The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
Along this Murderers’ Row, the blocky first-gen M3 looks comically friendly. As if Spongebob bumbled into a prison lineup. And by modern standards, the first BMW M3 is gawky; an upright cab atop pillbox hips. Hindsight has been kind to this M3 though, known by its chassis code, “E30”. Because in 2021, only one word springs to mind when you see this car: legendary. The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
It took time to earn that reverence. This high-strung, high-revving, four-banger homologation coupe didn’t catch fire with the Eighties yuppie set – or enthusiasts – initially. BMW sold more than 19,000 E30 M3s worldwide. But just 5115 made it to North America during its run here from model years 1988-1991. While those production numbers more than satisfied the Group A homologation requirements, M3s didn’t exactly flood the streets. After all, that wasn’t the point. It was built to race, not as a status symbol among systems analysts. Then there was the price. The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
In 1988, R&T’s E30 M3 test car listed for $34,810, which is about eighty grand in 2021. It took a discerning buyer to go for the M3, which offered less refinement and two fewer cylinders than its brother E30, the 325i. Competitors like the Porsche 944 S and Mercedes’s übersedans offered stiff competition and more-prestigious badges too. The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
So BMW flared their 3-Series coupe’s fenders to accommodate wider tires. They revised the sedan’s tail with a swept C-Pillar to move air more efficiently over that wide rear spoiler. The tweaks lowered the coefficient of drag but allowed more downforce. Every body panel on the car, save the hood, went under the knife.
And under that hood lurked a weapons-grade unit. BMW’s motorsports division cooked up the S14, a 2.3-liter, 16-valve inline-four that produced 192 horses for the US market.
The mill buzzed and gnashed up to a 7250 rpm redline, fortified and spurred by Bosch’s peerless Motronic engine management. In essence, the S14 is a chopped-down version of the M1 supercar’s big straight six. Righteous stuff. BMW dropped the S14 into the engine bay of its only-so-rakish sedan and went racing with Mercedes and Ford in its crosshairs.
So The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend
0 Response to "The BMW E30 M3 Was Born a Legend"
Post a Comment