue comes from a time when the company took inspiration from legendary trace tracks for the names of its colors.

In the case of Laguna Seca Blue (codenamed 448), it takes after the iconic Laguna Seca circuit in California. Built back in 1957, the track previously had Mazda branding before being renamed WeatherTech a few years ago when the automotive accessories manufacturer became the primary sponsor.

The M3 E46 wasn’t the only model from that era to come in Laguna Seca Blue since the Z3 M Coupe had it as well. Other models we’ve covered in the past have included an F01 750Li,  an F30 3 Series Sedan M Performance Edition, and the M4 F82 Heritage Edition. It has now returned on the M3 after a long hiatus but prepare to pony up $4,500 since it’s a special-order Individual color.

Members of the Bimmer Post forums noticed the return of Laguna Seca Blue, and some of them have already placed orders for M3s and M4s with this paint job. Some of you will recall there was a petition to bring back the color in 2008, only a few years after it went away. Fast forward to 2024, the color is available in the BMW Individual configurator (see source link below) from where we took these screenshots of the G80.

BMW sells the M3 sedan with all sorts of blue shades these days, including matte options such as Frozen Tanzanite Blue and Frozen Marina Blue Bay. There are seven additional hues available: Arctic Race Blue, Blue Bay Lagoon, Marina Blue Bay, Borusan Turkish Blue, Sonic Speed Blue, Blue Hera Mica, Metropolitan Blue, and Centennial Blue.

The return of Laguna Seca Blue is a nice surprise ahead of an imminent small Life Cycle Impulse for the G80. This facelift is likely to bring the M4 LCI’s headlights, flat-bottomed steering wheel, and redesigned central air vents with an illuminated contour. In addition, the Competition version with xDrive could get an extra 20 horsepower to match the all-wheel-drive 2025 M4.

Source: BMW Individual