From the July 1994 issue of Car and Driver.
Talk about a case of delayed gratification. At first, BMW said we were not going to get the M3 version of its seductive 3-series coupe. Then it said we were, but with the less-than-tantalizing proviso that it would not have the European M3’s engine. Instead, we’d get a modified 325i’s engine. That meant no handmade throttle bodies, no continuously variable valve timing. We couldn’t help having reduced expectations.
Which made our surprise even more pleasant. The U.S M3 is equipped with a bored-and-stroked version of the 325i inline six, but that engine wasn’t exactly bad from the get-go. In M3 trim, now known as the S50, it’s a 3.0-liter with 240 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque at its disposal, which it deploys in such a willing, refined, and generous fashion that to drive the car is to fall in love with this engine.
The S50 is also a performance bargain. “Our” M3 trades 42 horses for about a $14,000 slice off what the Euro car would have cost had it been brought over as is. In return, we get a fatter torque curve that climbs to 190 pound-feet at just 2400 rpm, and then flattens between 4000 and 5500 where more than 220 pound-feet is permanently on call.
Thus equipped, the U.S. M3 is better suited to the environment it will find itself in. We have no autobahns here. We have very low speed limits here. We have roads that look as if they’ve been on the receiving end of a Serbian mortar assault. And the M3 takes this stuff in stride. A touch of throttle at freeway speeds in the direct-drive fifth gear dials the speed up like a rheostat, jetting the car past slower vehicles in a manner that brings to mind an F-18 cruising through a formation of DC-3s.
Those of us lucky enough to have driven a Euro M3 might notice that the stateside car does not have quite the same exultant rush to the redline that its European cousin has, nor exactly the same surge of acceleration at the top end that 282 horsepower provides. But the U.S. car has, along with the emphatic flow of torque from low down on the tach, a power delivery very much keeping with American driving priorities.
From as low as 2500 rpm, our vivid Dakar-yellow M3 pulled like a turbo car all the way to its engine limiter at 6800 rpm or 6500 rpm, depending on which gear it was in. The engine-management system gives you 6800 in the first two gears, then 6500 in the next two, with a 137 mph cutoff in top. Exactly why our car curtails its rush toward what is surely a 145-to-150-mph top speed is beyond our understanding, although the safety watchdogs are probably scandalized by the 137-mph figure anyway.
Wait until they hear about the way in which the car dashes off easily repeatable 0-to-60 sprints in 5.6 seconds. That’s half a second quicker than the company claims for the car. Better yet, it’s 0.4 second faster than BMW’s claim for the European car. In fact, this car feels so good that comparisons with the Euro car become odious after just a few hours behind the wheel. Not least because the U.S. car is an authentic M-division product, sharing the other M3’s unique accouterments.
The body kit is identical, with M-style rocker panels, deep front fascia, and rear under-bumper diffuser, plus unique ten-spoke alloy wheels with ultra-low-profile 40-series Michelins. Under the skin, you’ll find careful M-division tweaks too. The suspension is a fully redeveloped version of the standard 3-series kit, with reinforced control arms, bushings, and knuckles; gas pressurized shocks; revised spring and bar rates; and massive brake discs.
The suspension tuning is specific to the U.S. model, giving the car a superb compromise between body-motion control and comfort. Yet it pulls 0.86 g on the skidpad-only 0.03 g less than a Corvette. The M3 is necessarily firm, yes, but it handles pavement breaks with amazing poise. The tire thwop over lateral bumps and cracks, but very little impact makes it through to the driver, and what does lacks the sharp edge you might expect from such a dedicated sportster. On really bad surfaces, the impacts come through mainly to the seats, sort of like a kid kicking the back of your seat at the movies, only less annoying.
For such a potent machine, the controls are particularly genteel. The higher-torque-capacity Euro M3 five-speed is employed, but like other 3-series manual gearboxes, it uses automatic-transmision fluid. So this car’s shifts are as light and silky first thing on a cold morning as they are in the mild-mannered 325i. And if the clutch and brake pedal effort is a trifle heavier in the M3 than in other 3-series, a strong clutch and ferocious braking performance are ample payback. Stops from 70 mph take only 158 feet. Even the steering, which offers a fair bit of self-centering tug in fast curves and has a firm feel to it at all speeds, will yield to the modest arm strength of your average couch potato.
It’s this sense of refinement, of everyday versatility, that makes the M3 exceptional. It’s as nice to drive on a leisurely Sunday morning lakeside dawdle as it is to rip through a series of mountain zigzags. But when you’re alone in the M3 and the fun police are all on doughnut patrol, something in your brain clicks over. You leave the last stoplight with a 4500-rpm clutch drop. The tires light up, spinning in unison under management of the 25-percent limited-slip diff. In two seconds you need second gear, and the tach calls for third barely three seconds later. All the while you hear a beautiful angry yowl from somewhere beneath the suave veneer of the BMW. You swing into the first bend and the nose swivels like the turret on an MI. The wheel could be on a precision lathe; nothing is lost to compliance. The corner tightens, you dial in more lock, and the nose responds in direct proportion. Now you’re going too fast, so you ease off the throttle. The car loses speed and kind of hunkers down, but there’s no change in heading unless the front end was already pushing, in which case the line tighten . If you are going way too fast, the car will rotate as the back eases out.
Exploring the M3’s limits takes dedication; they’re disconcertingly high. So high that you’ll be pushing your luck on public roads. But as we know from riding with Joachim Winkelhock, the British Touring Car Champion, as well as from less adventurous exploits of our own, there is a whole handling spectrum available to M3 owners in which oversteer balanced with the wheel and throttle promises great entertainment.
If you’re not likely to take long trips with adults stuffed in back, then this car could be the one to buy if you want only one. Its all-around versatility goes a long way to meet the frequently conflicting need of the modern driver. Somehow it manages to blend a sense of upscale privilege and refinement with flashing good looks, spellbinding performance, and refreshing integrity.
The M3, it has to be said, is a car very near the top of our wish list.
Counterpoint
One of my most vivid behind-the-wheel memories is of the Euro M3 I sampled last winter in Germany. The route I chose ticked off more than 200 kilometers, but the 282-hp Bimmer and I made it in a little over an hour, clipping along the autobahn at triple-digit speeds. My tape-recorded notes sounded like bulletins from the front: “Thrilling acceleration. Telegraphic steering. A near-total absence of brake dive. Delicate, but urgent.” Last night I sampled the American-spec M3. Only the saving bleeps of my radar detector hinted at any difference. —Martin Padgett Jr.
I live in Detroit, and this is a lousy car for the city. That’s the city’s fault, not the car’s. The M3’s terrific six-cylinder begs to be wound to the redline in every gear, and the suspension seems happiest when all four wheels are drifting. Try to use such potential on crowded streets and your license will be gone before your third drive to work. So if you’re an urban dweller and you fall for an M3, prepare to buy a racetrack, or five miles of curving country road, or at least a local judge. Otherwise, you’re in for unremitting, frustrating self-restraint. —Don Schroeder
BMW drivers run the danger of being perceived as status exhibitionists. The reason? The pricey 325is is a nice coupe, but a $14,000-cheaper Eagle Talon TSi AWD can outrun it. Not so with the M3. The only car faster and less expensive (and only by a few hundred dollars) is the Mazda RX-7. The M3 approaches it in acceleration and handling, and you would probably want to call a twisty road duel between these two cars a draw. The M3’s the quickest real four-seater you can get for its $36,620 price. No status hazard in that.
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Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com
