My comment was referring to OPs repeated mentioning of standing out, being rare, seeing them on the street, etc. and the comment about which responds to mods best. Either way, I'd get the M3 because it is closest to a sports car of the current Ms. I have not used a BMW dual-clutch transmission, only the old single-clutch smg. The new duals are supposed to be smoother and faster-shifting, but real manual is the only one I'd choose (even if its a tenth or two slower to 60mph). Also I do remember in one of Car and Driver's first track tests of the new M3 (w/ dual-clutch trans option) they had gear selection problems and got a better lap time in full auto mode.

I don't know what kind of mods you want to do, but as far as motor/drivetrain mods there aren't a ton for either 3 Ms. The motors are kind of engineered to their limit. Do you need more than 400hp in an M3 anyway? I gotta ask- why are you buying an M car vs. another model like a 335i, 550i, etc?

Maybe I'm just bitter towards random people getting into BMWs by buying two new Motorsport cars for them and their wives to haul groceries from Wild Oats.

Edit- not trying to be a TOTAL dick, but you cant even use punctuation/spell "field" etc/put real sentences together, so should you really even be driving a car, let alone a fast one? If you are a real person and not a troll, I'm mystified as to how you have gotten far enough in life to afford these cars without elementary level skills.