I still vividly recall the first time I saw an image of how the new upcoming BMW E30 M3 Group A car was to look. It was an artists impression in Australian Auto Action magazine, in late 1986 or early 1987, of the new JPS cars that would attack the 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship, to try and regain the ATCC title that Jim Richards had won for the team in 1985.
The image struck me as having undergone a little too much artistic licencing, as I felt there was no way this car, with its huge wheel flares and tall rear wing could possibly look as it did in the sketches. Thankfully, I was wrong.
The BMW M3 was a sensation. It enjoyed an interesting international career, in which it quickly struck in its debut season, 1987, proved hugely successful, then faded as as an outright contender as the more powerful turbocharged Sierra’s began to dominate late ‘80s Group A. But then they were given a new lease of life in the 2.5 litre Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), and revised ATCC of the early 1990s, and were the weapon of choice in the formative days of the new Super Touring formula in 1991.
M3’s were always to be driven at 10/10ths, 100%, all day long. My recollections are of them being completely thrashed, the little 2.3 (and later 2.5) litre 4-cylinder screaming away up in the high rev range, and on the fast, sweeping, European race tracks, swarms of them all slip-streaming each other in a frantic high speed freight train. Many were lost to racing, the extreme way in which they had to be driven called for casualties for sake of success, but their exotic aura, mixed with the brutal way in which they were driven, simply adds to their appeal. A Sierra RS500 approach, in whistling through the corners, then cautiously waiting for the turbo to kick in to be catapulted down the next straight was not the way to drive an M3; It was hammer down all the way, bang through the curves, and don’t dare lose momentum.
This car became an instant classic. Although I’ve never driven one, as race cars, they strike me as being incredibly rewarding to drive, immensely responsive, tight, direct, and right up there in the ‘grin factor’ rankings.
This is simply one of the all-time great touring cars. This thread is a tribute to these little pocket-rockets.
Comment for this article can be viewed here > >
-
Sponsors
