Test Drive: 2011 BMW M3 Coupe

By Kevin Harrison

There are few things in the world that exude absolute perfection. Much like beauty, perfection can in the eye of the beholder. For instance, the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Di Vinci is undoubtedly the most famous painting in the world. The enigmatic facial expression of the portrait however, very much precludes it from being anything but perfect according to some critics. I, on the other hand, would disagree, but then again, I don’t claim to be an art critic.

Is Beyonce Knowles perfect? In terms of physical appearance I would definitely argue in favour, however again, many people have different priorities when it comes to beauty. There are some people that think Ke$ha is perfection after all.

So what exactly is perfection then? In the car world, is it the Bugatti Veyron? The fastest production car in the world can certainly make a case for itself, however at its top speed the tires only last for 37 miles and it chugs ridiculous amounts of fuel. It’s an impressive technological feat, but is it perfection?

Many consider the BMW M3 to be the absolute benchmark when it comes to style & raw performance for every day driving situations. It’s also quite capable of holding its own if you take it to the track. It’s one of the few cars that is capable of doing both. Its competition has been trying for decades to dethrone it as the ultimate performance machine, but the M3 remains resilient even today.

So has it achieved automotive perfection?

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Happy 25th Birthday, BMW M3!

Can you believe its been 25 years since the BMW M3 has been gracing our roads?

Many regard the M3 as being the ultimate BMW, sometimes even the ultimate sports car as it blends raw performance, handling and style into one tidy package. This was the concept 25 years ago when BMW’s M division decided to have a go at a regular old 3-series. Little did they know that they would create something that was going to be the benchmark in the performance world for decades. Even today, the M3 is the car to be measured against. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lexus, and Jaguar have all tried their hand at dethroning the M3, and while they all came up with some credible copies of the M3, they were still copies nonetheless.

My favourite generation M3 was the E46 (pictured above). Even today, I’d wager it’s probably the best looking iteration of the M3, but not only that, it evoked a driving experience like no other. There are some cars out there faster than the M3, less expensive than the M3 and maybe even better looking than the M3, but no car to date has been able to evoke such a well-balanced adrenaline inducing driving experience.

Today’s M3 is still carrying on the legacy, even if it has become bigger and heavier, but there is no doubt that the passion of the original M3 is still there.

Happy birthday, M3!

This Is a Bit Much…

I mean, I’m a big BMW fan too, but I don’t think I would ever go as far as getting a BMW on top of my headstone when the day comes.

Apparently Steve Marsh, who unfortunately died at the young age of 51, was such a huge fan of BMW’s that his family decided to pay homage to his love by contracting a stone mason to create a life sized BMW M3 convertible for Marsh’s headstone.

Even though Marsh was actually an engineer at Ford, the M3 convertible was his favourite BMW ever made. Not a bad choice.

The stone cost $75,000 to make (which ironically is almost enough money to buy a brand new M3) and needed to by shipped in from China and it took 20 operators to lower it into place.

2012 BMW 3-Series Starting to Hatch, M3 Gets Inline Six

Although we don’t have very many clear shots of what the 2012 BMW 3-series will look like, BMW has let us in on what it has in store for body styles.

All the usual bodystyles will carry over such as the sedan, wagon, coupe and convertible, but there will be yet another addition to the 3 series family. A hactch.

BMW is banking on the 550i GT (which we enjoyed immensely) as being a big success and it is putting its marbles on a GT version of the new 3 series as having similar results for them.

Okay, now that the practicality is out of the way, let’s talk about the big boy: The new M3.

The V8 will be reportedly replaced by a twin turbo inline 6 cylinder engine. BMW makes incredible inline six’s so, we’re not too disappointed. Plus this likely will result in slightly better fuel economy. The V8 is good enough to produce 420 horses, but BMW may be able to push 450 horses out of its tuned inline six.

Also the coupe in general will likely get a lower roofline, and a more vertical windshield. The convertible M3 may even make a return but will have a  hardtop instead of canvass. Expect the sedan version of the M3 to stick around as well.

We’ll keep you up to date as more details arise, but you already knew that. Just something you have to say.

BMW to Make 135i Even Better Without Calling It An ‘M’

Damn. Look at those wheels. And the overall awesomeness.

Ahem, oh sorry. We have an incredible soft spot for the 1-series and get caught up in our own little world when we see them sometimes, especially the tastefully tuned ones such as the tii version above.

And now we’ll have even more reasons to day dream about them because BMW is reportedly going to up the ante of the 135i which is possibly one of the best driver’s car’s around. It was originally thought that BMW was going to make an ‘M’ version but it has decided against it for two reasons:

a) It would likely have to be called ‘M1′ and that is just blasphemy compared to what the original M1 was

b) Most importantly, it would likely end up being as good or maybe even better than the M3. And it would be cheaper too. Having a model under the M3 in the portfolio that is better than the M3 is a big no-no. It’s a bit like vomiting on the Queen – something you definitely do not want to do.

Therefore, like the 335i, the 135i is expected to get an ‘s’ after its name. Not quite as good as an ‘M’, but better than just a regular ‘i’. Following BMW’s alphanumeric lingo yet? Good.

The 135is will reportedly get 320 horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque from a tuned version of the incredible twin turbo inline six. It may even carry an over boost feature which would up the torque to 370 for selected periods of time. There will obviously be adjustments done to the suspension to cope with the added power.

BMW M3 vs. Lexus IS-F

After just writing the post below, we thought we would share this with you…. in case there was ever any doubt in your mind as to who is still king.

(Oh, and Jeremy Clarkson for President of the World)

BMW Adds Competition Package To 2011 M3

We’re going to pull a Kanye West and go on record as saying “The BMW M3 is one of the best cars of all time. OF ALL TIME”. There is just really nothing quite like it. Sure, the competition can offer up some great copies, but they’re still copies nonetheless.

And now comes word that those performance & handling obsessed Germans over at BMW have given the 2011 M3 the ‘Competition Package’ treatment.

How do you make an M3 even better, you say? Well with this package the suspension gets lowered by 10mm, a revised sport traction setting, 19×9 inch light alloy wheels, and a carbon fiber spoiler. It doesn’t seem like much, but every little bit counts.

Check out more pics here.