Race Bred and Street Bound – Motor Trend
1986 marked the first year all BMWs offered in the US were equipped with its butter-smooth overhead cam 6-cylinder engines, while the 4-cylinder was abandoned. So, it seems strange that little over a year later BMW has chosen to introduce a new 3-Series 4-cylinder model for (gulp!) $35,000.
Strange indeed, unless you happen to have driven or at least seen the new M3.
The name alone should be enough of a tipoff, but for the uninitiated, the M-Series cars are a special breed built by BMW Motorsport (a BMW subsidiary), the group responsible for projects like the all-dominating Formula 2 engine, the ‘83 World Champion F1 engine, and the original M-car, the M1. BMW decided for 1987, for unspecified reasons (maybe to add some macho to its Yuppie image), to take its 300-Series Baby Bimmer racing and go after the Group A German, European, and World Touring Car Championships. (It’s already won the German and European rounds and has a good shot at the World.) To qualify, 500 units with race specs had to be produced. Enter BMW Motorsport, builder of the M3. Luckily almost half of these 5000 units are headed for the good ol’ USA.
Rather than starting from scratch, the consensus was to take a good thing and make it better. From a distance, the M3’s profile looks pretty much like your everyday 10 year old 300-Series Bimmer. But look closer, and the similarities rapidly disappear.
Starting with the 3-Series body shell, new steel doors, fender flares, and a rear roof cap were added; then a raised trunklid, rear wing, front spoiler, and rocker panels were reformed in fibreglass. The package is complete with deformable plastic bumpers and bonded flush windshield and rear window, all of which are body color except for the glass, of course. As for colors, only four are offered: red, white, silver and diamond black, and the finish is superb.
The running gear has undergone some serious revisions as well. Wider track, offset kingpins, and increased caster in the front, twin tube gas shocks, limited-slip, ABS, 11.0in/11.2in disc front and rear, plus larger, more efficient anti-roll bars and 5-bolt wheels all work to keep the 205/55VR15 in. steel-belted radials on the ground.
Trying to get them off the ground is the 4-cylinder 16-valve motor mentioned earlier. Touted as both a 4-cylinder version of the M5 and M6 motors and/pr a street version of the F1 engine, this DOHC 2.3litre is definitely not your everyday run-of-the-mill 4-banger.
With features like an eight counterweight rank, polished ports and chambers, headers, DME engine management system, Bosch fuel injection, this little screamer puts out 192hp at 6750rpm and still boasts 17/29mpg city/highway.
As you might have guessed, driving the M3 is an absolute hoot. The handling is excellent, the ride is stiff but not rough, and, of course, the BMW anti-lock brakes are top of the line. For our money, we thought the spacing in the standard 5-speed was a little wide, especially in the higher gears. For instance, redline in 2nd is above the maximum speed limit in most states and top speed is 140-plus mph. By simply narrowing the gaps between 3rd, 4th, and 5th, to about 1500rpm between 3rd and 4th and 1000 between 4th and 5th, instead of 2200, you keep the little four up on the pipe and have a far more driveable piece.
Fortunately, while all this performance work was going on at Motorsport, the luxo guys were still hammering away over in the interior shop. The only option offered on the M3 is metallic paint, so all the copies come through full-boat. When sitting in the M3, it’s hard to believe it’s a competition-bred flyer: The seats are as good as they come – six-way adjustable with lots of support – a real leather-wrapped race-style steering wheel, and all the levers in the right spots. As you would expect from BMW, the instrument cluster is complete and properly laid out, no disco-dash here, and, of course, an eight-speaker stereo system, air conditioning, and al the applicable bells, lights, and whistles the American consumer seems to demand.
To show its confidence in the M3 (or maybe the fact it has 2395 more coming), BMW saw fit to introduce its newest by turning the US motoring press loose with five M3s at the Lime Rock racetrack.
Located in northwest Connecticut in the Berkshire mountains, Lime Rock park is one of America’s prettiest and most exhilarating racetracks. Though only 1.5 miles around, its climbing turn and downhill are as infamous as any, with a long list of broken race cars to prove it. Lime Rock also happens to be the home of the Skip Barber School of High-Performance Driving, and BMW just happens to be the official car of both track and school.
Turned loose might not be exactly the right term to describe what went on, but loose most certainly fits in the equation somewhere. For the journalists, the Barber School divided the day into four segments: the autocross course, the lane change, the skidpad, and the actual racetrack. As it turned out, you would be hard-pressed to find a better venue to evaluate the M3, or any performance car for that matter.
The lane change is exactly that, three lanes, separated by pylons with a traffic light over each. As the driver approaches the lights, the lane cop (a school staffer) switches the signal, forcing the driver to make some split-second decision. Not only is the driver taxed, but the transient response and brakes of the M3 are tested as well. The Bimmer passed with flying colors, with little body roll and accurate response. The ABS is invaluable in this situation, preventing rear brake lockup while turning. The journalists, on the other hand, finished with flying pylons (MT staff excepted). We hope their reporting is more accurate than their aim.
The autocross course is another test of transient response. Merely a miniature racetrack lined with pylons, is too is an excellent evaluation of driver accuracy and braking technique. Interestingly, the test cars were shod with two different makes of tire, and the Goodyears were clearly a half second quicker on a shorter course. Here again, on the autocross course, the M3 proved right at home, comfortable and predictable, even if the drivers weren’t. Predictable, that is.
As interesting as the flying pylons were on the lane change and autocross, they were nothing compared to the antics on the wet skidpad. Chief driving instructor Terry Earwood rode with each participant and gave spontaneous instructions from the passenger seat.
The skidpad is a flat asphalt surface with a 200ft circle drawn in the middle. The surface is flooded; then the fun begins.
Earwood first demonstrated how simple it is to hold the M3 in a perfect power slide for an infinite number of laps around the circle. He then took his victim out one at a time, and the results were hilarious, overdriving or overreacting being the most common mistake. With Earwood barking instructions from the passenger seat, it wasn’t difficult to dial in a little too much throttle or too much steer, resulting in slow-motion pirouettes and lots of laughter. But once we got the hang of it, the M3 is so well-balanced and sensitive to input that it’s like tuning a fine instrument. Staying on the line around the pad becomes merely a function of concentration.
Now that the prelims were over, it was time for the payoff – lapping the Lime Rock race course. For protection of the new Bimmers, not the mention life and limb, the writers were lined up behind a pace car for some high-speed tours around the hilly 1.5mile track. The fact that not one was lost speaks highly of the M3. In reality, and not to reiterate, the balance of the M3 is absolutely fantastic for a street car. The faster you go, the easier and more fun it is to drive. The M3 is incredibly forgiving, even close to the limit. And at the first hint of disaster, only the slightest adjustment of throttle or steering brings it back on line.
After hot-lapping the racetrack and getting comfortable at speed, the drive back to the city was akin to someone letting the air out of your balloons. The roads in Connecticut are beautiful and could be challenging, but even with fudging the 55mph speed limit, it was like walking down a sidewalk holding handrails on both sides.
Pity that so few people will experience this car the way it was meant to be driven, but even those instants on back roads at eight tenths will be moments to remember. True, the M3 is not perfect, and, true, it’s expensive, but, given its parameters, the new M3 is a great combination of looks, performance, handling, and comfort. For those fortunate enough to get one, they’ll certainly enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Related posts:
May 26, 2008
1986 - 1989, Articles