M3

About the M3

The M3 started as a homologation problem. Group A touring-car rules demanded 5,000 road cars within twelve months, so BMW's Motorsport division built a 3 Series that could race and sold the rest. The 1986 original used a 2.3-litre four with a cylinder head adapted from the M1's six: 200 PS, 1,200 kg, first gear at the bottom left. Roberto Ravaglia won the first World Touring Car Championship in one in 1987. After that the road car became the point. The E36 switched to a six with VANOS in 1992, the E46's S54 made 343 PS at 7,900 rpm, and the E92 fitted a 420 PS V8, the only eight-cylinder M3. The F80 went turbocharged in 2014 and handed its coupe to the new M4 badge. Today's G80 makes up to 530 PS and offers all-wheel drive, yet a six-speed manual is still listed for the base car. Six generations in, the recipe hasn't moved much: a 3 Series body and an engine from BMW's motorsport side.