If a specific model from the lineup has the power to determine popularity and define the company, that specific model can be named as the masterpiece of the company. Here the specific model is turned out to be the M3 and from the name M3 you can recognize the manufacturer, BMW which is not a big thing because it is. Today it is me only here and we are talking about one of the most iconic epic and whatever else model from the Bavarian automakers, the BMW M3. Lets start from the basics, M3 is the high performance or the M product, that is the performance spec of the production saloon model the 3 series. And the E46 which is turned out to be the most popular one of the whole series is definitely is the Hero Car from BMW. So lets start from the word Hero Car. Yes all the Need For Speed fans know what an M3 is. BMW M3 is the most famous or most heroic and powerful car in the need for speed realm. From Need for speed most wanted 2004 , the NFS 2012 and many more. Basically for me, it was need for speed which made me love the car.
And talking about that, the first generation of the car was the M3 E 30. The M3 E 30 was the performance derivation of the E30 3 series which was intended to be a homologation for the German tour wagon series DTM. There were many kinds of homologation rule barriers to pass in order to compete for the DTM. They included minimum local population of 5000 cars should be build and sold. So the M3 was built and presented to the public in the 1985 Frankfurt motor-show and the production began on the very next year and continued for the next five years. While under production it was the coupe body style which took the major part of the production graph and the car was later homologated with many changes for the GT races. Within its short period of time the E 30 M3 became so popular that it got to the no 6 of the top 10 list of the sports cars from the Sports Car international magazine, and as a cherry on the cake, the Automobile Magazine included E 30 M3 as the top sixth cars of the 1980s. And the first generation superstar was given with the BMW S 14 4 Cylinder engine which was then mated to a Getrag 256 5 speed manual, and the specialty lies on the European versions as they were given the dogleg version with closed ratios and 1:1 ratio for the fifth gear. And from the awards the car got we can simply say that the car is a GOAT.
The next generation known as the BMW M3 E36 was yet another beautiful edition of the M3 series. The E 36 generation was introduced at the November of 1992, and initially BMW only introduced coupes as they were more popular than that of the sedans, which were added a month later. Simply the E 36 can be said as the 1995 face-lift of the E 30 coupe. and the main recognizable changes given to the E 36, the latest generation were the increase in the total engine displacement and the addition of the new Sequential Manual Gearbox which drastically improvised the shift times and operation in performance situation. Even though it was an outstanding track performance car it was, on the hard side the bad daily driver. Throughout the new generation lifetime, BMW has introduced many special editions for the E36 M3. Which included the M3 GT for Europe with some race pedigree to compete in FSA GT class III IMSA GT and verity of other long distance races. And as a part of the homologation only around 500 cars were made and to give it a fresh feeling many cosmetic updates were given which included single paint job, the British green and was given adjustable front splitters rear double wing along with stiffer front suspension. Another one of the Special editions was the M3 Evolution Imola individual, which again was the European M3 with new paint job in the name Imola red. Along with the new paint job the Imola individual was also given nappa leather seats, Amaretto suede bolsters and double spoke polished alloys to increase the cosmetic appearance and appeal. Then came the M3 lightweight, for Americans who loved burgers and cheese and were heavy and fat. feels a bit ironical there. Any way the M3 lightweight was the US race homologated edition which was extensively light and was well equipped for track uses . The E 36 M3 also have another one special edition for Australia in the name of M3 R which was yet another race homologated production series. Then we have the German homologated version, the M3 GTR which was road homologated and was produced from 1994 focusing the ADAC German GT Cup.
Next in the line we have the very next generation which is still the rock-star of BMW fans, the BMW M3 E 46 generation. The E 46 generation of M3 had coupe and convertible body styles. And man this generation of the car was powered by the BMW S 54 straight 6, one of the BMW's iconic engines built during that era. The straight Six was mated with BMW's 420 G 6 speed manual transmission which again the second edition of the sequential manual gearbox. The drivetrain pair gave the car monstrous acceleration and it was capable of pulling of the 0-100 mark in about 5.1 seconds, which was something jaw dropping those days. And with a beast inside, the top speed of the BMW was electronically limited into 250 which was for good I can say. And within the production period there were almost 56,133 coupes and 29,633 convertibles on the road. Now as for the previous generation, the E 46 generation also had some special editions.
The first one on the line is the CSL, aah this thing is defined as the Coupe Sport Leichtbau, which when translated in English means Coupe Sport Lightweight. The CSL edition as the name suggest has seen extensive usage of weight reduction methods which included glass reinforced plastics, carbon fibre reinforced plastics and other carbon fibre accents which resulted in reduced kerb weight. The CSL also included bucket seats semi slick tyres upgraded shocks stiffer suspension revised electronic stability control and aerodynamics. And on the cosmetic side the paint jobs available were Silver Grey Metallic and Black Sapphire Metallic. Also there was another Competition Package available for the M3 E46, and let me tell you one thing, the package includes the following items which makes it look and drive absolutely stunning! 19 inch BBS alloys, stiffer suspension with faster steering ratios, steering wheel, M Track mode along with front discs from the CSL and alcantara warped wheel to make the maneuvering more comfortable. Also as to homologate the M3 GTR for racing there were only a handful of cars produced as per official reports and to increase the rarity effect the prices were as high as 250,000 euros. To be clear with the numbers, only 10 cars were planned up for sale and then only 6 were produced and then again 3 of those six were development prototypes. And these were built alongside the production of the GTR race car. Because the production was alongside the race car, the GTR road car was also powered by the 4.0L P60 V8 with the dry sump system which was taken from the GTR race car and was detuned from 444 HP to 382 HP for the road going version, and as a result the top speed was 295 KM/H. The engine was mated with the 6 speed manual and the road car had the same variable locking differential from the race car. Now comes the big part. The 2005 M3 GTR was taken out to the red carpet as a result of BMW's collaboration with the video game making company Electronic Arts. EA featured the BMW M3 GTR with a custom silver and blue livery and a neat tuner body-kit with clean styling on their video game the Need For Speed. And the GTR was given as the hero car on the game which made the fame of the car skyrocket like no other. It was so popular that many of the fans started making custom Need For Speed builds out of regular M3s. And Believe me or not it is a sick car. Powerful and Cold.
Now comes the next generation The E90, E92, and E93. On the next life cycle update BMW improvised the design and aero of the M3. The E90s were powered by the S65 V8 which produced 414 HP and 400 NM and were available in sedan convertible and Coupe body styles. To be more precise I always like the coupes, they are sick and according to the sales report they sold 40,092 coupes, 10,219 convertibles and 9,674 sedans. Now the most highlighting part as far as I am concerned is the introduction of the special edition, the M3 GTS. Just like that of the GTR the GTS was yet another sick piece of art that looked and worked wonderfully. The beauty was announced in 2009 and was put up into production an year later. The intentions of the Bavarian automaker with the GTS was quiet clear from the production stage. The GTS was only produced in coupe body style and was oriented on the cub-sport style. On the GTS version the car had gone way down in the case of kerb weight and had upgraded the engine, suspension, breaks, and had reworked aerodynamics too. With the beastly combo of the 4.4L 444 HP engine and the 7 Speed Dual Clutch the car was able to pull of the 0-100 mark in almost 4.4 seconds. Now yet another Special edition the M3 CRT or the Carbon Racing Technology. The CRT was essentially the GTS but more adorable or the luxury twin of the wild beast. What added to the cost was the carbon fibre accents on the hood and all around which in turn reduced the weight of the car. And yes this generation too had the Competition Package which had a lowered ride height 19 inch wheels re-tuned adjustable dampers and electronic stability control added with M mode. There is another special edition for the E 90 M3. That was the DTM Champion edition, which was build to commemorate M3 winning the DTM championship. It was pretty much tweaked to make it look like that of the DTM edition and was given with a dual clutch transmission. Apart from those changes, other changes include some cosmetic updates, new 'Frozen Black' paint job with a stripe over the roof and boot lid along with a matte black wheel. The inside saw extensive use of carbon fibre along with an M Power logo on handbrake grip and and a numbered plaque with Spengler's signature and the text "DTM champion 2012" above the glove box. Next in the line is the Lime Rock Park Edition which was focused for the United States costumers. With the production sprouting out in 2013 there were a total of 200 coupes produced with the same paint job in the name Fire Orange with some carbon fibre accents and lower ride height. Also to make the South African costumers happy, BMW produced an alternative for the GTS in the name BMW Frozen edition which again were a hand full of cars with a total of 25 rolling out. As the name suggests the frozen edition was given two paint job offers, either Frozen Black or Frozen Grey.
The F80 M3, which is the successor of the E93 is yet another cool looking M3 after the E 46 generation. It broke the cover by bagging the fame for the first Twin turbo straight six engined and essentially the first M3 model to be turbocharged. It was packed in with a BMW S55 straight six twin turbocharged engine with a peak power output going up from 420 HP to 431 HP which pulled off the 0-100 mark in 4.1 seconds, faster than the ancestors!. On the revealing event, the M3 met the younger brother M4 Coupe which was the F82 generation, and the event took place at the North American Auto show. And as the ancestors, this generation also had all that kind of performance package and all other stuff. There is a special edition which was popular back then, the M3 F80 CS which had the massive power and torque of 454 HP and 601 NM. With the extensive use of carbon fibre and other weight reduction methods, the car was almost 50 kilos lighter than the regular M3.
But all these popularity and the conventional design and manufacturing techniques, all the love for the M3 was destroyed with the introduction of the latest generation M3, the G 80. The G 80 M3 is the M version of the G20 3 series and had rented the S58 Turbocharged Straight Six from another M car, the X3 M. The G 80 M3 also saw the introduction of the BMW X Drive all wheel drive version into sports sedans. BMW marked a milestone with that, which was the first time that a BMW M was available in all wheel drive version. And this time BMW was not taking much financial risks, the just brought up the M parts to the market and the costumers were able to configure their car with the M parts. The M parts included Carbon fiber splitter, diffuser, wing side skirts, rear ground effects and M exhaust system for more sporty performance. But still what haunts me is the design, I will say it anywhere that the new design philosophy is completely trash and they just destroyed the whole visual appeal of the car with the introduction of the new design. If you ask me the Best choice is the E 46 and the F80.
Now apart from the regular road and track cars, BMW M3 had some other iterations too. The most prominent one of them is the M3 Pick-Up prototype. This essentially was the converted editions of the convertible versions of the M3. It never saw a place outside the BMW M factory because it was only used as the factory transport car. The first edition of the M3 pick-up prototype was taken birth with the conversion of the first generation E 30 M3 and it was the work mule for almost 26 years. After almost a silver jubilee the E 30 was retired and substituted with the E92 M3. The E92 was announced at the April fools day on the year 2011 and the built of the new mule was an opening for the interns and engineering students to assemble the car.
And on that bombshell it is a wrap for today!
