Thereʼs no doubt the E36 M3 had a very hard act to follow: the race-orientated, LHD-only E30 was hands-down the best all-round driverʼs car of the 1980s. On paper, the E36 was better – miles better. But here was the paradox: in refining every detail, BMW had inevitably lost some of the character, some of the feel , some of the communication between road and driver. It was subtle – and unfair because it was without doubt a better performance car – but has been enough to keep E36 prices low while E30s soar. The result is that the E36 M3 today is a bargain – and buyers are waking up to that quickly.
The E36 M3 pioneered variable valve timing (VANOS) on the inlet camshaft of the legendary M Power ʻsixʼ, giving it 286bhp and 236lb ft – with more torque at idle than the previous M3ʼs peak. It was also far more economical than any other car with comparable performance, while the dual-mass flywheel helped to make both engine and transmission silky-smooth.