Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: S52

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

10K Friday Indian Summer: M Roadster v. Boxster S

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:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 BMW M Roadster on eBay

1 Comment

1998 BMW M Roadster

$_57 (1)

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.

Click for details: 1998 BMW M Roadster on eBay

Comments closed

10K Friday Performance Edition: M3 v. 944 Turbo v. CLK500 v. S4 v. GTi

Well, I hope this will stir some interest, as I think this is a bit of an interesting comparison. What level of performance can you buy for $10,000 (give or take) these days? Surprisingly, there are a lot of options – and those options vary pretty seriously in their execution and packages; there’s a wagon and a sports car, two sedan-based coupes and a hatchback. Engines range from a 2 liter turbo to a V8, with a bit of everything in between. Yet, what appears to be a very strange comparison linked only by price is revealed to be much closer when you look at performance figures:

E36 M3: 240 hp, 0-60 6.0 seconds, 3,200 lbs
944 Turbo: 220 hp, 0-60 5.9 seconds, 2,900 lbs
CLK500: 302 hp, 0-60 5.7 seconds, 3,800 lbs
S4 Avant: 250 hp, 0-60 5.6 seconds, 3,700 lbs
GTi: 200 hp, 0-60 6.6 seconds, 3,200 lbs

The range is much closer than you’d expect – especially when you consider that these figures could easily be equaled in margin of error, driver skill and reaction time. In the twisties, the lower powered cars like the GTi catch up to the higher power CLK and S4. All are, in one way or another, practical choices. Some are destined (or already) classics, while others will likely fade away. So what would be your choice? Let’s start with an M3 we’ve already seen:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M3 on eBay

13 Comments

2000 BMW M Coupe

12205236_15

Every time I see one, the original M Coupe strikes me as one car I would even entertain moving on from my E28 for. I’ve always loved the shape and the weirdness, and while it would certainly be nice to land an ever-appreciating S54 model, my experiences with the S52 have all been pleasurable. Today’s shining red example is of the latter, slower variety, but is practically brand new after covering less than 3,000 miles per year. The interior would make me a little nauseous every time I got in it, but maybe I could lose a few lbs to help this lithe shooting brake hustle.

Click for details: 2000 BMW M Coupe on eBay

1 Comment

1999 BMW M Coupe

When it comes to the best of the bunch of very memorable M cars, unfortunately the M Coupe doesn’t seem to rank in the top 5. Granted, with the S54 motor fitted to later examples it should, but enthusiasts rightly lump the first series of M cars as likely the best, and for number 5 you’ve got so many great choices; the stellar and understated E34 M5, the brutal but effective E39 M5, the rev-happy E46 M3. Then there are more recent wonders, such as the 1M and V8 M cars, both in turbo and non-turbocharged forms. But in the middle of these cars lay the cool and unique M Coupe. It wasn’t the fastest, most practical or best looking M car made – but it’s a combination of many factors that make it so desirable as a package – plus, it’s still affordable and a reasonable daily driver. Is there a better package for the money right now?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M Coupe on eBay

Comments closed