One of BMW's most popular cars just turned 30 - here's why it was so great
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Jul 26, 2021, 12:48 IST
In 1979, BMW took the engine from their M1 super car and placed it into the 5-series sedan to create the M535i. Today, the M5 is still the archetypal high performance sedan. But when the international racing scene heated up in the 1980's, BMW knew a big sedan was not the right tool for the job ...
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... So in 1985 they gave the smaller, E30 generation 3-series coupe the 'M' treatment ...
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... And the first M3 was born. How similar was it to the race car?
...Very. And BMW was quite proud of this fact. The road car was highly praised by drivers and the automotive press. Car and Driver called it "a thinly disguised race car." Today, an original E30 M3 is a much-sought-after cult classic.
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But racing technology moved quickly in the 1980's, and BMW had to keep up. The M3 'Sport Evolution' special edition, which received a horsepower boost and some aerodynamic tweaks, is what's known as a "homologation special," or a car sold to the public just so it was legal to race.
By the time the E30 generation 3-series was finished, the M3 had cemented itself as an indelible part of the BMW essence, and the E36 generation M3 did its best to follow up on such a groundbreaking hit. The M3 GT was the next homologation special to appear.
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At the top of the E46-generation M3, the M3 CSL (or Coupe Sport Lightweight) borrowed a name from the classic 3.0 CSL of the 1970's. But the time this car was introduced in the early 2000's, the era of racecar-for-the-road homologation specials was over.
Besides the coupe, BMW offered a convertible and 4-door versions of the M3, to mirror the entire base 3-series range.
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The E92 M3, like this one-of-only-135, 444 horsepower M3 GTS, provided the last-ever M3 coupe. To get a 2-door M3 in the true style of the original, fans now need to look to ...
... the M4 ...
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... or the brand new M2.
But 30 years later, the new F80 M3 sedan is still a high-performing, luxurious, technology-packed marvel. It may play second fiddle to the M5, but it can very much hold its own.
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