Group A comes to America – Sports Car Illustrated
Group B rally cars, the Killer Bees, were among the fastest and most technically advanced race cars ever made. Manufacturers competing in Group B had only to build 200 examples for homologation, which were sold primarily to private racing teams and collectors of exotic machinery in Europe.
But the Killer Bees got too fast and FISA realized that it had lost control of the rules and of rallying. The French administrators used the excuse of a few racing accidents to end the Killer Bees by moving the World Championship from Group B to Group A.
Group A cars are limited to 300bhp, and they must maintain a stock silhouette. Most importantly, 5000 examples must be built for homologation. Without hope of selling 5000 cards as radical and expensive as the Killer Bees, internationally rally competitors – Audi, Peugeot, Lancia, Ford and BMW – were forced to build cars that can actually be sold to the general public for a reasonable price.
For American enthusiasts the end result of the switch from Group B to Group A rally cars is the arrival on these shores of the BMW M3, Munich’s chosen weapon for Group A warfare.
Outside, the clever engineers of BMW Motorsports, the independent racing organization of BMW, have made considerable changes to lower the car’s drag coefficient and provide a strong base for development of the rally cars. Some found the M3’s boy racer styling unattractive and flamboyant, but the changes were made with racing in mind. The rear roof cap, flatter rear glass, shorter rear deck lid, and full width wing first break up then smooth out air flow to keep the M3’s rear wheels firmly planted at high speed. The steel fender blisters provide more than enough room for the 15X7in. wheels and 205/55VR-15 Pirelli P600s. Slightly wider wheels would better fill out the big fenders, but the available tires provide sufficient grip.
The body panels come painted in only four colors: silver metallic, grey metallic, white and henna red. We don’t recommend the henna red. Orange cars with wings traveling at high speeds draw an inordinate amount of attention from state authorities and this car, even if painted beige, poses a great threat to one’s driver license.
Inside, the M3 resembles most other 3-series cars, excepting a few details. The dash is logical, the switches all come readily in hand, and there’s just enough luxury to meet market demands. The seats – optional units from 325 – are covered in black leather, as in almost everything else in the interior. The seats offer few adjustments, but provide excellent support for thighs, hips, lower back, and shoulders.
We may accept BMW’s position that 735/750i, 528c, and 325 owners don’t need or want a full complement of gauges for their strafing runs at the country club. In those cars a panel of warning lights probably serves the driver better than would gauges. The M3, however, is not typical of the cars BMW has produced in recent years. An oil temperature gauge has appeared in the tachometer nacelle, but dials for oil pressure and amperes would help considerably.
The M3’s powerplant has much to do with the car’s sporting character. The 192bhp engine serves as a sterling example of what Bavarian engineers can achieve when not forced to go CAFÉ racing for the US government. Topped with a 16 valve head similar to those used on BMW Formula Two powerplants, the thirsty engine must run on premium unleaded because of its relatively high compression ratio of 10.5:1. Even with the precise fuel metering of a Bosch Motronic injection system, the M3 returns only 13 or 14mph when driven hard in town or on an autocross course. On the highway the car manages to top 20mpg, but that is only at legal speeds using a light foot. The first casualty of improved performance is usually fuel economy and the M3 has a nearly unquenchable thirst for petroleum distillates.
Although power is only adequate below 3000rpm, once there the engine sings, with power growing quickly as the two chain-driven cams spin closer to their optimum speed. In the heart of its range the little mill has the delicious sound of a sewing machine gone mad. The whir and scream ends abruptly at 7250rpm when the rev limiter kicks in, the engine pops from lack of fuel, and the power disappears.
The engine buzzes and shakes considerably, but only valve train whir and a strong exhaust note reach the passenger compartment because of a high-density foam liner inside the engine hood, which fills every open cavity in the engine compartment and absorbs most of the engine’s unpleasant sounds.
The M3 is a bit slow off the line, but once under way it accelerates smoothly. Second gear ends just a few miles per hours short of 60, which is reached in 7.5 seconds with a short shift to third. Third pushes the car to nearly 85mph, fourth takes the car well past 100, and the claim top speed is 143mph. We saw the car through to 140mph indicated before first running out of smooth road and then meeting a country mounty.
Mated to the engine is a close-ratio Getrag 5-speed that shifts as smoothly and positively as any gearbox we’ve recently tried. The ratios are well matched to the engine, with two gear choices available almost every speed. The M3 performs best in second and third gears and it can stay close to more powerful cars down tight roads.
To make the cuts on those tight roads, Motorsports reworked the caster angles of the font wheels, which makes the car’s steering considerably sharper than that of a 325. The steering provides excellent feel for road surfaces without communicating too much harshness to tire hands and shoulders.
Because this is a proper rear-wheel drive car, in low and medium speed cornering, the throttle contributes as much to steering as do the front wheels. Jumping off then back on the throttle while entering a corner smoothly brings the tail around. Once the rear end is out, judicious throttle and steering input keeps the tail positioned to the driver’s liking.
The M3 does whatever the driver asks, whether the commands are right or wrong. Some cars are called forgiving, which means they don’t kill the driver when he makes a serious error. But it also means the car didn’t follow the commands the driver made. The car’s suspension compensate for the driver’s mistakes by not reacting properly.
Make the correct decisions with the M3 and virtually no situation is beyond salvation. Crest a hill too fast, find that the road turns sharply to the right, and the M3, once its weight is back on the wheels, can be gathered up and set right with the road once again. Enter a corner too fast and either understeer can slow the car or power oversteer will get your through in more heroic fashion.
When slowing for a corner the 11.0in. front and 11.2in. rear discs slow the car quickly and surely. And ABS system comes into play under full braking and the sensation is of hitting a huge marshmallow. Like the car’s steering and handling, the brakes draw top marks.
Even in its detuned homologation configuration, the M3 is a racing car that provides ample testimony for BMW’s engineering capabilities. It’s remarkably quick, driving it fast is irresistible, it attracts attention from patrolmen as few other cars do, and said patrolmen will throw you in jail or at least raise your insurance premiums by a significant amount. The M3 got us into plenty enough trouble.
For everyday driving the 325is, which has a smoother inline six cylinder engine with nearly as much power, may prove the better choice. But if racing in the Firehawk series, autocrossing, or having the fastest BMW in town is your desire, then the M3 is the only choice available.
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February 23, 2009
1986 - 1989, Articles