Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Another week, another S54 powered BMW M Coupe. As a follow on to the 2001 M Coupe that Rob featured two weeks ago, here we have a similar vintage M Coupe with less miles wearing the it’s original equipment alloy wheels. Just over 1,000 S54 engined M Coupes were produced, with 678 making their way stateside between 2001 and 2002. Fewer modern cars have had the collectability factor that these Bimmers had out of the box. How high will values go? That remains to be seen.
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.
Just the other day a friend of mine was complaining about the lack of “pure” sport coupes available on the used market for a reasonable price. They aren’t interested at all in roofless options which does eliminate fan favorites like a Mazda Miata, Honda S2000, or Porsche Boxster. I then asked, “well what about a BMW Z3?” and my perfectly reasonable question was met with a chuckle. I don’t know what it is about the Z3 that so many people so dislike but when thinking of driver focused sport coupes, it’s always the first thing that comes to mind. M Coupes are more powerful and aggressive looking, but they’re also highly sought after, therefore the reasonable price part of the equation goes right out the window. I love the odd styling and the wonderfully simple interior. Driver position is amazing in these cars and they’re surprisingly functional as well thanks to the hatch. The Z3 roadster might be what comes to mind when the name is mentioned, but it is the coupe that is the real star.
I always felt a bit sorry for the BMW Z3 Coupe. It was introduced at a time when an M version arrived alongside of it and not surprisingly, it was the Motorsports version that made the bigger splash in the market. Even that car was at first a bit misunderstood, with some critics deriding the looks but others shining on to the performance it offered. The M Coupe has reached air-cooled 911 levels of popularity at the moment and as such, the Z3 Coupe can only stand to benefit. This early production Z3 2.8 Coupe comes to us from our friends at Sun Valley Auto Club and looks quite attractive in silver over red leather, with the desirable manual gearbox. If the M Coupe is a little bit rich for your blood, try this lite version instead.
I’ll just come right out with it: I really don’t like the styling of the Z3. Never have and presumably at this point never will. And it isn’t even something specific, but rather the entire package. So, back in the late ’90s, when BMW announced they would be releasing the Z3-based M Roadster and M Coupe I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect nor whether I’d like it. I did. The M Coupe is a wonderful design in its own ridiculous looking way and the M Roadster seems to fix whatever styling problems I had with the Z3. It’s funny how more power and a better suspension can work its magic, right? They are still peculiar looking cars with odd proportions, but those curvier and more muscular looking lines fill out the body nicely and bring the entire package together. Some designs were just meant to be pushed to their extreme and the Z3 clearly seems like one of those. With better styling also comes better performance and even the early models with their lower-power S52 engine still pack a nice punch. This striking example is a Dakar Yellow 2000 BMW M Roadster, located in California, with just 20,446 miles on it.
