Driver's Notebook: Mmm, Mmm, Mmm
December 1, 2007
Indeed, it has been an incredible passage from that first M3 of 1987, a homologation special that was a purpose built racecar for the street, plus dedicated badges and, of course, the M-Series distinctive red and blue stitching. In those days, 195 hp from a four-banger was cause for celebration, and not only because the original M3 allowed BMW to qualify for the German touring car series.
Fast forward 20 years and drop southwest of Munich a few hundred miles to Marbella, the popular destination on Costa del Sol in southern Spain, which was our playground to test the 2009 iteration. With miles of beaches and almost as many golf courses as Phoenix, Ariz., it is an asylum for UV-starved Germans and Brits. Traffic is clotted by European tour buses, the afternoons are brain-paralyzing hot and humid—an obvious rationale for siestas—but the olives are perfect enough to be munched all day long, even outside of the martini.
Fortunately for our time with the M3, the Andalusia mountains conveniently surround Ascari Race Resort ($176,000 initiation fee, plus a $7,045 annual fee, for an individual membership)—a motorsports complex, which has pits, a boutique hotel, a golf range and a restaurant. Bring your own car or borrow one of theirs.
The circuit—a 3.4-mile wriggle of 26 turns that drop, rise, swoop and dive with a couple of humps thrown in for those who like a touch of general aviation with their motoring—was ideal for a compact hustler such as the M3. But the driving was overtly disciplined and a lethargic series of one lap out, back in the pits, wait in line and then out again, did little to build familiarity with the track. Especially with no friendly adversaries allowed or even in sight.
Still, at least for two or three minutes at a time, we got to rhapsodize over a well-priced, comfortable road car with its brilliant chassis strengthened and lightened by much aluminum, stiffer struts and with serious attention invested in improving unsprung weight.
Handling via a steering wheel fat enough for big mitts was perfectly balanced, immediately responsive and with never a doubt where the front wheels were going. Michelin Pilots stuck to the ground like porridge to a blanket. The undeniable result of BMW’s infinite labors is a quick, sure braking, highly responsive street car for the track, and free from any rumors of roll, squat, dive and weight transference wobbles.
In the mountains, we had to damn speed limits because to obey would be to shortchange the M3 in its natural element. Which is charging and challenging all the norms of short passes on two-laners and around trucks, tour busses, and inexpensive things by Renault and Citroën; weaving, tucking in, sprinting out, with a few maneuvers of perceived madness—but only to those accustomed to the real world and with no clue as to how far within all its limits the M3 truthfully was. And all this with gears locked on 8,400 rpm without protest.
The M3’s competition among sports sedans includes Audi’s RS4, the incoming Mercedes-Benz C63, with the Lexus IS-F almost ready for market. They are pulled along quite smartly by big V8s. All deliver more than 400 hp. It should be a fascinating blitz.
BMW, www.bmwusa.com
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