Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, December 1, 2000... For enthusiasts of ultimate automotive performance, it's a magic name: BMW M3. Combining the all-around excellence of the BMW 3 Series with the spectacular performance and handling prowess of BMW M, the M3 is the formidable BMW sports car that has won - again and again - the accolades and comparison-test victories of the world's motoring critics while providing its buyers with real practicality. Now, there is a new M3 - an all-new generation of this legendary sports car that surpasses even its acclaimed predecessor. Entering production in February 2001, the new 3rd-generation M3 has been derived from the successful E46 3 Series coupe. It is powered by a new, dramatically more powerful BMW M 6-cylinder engine; equipped with new and unique stability enhancements; designed and equipped to radiate BMW M sportiness and quality as no car at its price level has ever done. At a base price of $45,970, the new M3 brings together BMW M virtues in a brand-new way that is bound to set off another round of applause from those who appreciate the very best in road capabilities.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE M3
The 1st-generation M3 was essentially a racing car tamed for road use. Offered in the U.S. from 1988 through 1991, it was based on the then- 3 Series generation (internal platform designation E30) and was a winged, spoilered 2-door sedan powered by a rip-snortin' BMW M 4-cylinder engine of 2.3 liters and 192 hp. This was a full-on BMW M engine, with 4 valves per cylinder at a time when no regular-production BMW had more than 2; an individual throttle for each cylinder; honed cylinders; and other racing-style engineering finery. Over time, there were hotter versions, both road- and race-going; just a single model was sold in the U.S. That M3 certainly wasn't for everyone; but it was a hearty and competent sporting machine, and even today it has a devoted following.
The 2nd-generation M3 is better known. Based on the then-current E36 3 Series and making its debut as a 1995 model, this M3 had a mission beyond the usual BMW M dedication to great performance and handling: to bring BMW M and its wonderful driving machines to a wider spectrum of buyers in the U.S.
This was accomplished by powering the M3 not with a traditional, highly elaborate BMW M engine, but rather with a specially developed version of what was now standard BMW practice: an inline 6-cylinder engine with dual overhead camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder and a single throttle. Taking this approach, BMW M created an engine of 3.0 liters (vs. the standard 325i models' 2.5) and a solid 240 horsepower. The strategy was perfect: Within the range of speeds American drivers experienced, this engine provided thrilling performance, yet cost thousands less to produce. The rest of the car was very much the same M3 that Europeans could buy.
In 1996 the engine grew to 3.2 liters and delivered more torque. In either form, it was loved by America's enthusiasts and critics alike. "Anyone who has audited a class in German Engineering Appreciation is familiar with the simple equation: 3.2 liters to the M power equals heart-pounding thrills," opined Motor Trend in September '97. "The BMW M3 has it all," reported Car and Driver in December '94. "Scintillating speed, brilliant handling, a utilitarian package."
This 2nd-generation M3 was offered through 1999; a convertible and a 4-door sedan joined the original coupe model along the way, extending M3 virtues to buyers with differing priorities.
THE NEW M3: E46 PERFECTION, M MUSCLE
As universally acclaimed as the 1995-99 E36 M3 was, progress never stops at
BMW - nor at BMW M. With the debut of the new E46 3 Series generation for
the '99 model year, it was inevitable that an E46 M3 would someday appear.
Now it is here.
At any point in time, the diligent people who conceive, design and engineer
BMW vehicles are always striving toward the future, toward something even
better than that already achieved. So it is with the 3 Series, a core BMW
product. Car and Driver, naming the new 3 Series to its 10Best list in
February '99, put it this way: "...the car is now in its fourth generation,
each iteration better than the one before it. Every time BMW polishes the
design, it brings the 3 Series a bit closer to perfection."
Thus the M3, too, could be brought closer to perfection. As before, the first model of the new M3 generation is a coupe. It is based on the E46 3 Series coupe, introduced only a year ago in 323Ci and 328Ci form and already evolved into the further improved 2001 325Ci and 330Ci. Yet the new M3 is more than just a "3 Series plus": Like all M Cars, it is very much its own machine, a true and dazzlingly gifted sports car.
