BMW's so proud of its 25-year M heritage, it flew Sony Thomas to Spain to sample every M3 model made to date
* By Sony Thomas, Wheels
* Published: 00:02 August 20, 2010
* Wheels
Cars are a lot like cameras. OK, now drop those cudgels please and hear me out. Obviously, I don't mean cameras have wheels, but both indeed are a lot alike in the way they've evolved over the years. Back in the day, they both were pure mechanical beings without brains of their own. They needed a master, a human being who would have supreme control over their moving parts. An example of sublime build quality and technical perfection, the old Nikon F series SLR camera of the early Sixties was considered the best means to capture life in its sharpest detail. That is, when it was in the hands of an expert snapper. But give one to a novice who doesn't know how to tinker with the focus, aperture or shutter controls, and the result will be no more than a colourful blur.
It never had the magic Auto button that takes control over from you and lets you just point and shoot. Even winding to the next frame had to be done manually. Whatever the result, good or bad, was entirely in the hands of the man behind the lens. Today's cameras on the other hand have become so advanced that anyone who can compose a decent frame can produce pictures of the highest detail and colour saturation, just by pressing a button, as it's the instrument that decides on the optimum settings.
It's more or less the same evolutionary pattern that cars have followed. In the early years, and I mean even about two decades ago, each and every decision about the driving process had to be taken and executed by the man behind the wheel. Whether the car behaves or not was entirely up to his level of mastery over the machine. But in modern day cars, even if technology beneath the bonnet has transformed by leaps and bounds, all you need to do is just press the magic button, point the car and shoot.
There's no better way to experience this evolution first-hand than to have all the generations of a particular model together in one place. And if it's something that could be considered an automotive equivalent of the F, there's nothing better. It was such a dream gathering that BMW organised recently to celebrate 25 years of its legendary M3. I was part of a select group of automotive journalists from around the world to have been invited to the event at the super exclusive Ascari racetrack in southern Spain.
It was any petrolhead's dream come true. On the pitlane, arranged in a neat row, was the entire M3 line-up, right from the 1986 E30 to the most recent E92 M3 GTS. The vintage cars were all straight out of the BMW museum, immaculate in their fit and finish, with the odos showing less than 5,000km in most of these. It was like dangling the choicest cut of meat in front of a school of red-bellied piranhas. As can be imagined, there was a mad rush to get behind the wheels of the vintage pieces, so the car I got to drive first was the E92 M3 Coupé with Competition package.
E92 M3 Coupé
Although it isn't the ideal way to start a progressive test of cars over generations, I jumped behind the wheel of the latest iteration of the M3 line-up. The 4.0-litre V8 was the first time BMW tried something bigger than a straight-six in an M3. If, like me, you thought a V8 would never be able to match the exciting howl from a straight six, this one proves you wrong.
This high-revving lump affords a gloriously loud exhaust note that adds to the hair-raising driving experience. The unit develops 400Nm of torque at 3,900 spins while it maxes out at 8,400 revs to let loose all the 420 horses.
The advanced M differential and electronic dampers ensure loads of grip, allowing me to take this Spanish track's treacherous corners by their horns. Press the M-drive button, and the throttle response becomes sharper and the steering tauter. And the new M double clutch gearbox (M DCT) offers smooth, brisk shifts, making it an absolutely fetching proposition, not just around the track, but as a fun daily driver too.
E92 M3 GTS
You must already have read the driving impressions on the M3 GTS a couple of issues back. A limited production club sport version of the regular M coupé, the GTS uses the same V8, but with pumped up displacement and power. The 4.4-litre unit develops 450bhp and the seven-speed M DCT tranny as well as the chassis configuration have been optimised for the track. It bolts to a kilometre in just 22.5 seconds and the speed tops out at 305kph.
The mods are immediately apparent once the GTS hits the circuit. The steering is perfectly weighted, throttle response is spot on and the grip is endless. It takes the most merciless of abuses without the faintest hint of dissent and doesn't stray a bit from the line it's pointed at. As was mentioned in the earlier review, this car takes care of everything on its own, that it gives you an exaggerated impression of your driving skills. Naturally, I walked away smiling.
E30
From the latest to the oldest, the next car I get a taste of is the glorious 1986 E30, the original M3. Although the dog-leg gearbox had me confused for a few minutes initially, once I got the hang of it, the car proved an absolute cracker. The 237kph top speed, and a 0-100kph sprint in 6.7 seconds may not sound exciting enough today, but they belie the astonishing capabilities of this old M car.
The 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine, mated to the five-speed manual box and rear-wheel drive, revs all the way to nearly seven grand, and churns out 197bhp and 240Nm of torque. On the track, and later along the winding roads leading to the sleepy town of Ronda, the original M3 displayed an eagerness that is uncharacteristic of its age, and its steering and throttle responses are amazingly incisive. And without the intervention of any electronic nannies, this engineering marvel puts you in absolute control.
E36
The E36, introduced in 1992 as a completely new model, sought to build on the E30's phenomenal success. Although technologically much more advanced and sophisticated than its predecessor, the E36, with its softer lines, doesn't exude the muscular, rugged charm that the E30 has. Of course, this tail-happy M3 is much easier to drive than the previous model, with a smoother, more comfortable ride and a lot more power to play with.
The 3.0-litre straight-six delivers 286bhp and 320Nm of torque to the rear wheels through a six-speed 'box. And with a 6.0-second dash to 100kph from standstill, it's quicker as well, with a top speed limited to 250kph. Although the super smooth engine is a peach and the stopping power impressive, the steering response is not as crisp as the E30's and the sequential manual gearbox in auto mode seemed to take ages to swap cogs.
E46
No, it wasn't the CSL! Although I was hoping to have a go in the legendary beast, BMW chose not to bring the CSL to Ascari. After all, there was already an extreme version in the GTS. Whatever had gone wrong in the E36 seems to have been corrected in this version that hit the roads in the year 2000. The car feels more surefooted than the previous version. The 3.2-litre six-pot unleashes 343 horses at 7,900 revs and 365Nm of torque. The 100kph charge is achieved in a mere 5.2 seconds. The E46 is the model in which the M differential lock and the M Driving dynamic control switch were introduced for the first time. And the paddle shift levers make shifting the second generation six-speed SMG a lot easier. Unlike the softer E36, the E46 M3 retains the E30's sporty character, with precise steering and incisive throttle response. The drive is almost as involving as the E30's, although there's a lot more technology intervening.
Comparing cars from different eras is always tricky, so there's no point in trying to find out which is the better car. It's just like comparing photos taken using a fully manual SLR (there I go again!) and a modern, multi-megapixel one. The results are comparable, but the whole process of getting there is totally different.
Of course, technologically, the latest model will be light years ahead of the earlier editions. But, the satisfaction of knowing that you're in control, rather than the machine fooling you into believing that you are, is simply priceless. So, as great as all these cars are, my pick for a leisurely weekend will be — you guessed it right — the E30. But, for a car that I'd have to live with everyday, it has to be the E92. After all it's the picture that matters I guess.
* By Sony Thomas, Wheels
* Published: 00:02 August 20, 2010
* Wheels
Cars are a lot like cameras. OK, now drop those cudgels please and hear me out. Obviously, I don't mean cameras have wheels, but both indeed are a lot alike in the way they've evolved over the years. Back in the day, they both were pure mechanical beings without brains of their own. They needed a master, a human being who would have supreme control over their moving parts. An example of sublime build quality and technical perfection, the old Nikon F series SLR camera of the early Sixties was considered the best means to capture life in its sharpest detail. That is, when it was in the hands of an expert snapper. But give one to a novice who doesn't know how to tinker with the focus, aperture or shutter controls, and the result will be no more than a colourful blur.
It never had the magic Auto button that takes control over from you and lets you just point and shoot. Even winding to the next frame had to be done manually. Whatever the result, good or bad, was entirely in the hands of the man behind the lens. Today's cameras on the other hand have become so advanced that anyone who can compose a decent frame can produce pictures of the highest detail and colour saturation, just by pressing a button, as it's the instrument that decides on the optimum settings.
It's more or less the same evolutionary pattern that cars have followed. In the early years, and I mean even about two decades ago, each and every decision about the driving process had to be taken and executed by the man behind the wheel. Whether the car behaves or not was entirely up to his level of mastery over the machine. But in modern day cars, even if technology beneath the bonnet has transformed by leaps and bounds, all you need to do is just press the magic button, point the car and shoot.
There's no better way to experience this evolution first-hand than to have all the generations of a particular model together in one place. And if it's something that could be considered an automotive equivalent of the F, there's nothing better. It was such a dream gathering that BMW organised recently to celebrate 25 years of its legendary M3. I was part of a select group of automotive journalists from around the world to have been invited to the event at the super exclusive Ascari racetrack in southern Spain.
It was any petrolhead's dream come true. On the pitlane, arranged in a neat row, was the entire M3 line-up, right from the 1986 E30 to the most recent E92 M3 GTS. The vintage cars were all straight out of the BMW museum, immaculate in their fit and finish, with the odos showing less than 5,000km in most of these. It was like dangling the choicest cut of meat in front of a school of red-bellied piranhas. As can be imagined, there was a mad rush to get behind the wheels of the vintage pieces, so the car I got to drive first was the E92 M3 Coupé with Competition package.
E92 M3 Coupé
Although it isn't the ideal way to start a progressive test of cars over generations, I jumped behind the wheel of the latest iteration of the M3 line-up. The 4.0-litre V8 was the first time BMW tried something bigger than a straight-six in an M3. If, like me, you thought a V8 would never be able to match the exciting howl from a straight six, this one proves you wrong.
This high-revving lump affords a gloriously loud exhaust note that adds to the hair-raising driving experience. The unit develops 400Nm of torque at 3,900 spins while it maxes out at 8,400 revs to let loose all the 420 horses.
The advanced M differential and electronic dampers ensure loads of grip, allowing me to take this Spanish track's treacherous corners by their horns. Press the M-drive button, and the throttle response becomes sharper and the steering tauter. And the new M double clutch gearbox (M DCT) offers smooth, brisk shifts, making it an absolutely fetching proposition, not just around the track, but as a fun daily driver too.
E92 M3 GTS
You must already have read the driving impressions on the M3 GTS a couple of issues back. A limited production club sport version of the regular M coupé, the GTS uses the same V8, but with pumped up displacement and power. The 4.4-litre unit develops 450bhp and the seven-speed M DCT tranny as well as the chassis configuration have been optimised for the track. It bolts to a kilometre in just 22.5 seconds and the speed tops out at 305kph.
The mods are immediately apparent once the GTS hits the circuit. The steering is perfectly weighted, throttle response is spot on and the grip is endless. It takes the most merciless of abuses without the faintest hint of dissent and doesn't stray a bit from the line it's pointed at. As was mentioned in the earlier review, this car takes care of everything on its own, that it gives you an exaggerated impression of your driving skills. Naturally, I walked away smiling.
E30
From the latest to the oldest, the next car I get a taste of is the glorious 1986 E30, the original M3. Although the dog-leg gearbox had me confused for a few minutes initially, once I got the hang of it, the car proved an absolute cracker. The 237kph top speed, and a 0-100kph sprint in 6.7 seconds may not sound exciting enough today, but they belie the astonishing capabilities of this old M car.
The 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine, mated to the five-speed manual box and rear-wheel drive, revs all the way to nearly seven grand, and churns out 197bhp and 240Nm of torque. On the track, and later along the winding roads leading to the sleepy town of Ronda, the original M3 displayed an eagerness that is uncharacteristic of its age, and its steering and throttle responses are amazingly incisive. And without the intervention of any electronic nannies, this engineering marvel puts you in absolute control.
E36
The E36, introduced in 1992 as a completely new model, sought to build on the E30's phenomenal success. Although technologically much more advanced and sophisticated than its predecessor, the E36, with its softer lines, doesn't exude the muscular, rugged charm that the E30 has. Of course, this tail-happy M3 is much easier to drive than the previous model, with a smoother, more comfortable ride and a lot more power to play with.
The 3.0-litre straight-six delivers 286bhp and 320Nm of torque to the rear wheels through a six-speed 'box. And with a 6.0-second dash to 100kph from standstill, it's quicker as well, with a top speed limited to 250kph. Although the super smooth engine is a peach and the stopping power impressive, the steering response is not as crisp as the E30's and the sequential manual gearbox in auto mode seemed to take ages to swap cogs.
E46
No, it wasn't the CSL! Although I was hoping to have a go in the legendary beast, BMW chose not to bring the CSL to Ascari. After all, there was already an extreme version in the GTS. Whatever had gone wrong in the E36 seems to have been corrected in this version that hit the roads in the year 2000. The car feels more surefooted than the previous version. The 3.2-litre six-pot unleashes 343 horses at 7,900 revs and 365Nm of torque. The 100kph charge is achieved in a mere 5.2 seconds. The E46 is the model in which the M differential lock and the M Driving dynamic control switch were introduced for the first time. And the paddle shift levers make shifting the second generation six-speed SMG a lot easier. Unlike the softer E36, the E46 M3 retains the E30's sporty character, with precise steering and incisive throttle response. The drive is almost as involving as the E30's, although there's a lot more technology intervening.
Comparing cars from different eras is always tricky, so there's no point in trying to find out which is the better car. It's just like comparing photos taken using a fully manual SLR (there I go again!) and a modern, multi-megapixel one. The results are comparable, but the whole process of getting there is totally different.
Of course, technologically, the latest model will be light years ahead of the earlier editions. But, the satisfaction of knowing that you're in control, rather than the machine fooling you into believing that you are, is simply priceless. So, as great as all these cars are, my pick for a leisurely weekend will be — you guessed it right — the E30. But, for a car that I'd have to live with everyday, it has to be the E92. After all it's the picture that matters I guess.
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