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At the end of the Z3-based M Roadster’s life, it was given a horsepower treat in the form of the S54 inline-6, finally bringing the performance potential of the E36-based US market cars up to level of their European market cousins. With 315 horsepower on tap, this was a serious little beast and a far cry from the Z3 we first saw in the mid-1990s with it’s 1.9 liter inline-4. This 2002 M Roadster for sale in Florida has under 30,000 miles on the clock and sports a great look in silver with its contrasting red canvas top and black and red leather interior.
After a long winter for many of us, clear skies and sunshine are back. A car like this M Roadster epitomizes summer, looking resplendent in Dakar Yellow. This particular example for sale in New York has under 50,000 miles on the clock and offers M3 levels of performance in a fun, diminutive drop-top package.
When it was introduced, the BMW M Roadster quickly caught the attention of those who thought the non-Motorsport variety Z3 Roadster was a bit weak in the knees. Even though the US version was initially short on horsepower versus its Euro market counterpart, 240 horsepower was nothing to sneeze at in such a small package. Then the M Coupe arrived on the scene. Still a two-seater, this sports car with a breadvan profile was a bit misunderstood at first. Now, however, it’s popularity is eclipsing that of the M Roadster, leaving prices for the open roofed version lagging a bit. This M Roadster for sale in Florida is a lower mileage example, wearing the rare Evergreen hue that at times polarizes opinions.
I’ll admit that a fair amount of these 10K face-offs are somewhat limited in their execution. Often, the examples of cars I’m able to track down for the day of the article aren’t the best that are out there or, more often than not, in an effort to fit the cars under the 10K budget they’re just not the prime examples or they’re not good matches. However, there are two performance convertibles on fairly equal footing that really offer a tremendous amount of proverbial bang for your buck these days; come to the table with around $10,000 and you can pick up either a E36/7 BMW M Roadster or 986 Porsche Boxster S. Granted, in some cases the stars have to align just right and there are many weeks where there aren’t two good examples in the price range – but today there just happen to be two very comparable examples to look at. Similar mileage, similar colors and similar power and drive mean that these two are still competing with buyers as they were when new. However, it’s there where the two cars seem to point towards the very different philosophies and character of their respective parent companies. Let’s then in the waning days of a summer gone by at two special and quite reasonably priced convertible sports cars:
Back before EVERY DAMN CAR ON THE ROAD had gills/portholes/slices on the front fender, it was a distinctive mark on the BMW Z3. The silver slash that marked the M versions is even more eye-catching, and yanked my head around yesterday in the constant hunt for ///Ms. Today we have the wee beasty original M Roadster, a handsome convertible that may not have the following the Miata but certainly scores a few more masculinity points. This silver example has covered less than 35k miles on the not-quite-as-sweet S52 inline-6, which will help the price stay sane while keeping the exhaust note sweet.
