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The BMW M Coupe is a perennial favorite of ours here at GCFSB and for good reason! It follows a tried and true formula to produce an enthusiast’s dream: take a small car, in this case a roadster with the addition of a fixed roof, throw a wonderful engine in the front, and mate that to a manual transmission delivering power through the rear wheels. The results were tremendous. The original M Coupe always has possessed something more. It’s shape – typically referred to as a shooting brake, though lovingly also called a clown shoe – gave it an additional character that produced a delightful synergy between the car’s performance and its appearance. It’s never really been considered pretty, it’s almost over-the-top muscular and bulging, but it has a purposeful aggressive look that is no-nonsense and, dare I say, energetic. There is just no mistaking the purpose of the M Coupe and they truly are wonderful examples for enthusiasts to enjoy. With the additional power of the S54 engine they have become incredibly desirable. Here we have just such a beast: a Black over Tan 2001 BMW M Coupe, located in Chicago, with 67,652 miles on it.
I love the E36/8 aka M Coupe aka Clownshoe, and clown shoes are best in red, right? This beautiful Imola example has just 73k miles and has been well cared for by 3 owners. The previous owner addressed the well-documented potential rear subframe weld issues, and the only updates are light enough to not even be called modifications – air filter, headlights, stainless steel clutch cable, etc. It’s not quite perfect but pretty close, with a few minor scuffs and dings. It’s a 1999 model, meaning it has the 240hp S52 instead of the later S54 monster, but that’s mattering less and less these days and the prices of both head north.
Something interesting is occurring in the BMW world. As the E36/8 M Coupe skyrockets in value and collectability – especially the very limited S54 versions – for some reason, it’s successor isn’t. Now, both generations of M Coupes and Roadsters are love it or hate it designs, but the early cars – even though stylistically they have some typical 90s weak spots. Those fender vents, for example, have become a cliche stick-on applique to all the best ‘hood Accords and Maximas. To me, the replacement for the Z3 was edgier but more handsome. It still looks modern and honestly I think it could reasonably still fit into the design language of the current BMWs. The M Coupe managed to escape the period which many enthusiasts characterized as the worst styling period for BMW as the Belle of the Ball. And the layout and drivetrain wasn’t updated, instead running the end of the run naturally aspirated screamer S54 through a manual gearbox and driving only the rear wheels. Only some 1,800 of them were imported to the U.S., too – guaranteeing their exclusivity, they seemed to be a natural collector status BMW right out of the box. But for many more, the E86 M Coupe was more classic GT sports car than the bread delivery van styling of E36/8. Throw in a similarly love it or hate it rare color like Laguna Seca Blue, and you’ve got either a travesty against automobiledom or a car with serious collector potential:
After seeing the sweet deal on the Canadian BMW M Roadster, I got all S54-loopy and started looking at clownshoes. This is a dangerous hole for me, as it’s still one of the few cars (the E39 M5 being the other) that I pass on the street and think “hmm… that’s almost cool enough to supplant the E28 M5…” While the roadster was a steal for roughly $20k with just over 30k miles, this seller is capitalizing on the double-rare hot stuff that is the final-year, S54-powered ///M shooting brake. 50k miles is still quite low, but they’re asking almost twice the price of the Canuck. What do you think… down payment on a future classic, or speculative lunacy?
I’ll be honest. I never particularly liked the BMW Z4 M Coupe when it first debuted. But as time moves on, I find myself drawn in to this little sports car. Perhaps its the dearth of manual gearboxes, even in the M Cars. Or maybe I’m just overwhelmed by the excessive offerings in the SUV market. Whatever the case may be, this was a worthy follow-on to the much loved, first generation M Coupe, known as the “clownshoe.” This Z4 M Coupe for sale in Winnipeg, Manitoba was brought to our attention from our reader Toshihiko. It is the only Monaco Blue example to have come to North America.
