I’ve just come back from the BMW Car Club’s November track day at Bedford Autodrome and have reached a conclusion. The E30 M3 is probably the best car BMW has ever built. It’s not the biggest, the fastest nor the most elegant, but at the limit on the track you can experience firsthand what that engine sounds like doing its chuff at the red line and what it feels like to be thrown into bends at whatever speed without the driver fighting the wheel.

You see, the M3 was born for the circuit and I’d be surprised if there’s still a single example that hasn’t done a few fast laps at some point – could you say the same for the E36 version?

History

The M3 was launched in 1986 and it had little, if anything, common with the regular E30. The shell was different with boxy wings front and rear plus a revised add-on rear screen surround to rake it back for aerodynamics, a raised plastic bootlid and a boncled-in front screen. Only the doors and bonnet were shared.

Mechanically, the M3 was also totally different. Special Boge dampers, revised springs and suspension geometry plus thicker anti-roll bars with different mounting points, quicktrack, bigger E28 5-Series inspired brakes with five-stud wheels and hubs meant that nothing can be swapped over individually – it’s all or nothing.

The M3’s engine was the S14 16-valve 2.3 litre unit developed from the M63SCSi’s 24-valve. Based on the M10 engine, this unit used a 10.5:1 compression, steel crank, twin-chain-driven cams and Bosch Motronic engine management to deliver 200bhp. Sat behind this on European-market cars was a Getrag 265 close-ratio dogleg gearbox with direct-drive top, taken from the M535i, plus the 24-valve M5 and M635CSi. Power was fed to a special ZP limited-slip diff with 25 per cent lock up and a tall 3.25 ratio. USA model M3s used a standard pattern 260 gearbox based on the manual 735i unit with the conventional gate pattern, plus a 4.1 ratio diff was fitted.

In terms of standard trim, the early cars used 7X15 BBS alloy wheels while inside, standard Recaro seats were trimmed in the same houndstooth cloth that adorned basic cars like the 316 and 518i. The special instrument cluster used a 260kph (160mph) speedo, and 8000 rpm tacho and an oil temperature gauge where the econometer used to sit. An M-Tech 1 steering wheel, tinted glass and electric mirrors and windows, sunroof and onboard computer were fitted to UK cars.

The M3 was intended to be a volume car to pay for the racing, so they were built at the regular Munich factory in left-hand-drive. The M3 Convertible came along in May 1988 while the first M3 Evo was made between February and May 1987. With 505 built, the 215bhp Evo 1 had brake cooling ducts instead of foglamps, a differently cylinder head, lighter bootlid, deeper front air dam and a small lip under the rear spoiler.

This was followed by the Evo 2 in March 1968 and production finish in May. Numbering just 501 examples, the Evo 2 used different cams and an 11.5:1 compression to reach 220bhp. With remapped Motronic and a lighter flywheel it certainly felt better and the white cam cover and air duct with the Motorsport stripes made it look a bit white socks and shellsuit.

With the final drive ratio upped to 3.15, acceleration stayed the same but the top speed was increased from 146 to 152mph. Lightening of the plastic body parts and thinner glass (except the windscreen) saved 10kg in weight, while the wheels increased in size to 7.5X16. Oh, and it came in Macau Blue, Nogaro Silver and Misano Red only.

Finally we’ve got the Evo 3 Sport, of which 600 were built between December 1989 and March 1990. A long-stroke crank gave the Evo Sport a 2.5 litre engine, and special cams, bigger valves, oil-cooled pistons and sodium-filled vlaves added up to a whopping 238bhp.

Looking much like the Evo 2, the 3 was distinguished by slightly wider front arches, 10mm lower suspension and additional aerodynamic flaps under the front and rear boot spoilers. Add a rubber strip between the bonnet and wings and allegedly reprofiled grille vanes.

Inside, the steering wheel was replaced by a new suede-covered M-Tech 2 version and the new illuminated gearknob and handbrake grip were similarly trimmed. Evo Sport seats were now wraparound buckets with harness holes plus red webbed seat belts. To save weight, the map lights and grab handles were removed and the fuel tank replaced by the 62 litre standard E30 item. Add a plaque inside plus M3 logo sill kick plates and that was the Evo 3.

BUYING THEM

Buying an E30 M3 depends on what you want to do with it, so we spoke to Peter Walsh at PMW (07970 645599) about the pitfalls. You can buy a sound early one for about four grand, have a few laughs and providing you’ve looked after it, sell it on again a year later for the same.

There were very few original BMW (GB) supplied cars around as they were special order, but there are plenty of European imports of varying quality.

Body

The M3 is excellent body-wise but the scuttle can rot in the corners below the screen and, as with any E30 BMW, look in the boot and around the rear numberplate lights for dampness. Doors, arches, and bonnets don’t rot, but it’s not resistant to accident damage so look at all four grand cheapie to hammer around on track days then it’s not such an issue, as long as it’s straight.

Panels are plentiful new and used but don’t expect 20 quid repro wings. Non-working central locking is often down to a failed relay which is hidden inside the A-post behind the passenger’s speaker.

Interior

This isn’t really a problem as so many cars have been trimmed in leather from new or retrimmed. Original cloth is nice though, and it’s rare too. On cars with air con, ensure it works but if it doesn’t and you’re not bothered, it’s not a big job to take it out and refit a second-hand E30 heater unit. You’ll save weight too. Most cars have electric windows and some have electric sunroofs but when do these ever go wrong?

What can go faulty is the electronic heater valve which is shared with the regular E30. They’re cheap, but changing them is a chore. As with any BMW, the service indicator lights can play, but fitting a recon board from somewhere like Hartlake (01634 294115) is cheap and easy.

Engine

The M3’s S14 engine is a work of art. It’s small, light, revs like a food mixer and as well as knocking out at least 195bhp it makes nice noises too. Trouble is, because the M3 was designed to be enjoyed, many have been ‘enjoyed’ that little bit too much.

The timing chain problem have been exaggerated. They rarely break as they are a double-row chain and therefore very strong. The reputation came from the earlier M5 and M6 cars with the single-row chain, which at 100,000 hard-driven miles cold give trouble, but the M3 is better.

The tensioners tend to wear before the chain and these let the chains flap which wears the chain wheels too. Hartlake and PMW reckon that 100,000 miles is a good point to fit a new chain as a precaution and doing it earlier might mean that you can reuse the wheels. Buy a car with 160,000 miles that hasn’t been touched and it’ll need doing. At 100,000 miles, an M3 that’s had oil changes every 6000 miles with good oil should be OK. It’s rare to have a chain let go without warning and they get noisy first. As for the rest of the engine, providing it’s been serviced, the bottom end is fine and the head doesn’t crack.

Running problems are normally caused by air leaks or a dead idle air valve which shorts out a circuit in the ECU, resulting in an 1100rpm idle speed. Air flow meters rarely fail and are specific to the 2.3, but 2.5 units are the same as the M535i’s.

PMW recommend using oils of 10W/30 grade or thicker. Ordinary Mobil 1 and other 0W or 5W oils are too thin and can cause chain tensioner rattle resulting in a £2500 bill from some specialists when a reversion to something like Duckhams Hypergrade was all that was needed. PMW charges about £1200 for the chain job and that doesn’t involve cylinder head removal.

Blowing from the exhaust manifold is normally due to studs unwinding from the head and this is easily put right as arc nasty aftermarket exhausts. New catalysts are silly money but just remove a dead one and sleeve the exhaust. On a track day, add half-a-litre of extra oil or you’ll ruin the engine and PMW are supplying special sump baffles to prevent this. A failed electric fan will be due to the fan switch on the thermostat housing or the ballast resistor in the fan.

Transmission

There aren’t any real dramas here as the M3’s Getrag gearbox was designed to handle more power and torque than the S14 can give. That’s not to say it’s bullet-proof though, and running it low on oil plus serious abuse can kill them. But it takes a lot to ruin one and the first signs are rattling at idle caused by a worn layshaft and crunching into second down from third.

The rear oil seal can leak and many cars need the gear linkage rebuilding. Cure stiff gearchanges by running synthetic gear oil and as long as you don’t murder it, a noisy gearbox can be kept going for a long time.

Brakes, Steering, Suspension

It’s all different from the regular E30, but the M3’s suspension will wear out in the same fashion. Standard dampers are Boge gas and these last a long time plus they give great ride and handling. PMW look after a great number of M3’s that are used on track days and Bilstein shocks with Eibach springs are ideal combination.

They’re a straight swap for the Boge units and when combined with some lower and stiffer springs they become razor sharp on the track but aren’t too stiff for the road. Apart from dampers, the bits to check are the rear subframe mounts, front balljoints plus the front lower wishbone rear bushes.

These parts aren’t very pricey and by doing the work yourself you could return a wayward handling M3 to factory precision for £500. Check the power steering rack for leaks and the column coupling rubber disc for wear. New racks are pricey, but reconditioned ones can be supplied and fitted for around £280 with a year’s guarantee.

The M3 robbed the E28 parts bin for brakes as a lot of it is similar. Discs and pads are cheap enough from BMW and again, many cars have been modified with uprated parts plus braided hoses. Our recommendation? If you’re into track days then a set of expensive brakes is all very well, but for most uses you really can’t beat the genuine article in a BMW box.

If the M3 you’re looking at has got ABS then the light should come on with the ignition but go out when the engine is fired up. If it doesn’t come on then it’s an MoT fail. If it comes on above 60mph there’s problem and ABS parts aren’t cheap, although it’s normally a sensor. A non-working ABS pump is generally a dead relay caused by starting a car’s dead battery with a booster charger.

Running Them

If you’ve bought a nice historied M3 with stamps in the book then why not use a BMW dealer? Despite the mystery that surrounds them, they are a simple car mechanically compared to latest models.

Bridgegate BMW in Chesterfield is the only dealer we know of to come up with specific servicing deals for the M3 and looks after a number of them. What it can’t do, though, is fit aftermarket bits like Bilstein shocks or spiky cams and that’s where your independent specialist comes in handy.

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We have a feeling some special editions are more special than others. If you think a pinstripe, different wheel trims and a snappy name associated with a tropical isle make a car more desirable, think again. Ideally a truly special, special edition needs to be a homologated race car, featuring race-honed bodywork and a very short production run.

Something like these three M3s, in fact. They are among the rarest and most sought after models in BMW’s 3-Series range an E30 M3 Sport Evolution, and E36 M3 GT and, and E36 M3 GT2.

The E30 M3 Sport Evolution is considered the ultimate E30 and was built between December 1989 and March 1990. Only 600 examples were constructed in order to homologate various components for Group A racing. The most significant change for this model was the adoption of a 285bhp 2.5 litre engine which was claimed to blast the BMW to 60mph in 6.4 sec and on to a 154mph maximum. Other features of this end-of-the-line superstar are three-way adjustable Electronic Damping Control, revised interior, adjustable front and rear spoilers, and widened arches built to accept 18″ wheels for racing purposes.

This example is owned by Steve Webb, a car valeter from St. Albans and a man who’s no stranger to PBMW. Last month (2/02 p48-55) we used his other E30 M3 in a comprehensive ‘How to’ feature. But, as he told us, “When you’ve got an E30 M3, you want the best one, the fastest.”

It took a great deal of searching to find a descent Sport Evo. Some were being advertised for upwards of $15,000 but closer examination often revealed tatty bodywork, dodgy paint and threadbare interiors.

Eventually, this one turned up and, after some hard bargaining, the M3 because Steve’s rip-your-arm-off price of $10,000. Despite having covered 100,000 miles, the M3’s service schedule had been rigorously maintained and its overall condition was near faultless. Steve admitted to taking a week’s busman’s holiday valeting it into its showroom-like state.

“I haven’t really had the opportunity to drive this one much,” Steve revealed, “but the seats are much better and it pulls more strongly than the 2.3.” He hoped to equal BMW’s claimed acceleration times on the runway with our VBox timing gear. The cold, damp weather won’t help, though.

Much less is known about the E36 M3 GT. Homologated to comply with 1995 Le Mans regulations, apparently just 396 were made on BMW’s Individual production line – all painted British Racing green, yet only 50 were earmarked for the UK.

Based on the S30 B30-engined M3, BMW tuned it to 295bhp (up from 286bhp) to become the precursor to the 3.2 engine. It featured revised intake runners, dual intake oil pump and baffled sump, all of which were included in the later Evo spec. More aggressive cams and its own ECU software further distinguish the GT engine. The suspension turrets were held steady by a matt black M-Tech strut brace and the wheels were forged rather than cast.

No M3 badges could originally be found on a GT’s exterior, these were replaced with white BMW Motorsport International badges on its lightweight, aluminum doors and a stealthy, badge-free rump. Many owners have since retro-fitted M3 tags.

However, the GT could be easily distinguished by the Class II high-level rear wing which offered increased downforce over 80mph, though it ultimately knocked 5mph from the top speed. Likewise, the splitters up front could be extended up to 50mm to increase downforce while also feeding more air through to the brake ducts.

Stepping inside, Alcantara Mexico green leather trim lend an air of luxury. The GT is no stripped-out special, it still has all the luxury goodies expected in such a high-end product. Strangely, yet annoyingly, BMW decided to deck the dashboards of UK cars in wood, whereas European versions had carbon fibre trim. “BMW must’ve thought us Brits were like Lord Snooty, or something,” Barry Jones, the owner of his GT, remarked.

At the time of writing, Barry had owned the car just three months. He’d been searching for an M3 when the GT turned up on the Internet: “It was a bit more money than I wanted to spend,” he said, “but I cleared it with the missus and found the extra cash.” Fortunately, the ‘specialist’ he bought it from didn’t realise what he was dealing with, thinking it was a tarted-up boy racer M3 fitted with a bigger rear spoiler. Barry loves its unusual and unique colour scheme though.

After owning three E30s, Barry found the E36 to be in a different class altogether. “The car’s everything I thought it would be,” he commented, but also reckoned it’s quite well, but then you look at the speedo and realise it’s actually going very well!”

Some testers think BMW’s claim of 295bhp is a little pessimistic, so it will be interesting to see how well the GT fares against the clock.

Our final car is an even rare beast than the GT. Despite much research carried out by Barry, when investigating his own car, he’d never seen or heard of a GT2. Apparently, GT2 is the given title on the insurance policy covering the vehicle, but a more accurate name might be E36 M3 GT Evolution.

Whereas the original GT featured many parts which would eventually be seen on the 3.2 litre M3 Evo, the GT2 doesn’t follow a similar tuning progression. In fact, the GT2 seems to be a more commercial version of Barry’s GT.

Yes, it features the same aerodynamic parts as the GT, also coming from the Individual production line, but the Imola red paintwork and the lack of BMW Motorsport International decals have sanitised the package. From the conquering formula of the racing version of the E36, maybe the homologated GT2 was born out of necessity rather than want, as BMW updated its racer’s 3-Series bodyshell.

Don’t get us wrong, the GT2 is still a far more attractive proposition than a regular M3 Evo. Chris Hall, a Weapons Technician with the RAF, certainly enjoys his own little rocket. Like Steve and Barry, he’s owned the BMW for a matter of months and was able to buy it from a non-franchised dealer after the insurance company coughed up for his tree-wrapped E36 318i Coupe.

Believe it or not, Chris tells us his GT2 is actually cheaper to insure than the 318i a year ago. Go figure. Chris’s car was brought with E46 M3-style 18″ alloys, and very nice they look, too, although the original alloys might be preferable.

Now it was time to put the owners’ money where their mouths were, so to speak. None of our trio had ever pitted their cars against the clock, so were unsure of the winning combination of revs and clutch. Steve found that slipping the clutch a little on his E30 from the start is the way to achieve his quickest times. His second batch of four attempts garnered a set of figures at least half a second quicker across each of the major speed increments.

“I’ve been thinking about doing some track days, and that’s confirmed it!” Barry enthused after completing his first set of runs in the GT. For a guy who was supposed to be worried about the wear on his tyres, his burnout-style take off was an entertaining treat for onlookers. A little chirrup from the tyres is a good idea for quick times but, er….not quite that much, mat. At least he easily broke the 6sec barrier to 60mph.

Chris went for a completely different method in the GT2. Colloquially known as the granny-style, he dialled in no revs before deploying the clutch. This is mechanically sympathetic but also stopped him getting anywhere near BMW’s claimed acceleration figures. After letting his other half, Alison, join him on the second round, his confidence had grown. The data was downloaded on to our laptop, and Chris was delighted to see a 0-60 time on hundredth under six seconds. What did you do that was different, we asked him? “I don’t know. Maybe it was the extra little bit of weight…” he joked.

Regardless of the different style of take off, Chris’ figures from 70mph onwards revealed the extra muscle of the 3.2 engine over Barry’s uprated 3.0.

Personally, we’d be happy with any one of this rare threesome. As homologated vehicles, they clearly show BMW’s prowess on the track, while offering a taste of its ability on the road, So it seems we’ve been able to prove some special editions are definitely more special than others.

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You don’t need rose-tinted Ray-Bans to appreciate the original BMW M3. Its status among Thatcher’s city cats before they stepped up to that essential Porsche turbo has long evaporated but its subtler driving charms are proving to be vintage Bayerische. Like Madonna, its defiant character has only matured. A new breed of young enthusiasts, such as 30 year old Andrew Wells, are snapping up these homologation gems. His M3 yearnings started as a teenage, fuelled by reading about Roberto Ravaglia’s giant-killing antics in the dazzling. Warsteiner-sponsored works racers in the late 1980s. “I was a big touring car fan and had a thing about the M3,” says Wells, technical director of a software house. “Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me but I love German engineering.” That long-promised M3 baptism had to be with a mint example and for two years Wells searched for that meticulously built Bavarian prize: “I wanted a low production model, either an Evo II or preferably the last of the line Sport Evo. It had to be something different.”

Over the past five years Wells combed private ads and test drove a few, but none were good enough. Then, earlier this year, he heard, from a friend about an immaculate Misano Red Sport Evo discovered in a French BMW dealership: “An English enthusiast had spotted it in the showroom of Haas Hubert and imported it to the UK. He planned to keep it forever but marriage and a house purchase forced its sale. The mileage was 29,000km and the condition was dazzling.” New toys seldom quite satisfy that longing from youth but now, with hard-earned funds, the change to buy an out of production dream car in precious timewarp state was impossible to pass up. Wells felt the asking price of £22k wasn’t unreasonable: “With a limited production of 600, I could always see a demand and my search had already confirmed how rare really good cars were. When owners finally get one they rarely seem to sell.

“At first I thought the left-hand drive and gearbox would be a problem but you quickly adjust to it. The handling is so rewarding and the steering has fantastic feedback but, unlike my old RS Turbo, the performance is so refined. The boot is a good size and the engine doesn’t intrude but I love that exhaust rasp when it comes on song. Above all the M3 feels so usable. On one leisurely trip it gave 35mpg and even my parents come out in it. The biggest problem was getting it insured. Most companies always look at the low book price. An agreed value at £22,000 was a real struggle but eventually Asset Trust sorted out a limited mileage policy for £825. They were really helpful.” Wells uses the M3 every weekend and he’ll regularly head down to the coast or to his favourite road, a twisty section of the A26 between Uckfield and Crowborough where that race-bred chassis really excels: “I wouldn’t take it on the track because I’d never forgive myself if it got bent. But a friend who owns one, a Munich Legends-built Trackmeister, took me to an aerodrome test day and, even in the company of Mitsubishi Evos and Lotus Elises, the M3 was fantastically capable. I’d be tempted to buy another car just for track-day fun.”

The moment you set eyes on Wells’ mint Sport Evolution, it’s easy to understand the nostalgia for these individual, exquisitely crafted road racers. Against the brash Sierra RS Cosworth or brutish Audi Quattro, it has an understated compactness – fit and trim, mannered yet masterful, exclusive and brilliantly purposeful. The spoilers, skirts, signature cross-spoke wheels and bulging wings achieve a purposeful balance without being flash. Like the classic M Power monogram, the reworked 3-series shape makes a clear but discreet statement where its commonplace production brother looks dull and blandly familiar. Just sitting silent, that cheeky profile conjures up images of Soper, Sytner, Cecotto and Hoy outgunning all to champion glory.

The M3’s exclusivity and surefire classic status is down to its unique origin. Where most manufacturers take a production model and transform it for the track, BMW created a pure-bred racer and then set about building a limited series for the road. It’s those motor sport chromosomes that guarantee both the M3’s driving pleasure and its collectability. Think back and that elite group includes Bugatti Type 35, Alfa Monza and Ferrari GTO. Where driving entertainment is the benchmark, the M3 is right up there with all-time greats such as 911 2.7 RS. You discover its charms, can’t stop driving it and smugly don’t need anything else. Little wonder that ‘as new’ examples such as Wells’ Sport Evolution are now making top money.

Nostalgia is peculiarly English characteristic and we habitually spot future classics early. For years British M3 enthusiasts have been scouring its homeland for cherished, low-mileage cars and now, report Tony Halse of Munich Legends, the Germans are coming here to buy good M3s protesting that we’ve left only “worn out rubbish” on the Continent. But the M3’s appeal goes far deeper than the prestige of owning a low-production Evolution or special edition Johnny Cecotto or Roberto Ravaglia. These are fabulous drivers’ cars and you don’t need the ultimate spec 2.5 litre model to appreciate its beautifully balanced chassis, razor-sharp steering and sweet-singing twin-cam ‘four’.

“Anorak enthusiasts get all worked up about rare models and it drives me mad,” continues Halse. “Sure the last Evo Sports had a little more power and torque but on the open road few would tell the difference. Whether you’re driving an early D-reg £9000 car or an Evo Sport at £22,000, you get out at the end of a drive with the same big grin. On a 100-mile cross country run, both cars would still arrive bumper-to-bumper.”

Some enthusiasts are disappointed by the M3 experience because they haven’t analysed the car’s specification and true appeal: “I spend my life telling people if you want neck snapping accelerating and all that bullshit bar talk, then buy a TVR or a Porsche turbo. You buy an M3 because you are a driver in the true sense. I grew up in the ‘60s in the age of Lotus Cortinas when handling took precedence over grip. If you got out of shape there was a chance you could catch it. The M3 has some of that classic hooligan element but with a good level of modern refinement. Nimble, compact, easy to park, fits four people (just) and suits today’s motoring – any sorted M3 is just a wickedly good fun machine.”

Enthusiasts discover the M3’s dazzling charms from different directions. Historic racing supremo Willie Green rates it as the best car for amateurs to learn about control. Recently giving tuition in a Ferrari F40 around the Nürburgring he talked Robert McKenzie, the supercar’s owner, into an M3 after discovering the Ferrari’s true potential wasn’t realistic and McKenzie was searing himself in the process. The fun factor was missing but now, with a newly acquired Evo Sport, he goes out to play in the wet. “I love the car,” McKenzie explains. “It’s wonderfully forgiving and very flattering. When you get out after a good drive it makes you feel like you could have given Ravaglia a run.”

Launched at the ‘85 Frankfurt motorshow, it was almost a year before press and buyers could sample the M3’s exhilarating package. Even at £5000 more than the 325i, and in left-hand drive only, demand was instant for this homologation marvel. The M3 was the first car to be conceived, designed and developed by BMW Motorsport’s Garching factory but this specialist facility wasn’t big enough to make the required 5000, so the cars were batch-produced in the main Munich plant. Unlike the 3-series saloon, production started with teams assigned to engine and suspension which were taken on the main production line for final assembly. Although based on a two-door E30 bodyshell, only the bonnet is a common panel. Even the rake to the rear screen was revised to improve airflow toward the rear spoiler, giving extra downforce at racing speeds. Today tired early M3s are being snapped up for as little as £4k as buyers are scared off by stories of big bills for timing chain replacement, but they’re a perfect basis for a sorted track-day car. Cherished early M3s are creeping back to £10k.

Continual improvements demanded by the Motorsport division to keep pace with the Cosworth Mercs and Fords forced special editions of the road car which are now so appealing to connoisseurs. In early 1987 the first Evolition arrived, with improved aerodynamics including extended front spoiler, two-piece rear wing and lightweight boot lid. Next came the 1988 Evo II with a per cent power tweak to 220bhp thanks to special cams and pistons, raised compression and re-chipped management systems. Taller, wider BBS alloys and revised interiors marked out this second limited (500) series, but in early 1990 the last and ultimate development arrived. Mistakenly referred to as the Evolution III, it was officially promoted as the Sport Evolution. Available only in red or black, this series of 600 had a unique bored out, long-stroke 2.5 litre engine. The heavier power house necessitated weight trimming elsewhere with lightweight bumpers and thinner glass. Neat touches included rubber strips between bonnet and widened wings, red sparkplug caps and suede-covered steering wheel. Even the graphic on the gear knob illuminates the dog-leg first gate of the Getrag close-ratio give speed but less tasteful was the red webbing for the safety belts. Any of these special editions in top condition is highly sought-after with prices starting at £12,000 up to £20,000 for the best Evo Sports.

If you’ve never experience the original M3’s delicious scalpel-sharp turn-in, the sublime, seamless punch from its ever eager four-pot or revelled at its viceless chassis balance, it’s time to search out a cracking M3 before they are all worn out of snuck away as investments. You’ll kick yourself about the fun you missed.

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E30 M3? Probably one of the greatest cars BMW has ever built and one for which no excuses are made. It’s also worth every penny and you only have to drive it once on a track day to see why. But you’ve got to question the values of some older BMW tackle. 507? Yep, quite a nice car but a Gullwing 300SL Merc would slaughter it and get my £120,000, thanks. It was good enough for Elvis, after all, 40 grand for an M1? Er, no. For 25 grand it would be a nice thing to own, but no matter how well it’s supposed to handle, it’s still got 316 door handles. I’d rather have a dark metallic blue Ferrari 512 Boxer with 12 cylinders and six barking Webers – plus the small matter of 180mph.

Even after all these years though, the E30 M3 is still regarded as the car to have, and when three mates from Potter’s Bar all have one each we just had to take a look. We wanted to know how much, how fast and what nightmares come hand-in-hand with owning one. Prepared to be surprised.

It all started back in 1994 when Tony Grech bought his. Tony runs a tyre shop called Just Tyres and it’s fair to say he’s owned quite a few tasty cars. Tony bought this in 1994 as a nice, low mileage 1990 Evo Sport 2.5 in black with the usual bits, the wraparound seats being the most obvious. “They were too obvious,” Tony says. “Not long after I bought it, some scum tried to nick it. The locks were ruined and they stole the front seats plus a few other bits. It took BMW six weeks to get hold of new ones,” he adds. “When I bought it, it’d only done 70,000km and it was mint. I used to drive it quite hard as it was supposed to be, but these days I don’t” Tony says. Even now it’s only done 139,000 km (about 86,000 miles) and sounds as good as ever. Like most M3s, it’s got the distinctive and rather gravelly timing chain rattle on start-up, which can often be heard at idle too if the engine’s good and hot. Many specialists will put the fear of God into you and tell you that the chain will snap at 100,001miles, but this isn’t so, as you’ll see from our feature on page 67.

As it came from BMW, Tony’s Sport had air condition plus cruise control. Some would say the M3 needed an extra 200cc engine capacity to lug all these costly and heavy extras about and the M3s with aircon were given slightly uprated front springs to cope. Tony also replaced the original cross-spoke alloys with 850CSi wheels shod with 215/40 ZR 17 Continental ContiSport Contact rubber. Rear end breakaway? Not likely.

Running costs have been low over the last eight years. Apart from regular servicing, which isn’t expensive anyway, the car has only needed a rear exhaust box and basic stuff like brake pads. Like many owners, Tony finds that standard BMW discs and pads are good enough.

The 2.5 was all very well, but it’s reckoned that the 2.3 was a sweeter engine – cheaper too, as these are far more of them. Paul Travors is a technician at BMW dealer Specialist Cars and has been for six years. His M3 is a 1989 Evolution II Cecotto in Macau Blue and as you can see from the pics, it’s a stunner. Macau Blue was always one of the best M3 colours, especially combined with a nice set of rims. When it comes to M3 aftermarket alloys, your choices are Alpina, Schnitzer, Hartge or BBS. Nothing else is permitted – sorry. Just like you wouldn’t bolt a set of chrome Weller eight-spokes onto an E-Type Jag, modern alloys just don’t’ look right on an M3.

Paul admits that his car is almost entirely somebody else’s work and he bought it just the way it is. The previous guy replaced the original rims with 8X17 inch Type 1 AC Schnitzer alloys, shod with Marangoni Zeta 235/40 ZR 17 rubber, and the original Boge suspension was replaced with a full Koni kit – the adjustable gas dampers, lowered uprated coils and an alloy strut brace. Externally, it’s been enhanced by a gille eyebrow plus the blacked-out centre grille. I’m usually against altering the appearance of these cars, but I have to admit that it does look good and at least you can revert to standard in less than 10 minutes.

“I’ve had this car for about three years. I was really looking for Macau Blue,” says Paul. “This one was advertised for £9500 and it was fully-specced with grey heated leather, including the centre console and grey dash, a Momo Champion steering wheel, Scorpion exhaust from the manifold back plus a Pionner sound system with custom door builds,” he adds. The only problem was a noisy gearbox after 171,000km (106,000miles), but this was rebuilt with new bearings. All Paul did apart from servicing was to replace the German check panel built into the roof with a British one. It’s the same unit but it’s all written in English and you can find one in any high spec E28 or E30 in a breaker’s yard – hardly a rare item then.

Other nice extras include AC Schnitzer pedals and gearknob, but that grey dash looks weird. Totally original and not colour-changed. It looks like it might have been a dash made for US market E30s, but fitted to this car to match the special order grey leather. I like it and it makes a nice change from the usual coal mine black E30 interior.

Like Tony’s car, Paul’s hasn’t been expensive to run. In fact, it hasn’t really needed anything and as well as chipping the owner down to £8750, his insurance is only £900 a year, fully comp, which isn’t pricey for a 24 year old. If he wasn’t a mechanic, it would be even less. Like most M3 owners, though, Paul isn’t enamoured with the timing chain noise. But he was surprised to hear about the E46 mod – quite simply, you remove the somewhat marginal standard tensioner piston and replace it with and E46 M3 item which offers an instant improvement.

Now for the M3 Convertible, an oddball car if ever there was one. Neil McDonald’s Sterling Silver version is a minter, having covered just 90,000km from new – a mere 55,000miles. With BMW as the first owner in the German logbook, Neil flew to Stuttgart to buy the car and drove it home. It has electric heated grey leather and an M Tech II steering wheel and is a nicely specced car which will soon be for sale – about £12,500 should do the trick, although there isn’t a hard top with it.

Too many E30 Convertibles have become rattly old sheds these days, but one like this isn’t. Even so, the E30 M3 Cabrio is an enigma. One view is that it combines fresh air motoring with E30 M3 road manners, the other view is that without a roof it’s not as stiff as the hardtop and hardly a road racer. Either way, it’s a nice thing to own and very rare. “I’m selling it because my girlfriend doesn’t like riding in it on the wrong side. I’ve replaced it with a Mercedes Pagoda roof SL,” Neil says.

So, three E30 M3s, but not three financial millstones. Buy right and spend the money on servicing and upkeep, and it could be that an M3 is a very cheap car to own, as you’ll nearly always get the money back come resale time. The 2.5 might be the ultimate, btu a good 2.3 isn’t far behind and is a lot cheaper – the 2.5 isn’t £3000 faster, that’s for sure.

EXPERT GUIDE

So now you want to go M Power shopping but you don’t know your 850CSi from your M5? Here’s what you’re looking for.

It’s easy deciding to move up from 320i to M5 but it’s not so easy buying one without bankrupting yourself. As serious performance cars go, BMW’s M Power models are robust as they come, but they can still turn around and bit you in the wallet if you buy the wrong one. We’ve poked and prodded enough of these cars over the years to know where the bill come from, so together with advice from the UK’s BMW specialists, here’s a guide to avoiding disaster.

You’ll see we’ve ignore the car that started it all, but if you’re in the market for a £70,000 M1 then you probably don’t need our help to choose one – just ask your butler to get his hands dirty for you.

North American readers will also note the absence of the M6, but they rust and leak in all the same places as the European M635CSi as the end of the day. We’ve also avoided getting bogged down in special editions: after all, an M3 is an M3 regardless of whether it has a steel roof or Roberto Ravaglia’s signature on a dashboard plaque. One of the key factors that might put you off an M-Series is the potential cost of putting things right, or even just plain servicing. Now, BMW isn’t in the habit of turning out marginal tat but it has made the odd mistake in the past. What we’re going to explore is the truth behind servicing your Motorsport BMW. Some of it might well surprise you.

The Big Timing Chain Debate

Many specialists will tell you that you must, at all costs, replace your timing chain and tensioners at 100,000miles – or else. Stories abound of horribly mutilated engines where chains have snapped and valves and pistons have met terrible ends. But is this down to unscrupulous preying on your fear in order to extract a couple of grand?

The first Motorsport engine was the M1’s M88 and this was made until 1984, and although it looked like a productionised version of the M1’s motor, there was a significant change within – the reversion from a double-row (duplex) to a single-row (simplex) timing chain.

This change was sweeping across the whole BMW engine range and while it didn’t really matter on a roadgoing 528i that would rarely rev beyond 5500, it did matter on the M88, whose red line was in the 7000s. Up to 80,000 miles, the chain and its tensioners were OK, but at that mileage it would be eating into the lower gearwheel until the tensioner ran out of travel. The chain would then be running slack, both at idle (causing a chatter) and at high rpm. Given this kind of abuse the chain would eventually break. So, at this kind of mileage you really need to fit a new one and it’s also important to look at it’s sprockets too, particularly the lower one on the crank.

The fibre tensioner can suffer too, with a large groove cut into it by the chain. If the engine had been well-maintained with 6000 mile oil changes and driven with respect, you might be lucky and get away with just a chain, which on its own isn’t expensive. Very late-model M6s and certain catalyst-equipped E28 M5s went to eh double-row chain, which is far better.

The single-row chain problem also applies to the E28 M5, which has exactly the same unit. Reckon on £1500 to replace everything.

Now for the E30 M3. One of the main upgrades on this unit was the reversion to a duplex chain. This immediately makes the whole set-up twice as strong and much less prone to wear. We’d go so far as to say that if the engine has been well-maintained and driven with care from cold, you won’t need the impending doom chain change at 100,000 miles.

Specialists like Hartlake, Nigel Moseley at Moseley Motorsport and Pete Walsh at PMW told us they have never known an M3 chain break and Moseley has probably seen more E30 M3s than anybody else in Britain. It is important to get it looked at, though. Also, the cam sprockets wear much faster than the crank sprocket – being at the top of the engine gives it slightly less lubrication. Any significant wear on the cam sprockets and you’ll need to get it done. If the teeth are still good and the engine is quiet, forget it. Fir an E46 M3 tensioner piston and get on with enjoying the car.

Some specialists will show you worn-out cam sprockets and say it could happen to you unless you spend £2000 now, but it’s really just a case of looking first. M3 timing chains don’t just snap. First, the engine has to be a knackered, thrashed nail, with enough timing chain noise to wake the dead. A noisy chain on an E30 can be cured cheaply by fitting the chain tensioner plunger from the latest E46 M3, which bleeds quickly and can silence a noisy chain.

It won’t silence a tired chain and worn sprockets, though. Should your car need any chain work, the head doesn’t have to come off and the engine needn’t come out. If the compressions are still good and the car doesn’t burn oil, you can leave the head on.

Finally, the M3 E36 and the 3.6 and 3.8 M5s. These all use twin-row chains and no, there’ s no suggestion that they need any chain replacement. Even so, you must investigate a noisy chain and if you do have to take the head off, fit a new chain anyway. The Vanos variable cam timing unit on the E36 M3 can get growly and that will cost a grand to replace – the unit alone is £700.

Servicing

When it comes to regular servicing, a Motorsport BMW is like any other. It’s no harder to replace the plugs or change the oil so don’t be fooled by that sharp intake of breath. Bridgegate BMW in Chesterfield was the first BMW main dealer in Britain to put M cars on the Four Plus servicing scheme, which means that even big services don’t cost that much. As a result they’ve had owners travelling from all over the country to get a service and a BMW stamp in their service book, so expect other dealers to follow suit.

At the end of the day, an older M-Series like the E30 M3 or M635CSi is a simple car by today’s standards and new Compact is more difficult to work on. The only thing a BMW dealer can’t do is fit non-genuine parts, so don’t go strolling in with your Koni suspension kit under your arm. There’s one area where an independent would get one over a dealer, though. “An Inspection I from us includes a valve clearance check. Not all dealers do this as it’s not on the job sheet,” Phil Crouch from Hartlake says.

Parts

When it comes to parts, in most cases you’ll either be using BMW originals, high spec equivalents or having your head examined. There are no cheap aftermarket engine bits anyway, but when it comes to brakes the original parts work well and aren’t expensive. E30 M3s use the same pads as an old E28 518, but don’t be tempted by cheap pads. Having said that, aftermarket ones with a known name such as Ate, Girling and Ferodo are fine, but BMW stuff is good.

Exhausts are another area of debate. There aren’t any cheap pattern exhausts and if you’re fitting an aftermarket pipe then stick to a quality brand. Think about the noise aspect too, especially with the E30 – many M3 owners have fitted a big bore system and taken it off after 100miles, fed up with the noise after about 20minutes.

Dampers were made by Bilstein for cars like M635CSi and M5, but the E30 M3 uses Boge gas dampers, which aren’t overly stiff but give a nice ride quality. Aftermarket companies do dampers for the M3 and the Koni damper/Eibach spring combination is known to work well without destroying the ride. More and more M3 owners are going back to the original equipment, though.

Bilsteins for the other cars can be bought through alternative sources, but you’ll save about 10 pence if anything. Bilstein does restrict the sale of BMW equipment dampers and at least with BMW you can get them next day for the more popular applications.

Repairs

We hope you don’t need them, but nothing lasts forever. Of the bunch, the 3.8 M5 is the most expensive to repair. Should you need an engine after a track day disaster, a second-hand one at least £2500, but they do seem to last forever. Expect about £1500 for a known E30 M3 motor with history and provenance. The electronic dampers on the M5 3.8 aren’t very funny to replace, though.

If you buy a good E30 M3 with a proper history, it should be cheap to run. A new clutch costs less than £450 for example, but when you’re having a job like this done it’s wise to replace other bits – gearbox mountings, a propshaft coupling and a gear linkage bush or two will only cost £100.

Bodywork is as good on the M-Series cars as it was on any. The M5 panels are inexpensive and even M3 panels aren’t horrendous. With parts like bootlids and still extensions, though, you might be better off with good used. The exception is the M635CSi. The early Karmann-built 6-Series gained a reputation as a rust bucket and although the later cars, including the M version, were better, they still like to rust.

The front wings are the regular casualty and they cost a fortune new. The ludicrous £450 each is condemning a number of otherwise economically savable cars.

Second-hand wings are rare and the only alternative is having them removed, sand-blasted and rebuilt with new metal. M3s seem to rust around the bottom of the screen which is bonded in. Bridgegate’s bodyshop has repaired these and it’s not easy.

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