BMW M3 Turns 25 Today, Happy Birthday!
In August of 1985 the fastest 3 Series BMW of all times was revealed. Today there are just a handful if original E30 M3’s running in Malaysia. There are also some ‘suspect’ converted versions but best to note left hand drive units will surely be original. Prices vary from RM40,000 to as high as RM55,000 as demand is very high. The key data revealed a sports car that would punch way above its class: 200 hp, top speed in excess of 230 km/h, sprint from a standing start to 100 km/h inside 6.7 seconds. The first generation BMW M3 was based on the 1986 BMW 3-Series E30, and although looking very similar shared very little body panels – only the hood and roof. It was powered by a specially developed 2.3 liter inline 4-cylinder engine producing 195 hp (143 kW) fitted with a 5-speed manual gearbox. This remarkable peace of engineering allowed the BMW M3 E30 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 235 km/h (146 mph).
The BMW M3 became the most successful touring car in motor-sport history. The M3 project was launched just a few months earlier.
Pictured here is the 1st M3, the E30. Note classic interior and switchgear.
Rear windscreen was not the same as the standard E30 and there were flared wheel arches.
The new 3 Series engine had something in common with this: the crankcase. It originated from volume production and actually formed the basis for the two-litre engine with four cylinders. Four cylinders meant less weight and high torque, an ideal platform for a sports engine in the projected displacement class. Naturally enough, the series four-cylinder engine was much too tame for a sports engine. A comprehensive power boost was called for in order to turn the plucky daily workhorse into an athletic and sporty power unit.
The BMW design engineers increased the displacement to 2.3 litres and applied a formulation that had already achieved significant successes over a period of many years: four-valve engineering. There was also another reason for the decision to opt for a four-cylinder engine and not adopt the six-cylinder engine introduced in the BMW 3 Series. Pictured above is the 2nd generation M3 which came from the E36 shell. More of these units are available in Malaysia with collectors not willing to sell. Fakes are plentiful so check documents properly before buying.
The longer crankshaft in the big engine started to vibrate much earlier than the shorter four-cylinder shaft. The design engineers therefore designed the crankshaft drive of the BMW M3 with sufficient torsional stability to achieve 10,000 revolutions a minute and more. By comparison with the four-cylinder engine installed in the series vehicles, this represented an increase of more than 60 percent. The rated speed for the road version of the BMW M3 was still significantly below the critical range at 6,750/min and therefore offered sufficient scope for further developments.
Then in 2001 the E46 M3 appeared worldwide (pictures above) with the new 3.2 L S54B32 engine. At the time of the car’s introduction, this engine had the highest specific output naturally aspirated engine ever made by BMW, producing 343 PS and 365 Nm of torque. The 3.2l-24v I6 produced – 343 PS with a 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds.
Top Speed was rated at 155 mph (electronically limited) and it could easily reach 184 mph (delimited) if deemed necessary.
The six-cylinder engine that had initially created a sensation in the M1 and had meanwhile transformed the M635CSi into one of the fastest coupés in the world.
Under the development name S14, this engine was to generate headlines in sport and in volume production over the years to come.
Now we have the latest version where the “heart” of this BMW M3 is the eight-cylinder power unit which, through its high-speed engine concept alone, comes with all the DNA of the current Formula 1 engine raced by the BMW Sauber F1 Team.
Applying this high-speed concept characteristic of all BMW M power units, the new V8 develops maximum output of 309 kW/420 hp from engine capacity of precisely 3,999 cc.
Further equally impressive factors are the engine’s peak torque of 400 Newton-metres or 295 lb-ft as well as maximum engine speed of 8, 400 rpm. Acceleration to 100 km/h comes in just 4.8 seconds, and the car continues this mind-boggling performance with fascinating consistency all the way to its top speed of 250 km/h or 155 mph, where the engine electronics set an artificial limit to the ongoing power and performance of the BMW M3. Happy Birthday M3.
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