The Collection Series2 - The 3 M's

Before looking at the 3 Super clean M3's, we first show another standard 3-series in this collectors garage.

After showcasing a number of special cars in this series, we find amongst them a particularly standard vehicle in the form of an E93 335i.

This model is by no means undesirable though.

I personally love the E93. I like the profile of the car, the fact that it has a folding metal roof gives it an attractive double personality, that of coupe, and full convertible.... and this in a 3 series BM which is a naturally desired car on any road, makes it a winner.

I once had the opportunity to drive a 330i model like this from jhb to cpt and it was very pleasing. The only issue i'd complain about was the run-flat tyres it had on. This made the ride extremely hard. However, once the tyre issue was sorted, I enjoyed every experience i had with that car thereafter. It had enough speed, it had style and was a joy to drive.

So i can understand why this collector has one of these. It’s a car that one can drive everyday with that hint of sportiness, it has a good level of luxury to please the driver, it is very attractive, and it's a super-cool car on its own.

Next up are 3 different versions of Beemers with the most iconic badge In the industry – M3

Since the 2 door version of the new 3-series are now called 4 (M4), we will pay homage to this M3 label as we have known it for all these years.

Thankfully, this owner has kept these M3’s in original form. For instance, take a factory fresh M3 (or any car for that matter) and put it next to one that has been modified, lowered, accessorised etc and you will immediately appreciate the cleanliness of the original form.

This E36 M3 photographed here proves my point of original is best.

The E36 is the first M3 that we got here in South Africa. In 1994 this car was limited to 250km/h. it was a revolutionary change from the 4cyl E30 M3. BMW M showed the world with this car that it was at the forefront of the super compact sedan/coupe battle.

This E36 M3 is a 1994 model. An excellent combination of Brilliant Red with interior in White leather. It has the Vader seats which help it get the term ‘German Spec’ as plenty of locals refer to it. 

The mileage on this 20 year old car is a mere 41,500km

The E46 M3 was simply a masterpiece in engineering. A brilliant brilliant car in all aspects. The 3.2l straight six award winning motor in these M3’s were so good, the competitors had to build V8 motors to compete with it.

The sample we see here is a 2006 model with SMG transmission. It has only 70000km on it, and it sports the 19” CSL wheels which is the most suitable wheel for an E46 M3.

And lastly, the final 2 door M3 ever. This time with a V8 power plant which exceeded all expectations of the M fans when it was launched.  

It turned out to be one of the finest cars on the road today.

The model we have year is a 2008, manual version with 16000km.

The owner has since sold this car

With new version being labelled the M4 and switching to turbo motors whereas all the previous ones were normally aspirated, there is certainty of change in the air.

But BMW M has, however,  still got the recipe of dynamic driving to a road car as good as it always has been. 

With the ever changing demands and competitiveness of todays’ motor industry, they too have a most challenging task of keeping their fans happy.

One thing that struck me most about the new M4 though is the price....

To put it basically, one can have all these 3 x M3’s together for the price of one M4.

A previous article TRIBUTE TO THE M3