It was only supposed to be a race car, but became the envy of every garage in the world.
It’s just a variant of another model, but it’s the most famous line its maker has.
And the company that made it only sold it because they had to.
This is everything you need to know to get up to speed on the BMW M3.
(8-bit music plays)
(Inhales)
In the early 80s, Mercedes upended the German
racing scene when they turned their little 190 compact sedan into a monster.
Even with a detuned Cosworth engine, the updated 190 E 2.3-16, yes, somebody decided that that
was a good name for a car, absolutely obliterated speed and endurance records, and made Mercedes
the go-to badge for the prestigious DTM race series.
This was a home-grown German series, and all the major German manufacturers wanted to win it
both as a way to make their brand stand out, and just, you know, stick it to each other.
So when the new Mercedes seized the DTM crown, BMW stood up and was like “Nein!”
BMW CEO Eberhard Keuenheim decided they needed to put a cooler engine into their 3 Series
if they ever wanted to win the DTM again.
But who could do such a thing?
Well, turns out BMW happened to have a motorsport division, called M. For motorsport.
That’s how German they were.
“It is for motorsport.
What should we call it?”
“What if we call it M.” “Oh Hanz das is GENIUS.”
So han, so smart.
Now up to this time, the M division only worked on racing-spec cars.
And really, that’s all Keuenheim wanted: a racetrack version of the 3 Series that could
spank Mercedes’ butt on the circuit.
Just like my dad used to spank my butt when I ate too much of the Christmas jam!
But there was a problem!
Homologation!
To qualify for the racing series that BMW wanted to enter, the homologation rules required
that BMW produce at least 5,000 units of the car.
The racing leagues didn’t want companies to produce track-only hypercars, they wanted
modified versions of street-legal cars.
Because of this rule, they were going to have to make this new 3 Series available to…
ugh… the public.
BMW’s sales department didn’t think there’d be enough demand to justify a 5,000-unit production.
But Mercedes’ challenge would not stand!
Keuenheim damned the torpedoes and just decided to greenlight production anyway.
And so, M was off to the races, quite literally!
The first order of business was to build an engine, and as it turned out, Bimmer’s motorsport
division knew a thing or two about building pretty good engines.
They grabbed the six-cylinder inline motor from their earlier M1 sports car, but found
that it was too heavy for the little 3 Series.
Solution?
Cut off two cylinders!
Very German.
With a now four-cylinder block, they threw in the rest of the parts and went from zero
to working prototype in just two weeks.
It took my dad two weeks to go buy cigarettes one time and these guys build one of the best
racing engines ever?
Wow!
Engine done, now it's time for the body.
Hey, it’s a 3 Series, it already had a body, right?
Well, yes, it did.
And M threw away all but four panels.
Every single other part was resculpted to be more streamlined, efficient, and aerodynamic.
Plus, M then retuned the suspension.
And the throttle.
And the brakes.
Basically, it was as far from the standard car as you could get while still claiming
they were related.
Kind of like your brother who looks suspiciously like Mario Lopez, my mom was an extra on
"Saved by the Bell" just saying.
The end result in 1986 was a BMW 3 Series designed for space travel.
Armed with its new 200hp straight-4 engine, with steering tuned by grandmasters of the
Nurburgring, the new car went like a bat out of hell on the straights and turned on a dime
in the corners.
BMW obviously wanted to make a good car, but even they couldn’t have known just how good
the end result would be.
There was no real grand innovation here, no new invention that changed cars forever
the car just perfected being a car.
just like I perfected whatever it is I do.
What would you say my job is?
All it needed was a name!
Remember, this is the company that called their motorsport division: M. With that kind
of creativity, guess what they called their M-designed 3 Series?
If you guessed “M3,” you have no imagination at all.
Also, you are 100% correct.
The M3 did its job pretty damn well: it won a truckload of race trophies, and against
BMW’s expectations, it actually sold all of its 5,000-production run.
In fact, it sold another 5,000 on top of that.
And then another 5,000.
And then another 3,000!
What that's ridiculous.
BMW couldn’t believe that people actually liked an awesome car.
Who knew?
Because of the unexpected popularity, the Bavarians made a few variations, like the
Evolution and Sport Evolution models.
And they even made an M3 pickup truck!
Seriously.
Granted, it never went into mass production, but the M Division kept the concept truck
and used it for another twenty-six years.
Man I would love to sit on the tailgate of that M3 truck and crack a cold weihenstephaner,
arm around my mausi , chugging on sauerkraut and schupf noodle and kugels.
Why are noodles dessert?
All told, the original M3 became an icon of its era, and remains a halo car to this day.
Here’s the thing though: that original, E30 M3 was always meant to be a race car.
It didn’t have many features, the interior wasn’t great, and it didn’t exactly scream
“luxury.”
Like this: Luxury!
So when the time came to update the M3 to match the 90s 3 Series, Munich decided to
make the car feel more like a proper BMW.
When the E36 M3 launched in 1992, it had a plush interior, a standard equipment range,
and a much more restrained exterior.
So long box-flares, mom says you gotta go, go on, get out of here.
I never liked you anyway.
You were just too good for this world.
But ze Germans still got a little bit kooky, ja?
They put back the two cylinders they’d cut out of the original engine, so that even though
it looked modest on the outside, it was a straight-six rocket on the inside.
And what an engine it was: at 282hp in 3L, it had the best hp/L ratio of any naturally
aspirated car at the time!
The US, for reasons unknown, got saddled with a detuned version of the engine.
As always, f*** us, right?
I mean we're America, we don't like fast cars, do we?
"America f*** yeah!"
While the original E30 might have a lock on enthusiasts’ hearts, the E36 is the M3 that
set the direction for all future models.
The next model, the E46 in 2000, was to the M3 what the M3 was to the 3 Series
not all that different, but perfect.
Rocking the last naturally aspirated straight-six in the line’s history, it produced 338hp,
over a hundred more than its predecessor.
Otherwise, it was just an M3, right?
Well, yes.
But better.
The E46 was the true juggernaut of the M3 range, with over 85,000 units sold worldwide.
Remember when BMW didn’t think they could sell 5,000?
Road and Car magazine called it their favorite sports car of all time.
All time!
That is all of the time!
Again, the E46 didn’t invent a new technology, it just did car well.
Really, really well.
And the GTR version had a big stonking V8 engine in it.
But BMW wouldn’t do that to the M3 again, right?
Mein Gott!
That sounded Scottish.
For the E90 model in 2007, BMW made the V8 the standard and only engine option for the M3
Who cares about subtlety, just go big, dammit!
Mid-way through this generation’s run, BMW refreshed it as the E92.
Which was exactly like the E90.
Only better.
And with a sedan variant.
For some reason, the convertible got a whole new version number, as the E93.
But that’s not what the people wanted: what the people really wanted was another M3 pickup truck.
And they got one!
Literally one: BMW built another concept truck, because apparently someone still thought this
might be a good idea?
In 2014, BMW updated the M3 to the F80, and with it, split the brand in half.
The new M3 was only available as a four-door compact sedan; the two-door coupe was spun
off as a brand new badge, the M4.
This was because…
I guess the even numbers are two doors, and then the odd numbers are four doors
unless it's a six then it can be both or I have no idea why.
Nobody does, it’s the exact same thing.
Did I mention my name is Javier now?
Either way, the new M3 returned to the good old straight-six, this time with two turbochargers.
That’s right, the Ultimate Driving Machine, a pure distillation of driving excellence,
has gone turbo.
And electric steering, too.
Purists didn’t like the sound of these changes, but none of that put a cramp on the M3’s style.
Because when it released, the F80 was considered yet another Munich masterpiece, a 425hp monster
with a top speed of 174mph.
Almost three times as fast as a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
If they had these in Jurassic Park, brrr no problem the movie would be like five minutes long.
After all this time and five different generations the new M3 is still the king or queen of its class.
For thirty years, the BMW M3 has proven that sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the
wheel: you just need to make the best wheel.
From the E30 on the race track, to the F80 on the road, the M3 has no single reason why
it’s the best.
It just is.
Just like me
dad.
That's everything you need to know to get up to speed on the BMW M3.
This episode was filmed in front of a live studio audience.
(Cheers).
Also, still trying to buy that Lambo.
Please send me a dollar.
If we get one then we'll do whatever you guys want us to do to it.
Some people are sending in money, I got two dollars now, so I only need 79,998 more.
As always don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, share.
Thanks for watching Up To Speed.
(burps).