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Not a week goes by it seems that we don’t feature an E39 BMW 5 series of some sort. Generally we like to hone in on the V8 engined fast Fives, but the bread and butter E39s in the US market were the ones equipped with the inline-6 under the hood. This 2003 530i represents the last year for the E39 and the sunset on this particular chapter in BMW design language. Equipped with the sports package and a 5-speed manual gearbox, it is sort of junior version of the M5 for those who may be scared off by the running costs and thirst of the Motorsports beast.
The M3 Convertible. A rather curious beast, no? Especially if one considers the M3’s original purpose of a tool by which to dominate DTM racing. However, there has been a drop top version of every M3 since the original E30, even if we didn’t see that one officially on US shores. With the change in nomenclature, we now have the M4 convertible to compliment the M4 coupe and M3 sedan. Each new iteration has debuted more powerful engines, advanced gearboxes and we even saw a new folding hardtop on the E93 M3, carried over to the M4.
These two M3s are for sale in New York and represent a definite split in approach to the fast convertible formula. First up, we’ll take a look at this 2005 E46 M3, which is armed with the rev-happy S54 inline-6 under the hood that everyone knows and loves mated to a good old row-your-own 6-speed manual.
Let’s be honest; going to the track is a bit of an addiction. Few make it out the other side without having at least contemplated heavy and expensive upgrades to their cars. The symptoms of the illness vary from patient to patient, but most exhibit similar characteristics; starting with a somewhat sporty road car, the owners quickly engage in a series of modifications that will make them “faster”. These modifications nearly always degrade the everyday usefulness of your road-going machine, and ultimately no matter how much you modify a street car, it will still be a compromised design. You simply can’t create a track weapon that is road-legal without some compromise. The result, then, is bobble-headed enthusiasts driving their barely-suspended, over cambered and too loud cars around looking – let’s be truthful – a bit of a fool. What’s a smarter option? Well, if you really want to drive faster on track, you find a slow car that someone has already made into a racer. First off, you’re getting into a more pure track car. They’re not road legal generally, so all of the goodies that make life bearable on the street are gone making them lighter. If the build was done right and well, you’re probably saving a lot of money, too. But the real benefit of getting a slower car is that you’re doing more of the driving – ask any racer, and most will say that extracting maximum performance from a slow car is more rewarding than allowing the computers in your GT-R to obliterate the pavement for you. Two of the most popular German cars to hit the track in are here today – the venerable E30 in 325is form, and the iconic Porsche 944. Which will hit the finish line first?
The low mileage Estoril Blue BMW M Coupe we featured last month is back up for sale, on offer at $1,250 less than when we first came across it. Looking to drive a modern icon? I think everyone will agree the Clown Shoe, as it is sometimes called, could be the BMW equivalent of the air-cooled 911 in terms of collectability.
The below post originally appeared on our site November 29, 2014:
While it’s still possible to find E30s for reasonable prices, they typically have a lot of miles or serious issues. Prices for clean examples have drifted northwards, following their golden-child M3 brethren. Every once in a while we get a good look at what an “ideal” example costs, which in my mind is a clean, unmodified car with 50k-100k miles. Today’s 325is fits most of the bill, looking impressively stock and well maintained inside and out after just 59k miles. The glaring mark against it is the automatic transmission; it’s like buying a classic piano but installing a self-playing mechanism. While the mileage and condition would put it in the top echelon of E30s, I have to imagine those really interested in the nicest of these cars would spend their time and money finding an ideal, manual-equipped car.
