Photobucket.com E30 M3
The beginning for the M3 started with the E30 M3, as with many great sports cars it was created to satisfy homologation requirements of the FIA’s Group A touring car racing series. This mandated 5,000 road going versions of the car had to be made. Thank you BMW for abiding by the rules. Two decades later the M3s are now recognized globally as one of the best sports cars.
BMW quickly sold the 5,000 E30 M3’s required to enter DTM (Deustsche Touren Meisterschaft). Now BMW was battling Mercedes Benz’s 190E 2.3-liter in the series. This was a direct battle between the two German auto giants.
The E30 compiled an impressive resume on the track through the late eighties and early nineties. The E30 M3 won multiple German, Italian, British and European touring car championships. It even captured the first World Touring Car Championship in 87. In addition, the E30 M3 won multiple Guia races, 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, and Spa 24 hour races. This makes the E30 M3 one of the most prolific road racecars in history. Before the M3 BMW motorsports produced the M1 super car, the E12 M535i sedan and the magnificent M635 Csi. However, the M3 really increased the fame of the BMW’s motorsports division.
Racecar DNA of this caliber translated into awesome road cars. E30 M3’s had flared fender wells to accommodate wider tires up to ten inches wide in the rear, upgraded brakes, and near 50/50 weight distribution. The steering was light very communicative to the driver and razor sharp. That’s not even the best part of this package. The chassis was magnificent. The E30 M3 could carve up back roads with ease.
The 2.3-liter inline four engines needed just 6.8 seconds to get you from 0-60 mph. Not fast by today’s euro-coupe high four-second 0-60 mph-ers, but many of today’s hot hatchbacks are just now catching up to the E30 M3. However, they’re chassis would still be no match for the E30 M3 on the twisties. The engine is pleasant to listen to as it revs up to its 7000-rpm redline. The car had just enough torque not to feel sluggish at low rpms when coming out of corners. This is partially because the car only weighed 2866 lbs. This is a featherweight compared to today’s euro sports coupes, which seem to be getting heavier all the time.
With a look of form following function, the E30 M3 made it known it was a true driver’s machine. The car was offered in six distinctive colors (alpine white, brilliant red, mercury red, diamond black metallic, salmon silver metallic, sterling silver metallic). It had the aforementioned flared fender wells for wider tires. It also had three times the caster angle of the regular E30 3-series. It shared front brake calipers and larger wheel bearings with the E28 5-Series. The rear window was larger than that of the standard E30 to improve aerodynamics. The M3 front and rear windows were bonded to increase rigidity instead of being housed in rubber frames. Although visually it looked very similar to the standard E30 3-Series it only shared one body panel the hood. In addition, the E30 M3 had a raised rear trunk with a prominent wing. An excellent condition 1986 E30 M3 can be bought for around $20-$30K today.
Inside, the M3 featured adjustable Recaro seats with racing harness eyelets. Also featured was a three-spoked Motorsport steering wheel. The instrument cluster featured red needles for better visibility at higher speeds. The Speedo went to 160 mph along with an 8,000-rpm tachometer separated by a Motorsports logo. There was also one found on the shifter knob to let the driver know this one is something special. Possible upgrades were an on-board computer and heated front seats.
Today the M3 is one of the most respected and loved sports cars. This legend all started with the E30 M3. The E30 M3 is fun to drive and it makes all the right noises, good specimens are getting scarcer by the day and would make a good addition to a driving enthusiast’s collection.
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