What is the best car BMW’s M division has ever made? It’s a question that, as I write, I’ve just returned from trying to answer with m’friend and colleague and Autocar special correspondent Mauro Calo for an upcoming video. (Hi guys. Like and subscribe.)
Now, we both like M cars. Mauro’s even got one, though by a narrow margin not one we shortlisted for this ‘best ever’ video. We went with a 1989 M3, a 2003 M3 CSL and a new M2 Competition.
I think it’s a fair selection, though there could have been others. An M1, obviously, although it’s a supercar rather than a typical M division model; a 1M Coupe, though I suspect the M2 Competition does a close enough impression; Ms 5 and 6, perhaps, though they can feel big, and Zs a bit brittle. You could argue about it all day.
We did, in fact. But in the three we gathered, I’m comfortable that we got some of the very best M iterations: cars where a great performance division sprinkled magic dust on what were (or are) already sound cars, with their great weight distribution and correct-wheel drive.
What we concluded overall isn’t the important bit for this column. Although, spoiler alert: if you were to take bits from each and make the ‘ideal’ M car, more of them would come from a CSL than the others.
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abkq
"newer doesn't always mean
It's the immeasurable nuances that count.
Takeitslowly
"Immeasurable" means too
"Immeasurable" means too large or extensive and cannot really be followed by the word "nuances"...oxymoron.
Perhaps you meant "measurable" or "finite"?.
Care to respond and put this to rights?.
si73
Surely immeasurable nuances
Surely immeasurable nuances means extensive amount of subtle differences? That's how I read it but maybe I'm being grammatically incorrect?
abkq
I stand corrected. I meant
However it surprises me what I wrote wasn't perfectly clear in context.
I suppose there are those who prioritise syntax, grammar etc. over meaning.
NoPasaran
Why is Z4 brittle? Is that
Why is Z4 brittle? Is that because of hard suspension? This can be easily fixed. On the other hand Z4M is over 100kg lighter than M3 E46. The Bangle era Z4 shape is just as iconic as E46 shape, modern classics both of them. Problem with E46 M3 they have been driven into extinction, and CSL is way expensive, but one can still find immaculate low mileage Z4Ms.
saw A110 yesterday in that dark blue color, actually looks nice inside and out (rear is not that beautiful).
SamVimes1972
I wonder how much of that
I wonder how much of that 'squidge' is down to wear and tear. I've been reading articles about how cars 10 years older than the car on test are better one way or another for as long as I have been reading car magazines.
si73
I often wonder the same, if
I often wonder the same, if said old car had totally refreshed suspension and steering, new bushes etc, would that squidge associated with older cars disappear? Obviously safety is woeful on older cars but the visibility out of them and the ability to place them easily on the road due to their smaller dimensions are virtues that would benefit modern cars.
Peter Cavellini
Time.....
Time, 13 years on an M3CSL isn’t going to be as good because we have to progress, we can’t stand still and accept that this is it, there won’t be better, all cars are great in there own era, none stand up to the future.
david RS
Long live the 90's !
Long live the 90's !
RIP BMW.
Peter Cavellini
An aside....
I had an 04’ plate M3 in 2007, a great car, I always wanted one, but I found out that some of the cars then were just as fast and handled too, but I guess you don’t buy them to be King of the Road, you buy them to enjoy driving them.
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