E36 M3 officially not really an M-car

I hope this comment is said im jest as if you really think this is the case then you are ...., well, full of it

I was being generous to the e36 328is when I said an e30 318is had as much in common with an e30M3 as a 328is had with an M3...........if the 328is was even slightly close, I would have drawn a comparison using the Italian 320is e30......

...for the record....respect is due to the 328is....it is a fantstic car, just not as able or as fast as the M, but a fantastic car none the less......

posh airfield yours, mine only has traffic lights....

All M3's - E30, E36 and E46 - have proven race pedigree. I honestly believe the BMW still build cars like this to race as it's a big part of the heritage of the brand and it's not purely a marketing exercise. Lets face it most buyers of new M power cars could care less about the racing pedigree of their new purchase but M powered cars are still the ultimate driving machine IMHO. Fair enough the new M5 and M6 have no racing pedigree but imagine seeing the new M6 racing in the German DTM series, now who wouldn't want to see that!

I'm not gonna listen to anymore of this sportKa nonsense and the 535D being as fast as an M3. Strap a twin turbo to an M3 and see how fast the diesel is then. Lets face it diesel cars are becomming more and more attractive but who wants one, furthermore i doubt we'll ever see one in official Mpower guise. I prefer to compare like with like rather than see people get excited about some nasty little city run about being able to stay with an E30 M3.

I'll stick with my normally aspirated 3.0 E36, it's everything i need in a car and more, i bought for the driving experience and not for the badge, sure i don't need to drive an M3 but i wouldn't be without it now. Some ricer boys, TDi's and even the odd washing machine might be able to cut me up on a busy motorway, well you know what, best of luck to them.

 

I suppose they're are several arguement going on here - performance, pedigree, racing history etc.  So I'm going to play the village idiot here and ask a few questions

E30 - proven racing history in various guise and engine sizes but and correct me if I am wrong it was always a 4 cylinder S14???
E36 - can someone share this as I'm going to put my hand up and say I don't know anything about this side of the E36 M3???
E46 - as far as I know and again am far from an expert but the one I hear most about is the GTR which I think is a V8???

So I suppose the real thing is to forget about comparisons between cars from different eras and generations and look at its peers at the time.  Apparently we all know a Sport Ka is quicker tha an E30 M3 and that a 535D laps exactly the same as an E46 M3 around the Top Gear test track.......... etc etc.

The best point about the Motorsport history is that back in the late 80's any car entered had to be a production build and it looks like BMW built the race car first and then went sh1t... to enter we have to put x amount of these on the public roads - brilliant for anyone at the time that could afford one (they could buy a real race car).

Then everyone sees loads of money coming in, straight away and I believe this is the case with everything, marketing gets involved and starts to maximize the cash cow.  After all this is a business and nothing else.

All M cars are better than their immediate peers at that period of time, they have better technology, components etc etc, but are they all race cars - I don't believe they are.  My M owners manual had a paragraph in it about racing and it did not tell you how to race it but instead to contact the dealer to make the necessary technical changes or something to that effect.

Therefore any M is better than its immeadiate smaller brother at that time and should be taken as the best possible compromise between raod and track use with the bias towards the road. The only race cars for the raod nowadays are the small build shops and they have fair amount of commercialisim behind them also - Caterham, Westfield, Ariel etc etc

foxworth wrote: i raced a 328i in a straight line when i had the 3.0L M3, and he stayed with me all the way to 100  - (we were on a private airfield of course )

yeah, comon as much these private airfields, everyone has one these days

I agree 100% for sure than the E36 is a proper M-Car.  All I was saying earlier is it is 'similar' to an 328i Sport, which it is, but its still different enough to warrant being called M car.  They are great cars [way better than all its competitors] and at todays prices a total bargain...

bhp555 wrote: .....let's keep this factual...... the e36 m3 engine is a souped up 325i engine - a splendid engine no doubt, but not a Motorsport engine ........what!!! .......

i guess if you were referring to the US M3, then you would be closer to say its a souped up 325...?

bhp555 wrote: .......I was wondering how successful the e30 M3 cab was in it's day...however shortlived.... .......e34 M5 touring anybody.....

I must have missed the E30 M3 Cabrio race car - we should discount this one as a real M3 as well!!!

bhp555 wrote: By the way, there is as much difference between the e36 328is and the e36 M3 (3.0l) as there is between the e30 318is and the e30 M3…….. so less of the toffee.

I hope this comment is said im jest as if you really think this is the case then you are ...., well, full of it

wind up session over - i remain as i was...