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Tag: S54

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Motorsports Monday: Mild or Wild M3s

Published October 6, 2014 by Carter

Going to the track is like any other addiction; it has its highs and lows. You may start going with a stock car, but soon you’ll feel the need to modify the suspension, beef up with wheels and tires, throw on some racing brakes, strip the interior and all of that heavy stuff that slows you down like air conditioning, sound deadening, and seats. Then you drop a cage in and hit the track; all smiles, no doubt, but it’s been an expensive journey and your track weapon is really only good at fast laps for a small percentage of its existence; the rest of the time, it just sits or is exceptionally uncomfortable and inconvenient as a daily driver. Plus, modern cars have gotten so expensive and complicated, with enough computer aids that they can nearly lap themselves. What is an enthusiast to do, then? Well, you can look towards some perennial favorites that helped to establish the reputation of BMW; the M3. In this case, I have two examples that are set up to hit the track – a racer E30 and a street-drivable but track-biased E46. Which is your flavor?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 BMW M3 on eBay

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2007 BMW M Coupe

Published October 4, 2014 by Carter

The current BMW market is quite interesting. The three posts I did on BMWs yesterday really drew that into sharp contrast for me; first, the E34 M5 Double Take underscored a more simple time at BMW with classic designs and classic motors. Then the “New Blue” BMW roundup outlined what’s currently available – progress happens, but it’s apparent that BMW’s current market has diverged substantially from the blueprint of the 1980s and 1990s success. But capitalizing on that 1980s legend are perhaps some undeserving cars, as the E30 M3 fail from yesterday proved. Where is an enthusiast to look, then? Well, you could argue you don’t have to look back very far to get a great, classic piece that follows in the footsteps of some of BMW’s great designs, but still with a modern twist. The Z4 M Coupe is a great example of this – a slick design, rear drive only, a 6-speed manual transmission and the last of the great normally aspirated inline-6s, the S54, hiding under the long hood:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 BMW M Coupe on eBay

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2004 BMW M3 Dinan Supercharged – REVISIT

Published September 21, 2014 by Carter

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I posted a couple of Laguna Seca Blue E46 M3s yesterday that looked like they were owned and modded by a couple of similarly-minded fanboys. Today, we’ll shift gears and look at one of the most tastefully and maturely modified E46s out there (chrome exhaust surround notwithstanding). Carter featured this car for Tuner Tuesday earlier in the month and it’s received the full Dinan treatment, earning enough points via supercharger, exhaust, suspension, and more to get the official Dinan badge. The badges sit on a custom and beautiful red paint job, with CSL nods in the wheels and trunk spoiler. It has only covered 40k miles in its 10 years and was honored with the cover of BMWCCA’s “Roundel” magazine a couple years back. The seller says its “generally considered to be one of finest E46 M3 in the country,” and it’s hard to argue against that.

-NR

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 BMW M3 Dinan Supercharged on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site September 2, 2014:

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2001 BMW M3

Published September 6, 2014 by Carter

I get that the wild colors offered by BMW on the E46 M3 don’t appeal to everyone, and I’m aware they tend to be the colors I focus on. What’s special about them to me is that they exist at all; you don’t have to agree that they’re the colors you’d buy, but isn’t the world a better place for them having been made? If I bought a M3, I’d really want to feel special. Of course, getting into any M car is a special experience, right? Well, it certainly was a bit of an occasion in the 1980s, but by the E36 and E46 M3s, production numbers meant they were reasonably common. With over 71,000 E36s made and over 85,000 E46s produced, odds of you seeing another going down the road are pretty strong. Heck, in my daily commute I count on seeing at least one – try that with an older M car. But what I see daily are typical German car colors; blacks, silvers, greys and whites. They look nice, I agree, but to me the appeal is what the M cars were in the 1980s – an event. It’s not so much that I want to be noticed, but more that I want to stand apart from the crowd. And to me, Phoenix Yellow and Laguna Seca Blue are two of the best ways to differentiate your M experience from the norm. Today, there’s a lovely example of the later available on eBay:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW M3 on eBay

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The One? 2004 BMW M3 with 9,900 Miles

Published August 26, 2014 by Carter

For some time I’ve talked about how I’d really like to get an E46 M3. I still remember well when the M3 launched; it felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from the collective shoulders of those who complained that the E36 was too watered down for the American market. Under the hood lurked the high-revving S54 3.2 inline-6, replete with individual throttle bodies. It was a return to form for BMW M, who managed to squeeze over 330 horsepower from that engine. In the world of racing cars, before 2000 it was considered to be quite good if you could make 100 horsepower from a normally aspirated liter; but Honda and BMW both left countless engine builders shaking their heads in disbelief as they were able to best that feat while retaining day to day drive-ability, longevity and a warranty. Outside, BMW stepped up the game to make the M3 stand out a bit more than the E36 had. Like its predecessor, the E46 had revised and deeper front and rear bumper covers, but the M3 added some venting behind the front wheels and some quite sexy rear flares and wide tires, along with four exhaust pipes. It was as if someone had taken the better styling ques from the M roadster and M3 and combined them. Then, there were the colors – Laguna Seca Blue has proven to be a fan favorite, but I always loved Dakar Yellow. So, I was quite excited to get a poster when new of the color that personified the rebirth of the M3 – named Phoenix Yellow – with the tag line “Okay, a Ph.D is pretty impressive, too”:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 BMW M3 on E46fanatics

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