The long and distinguished history of the BMW M3 series from the racetrack

The very first BMW M3 set a new standard by which other car makers would be measured – and, many model generations later, still are today.

BMW Motorsport Division, the precursor to BMW M Division, was incredibly rigorous in its deployment of undiluted motor-racing technology in the development of the first-generation BMW M3.

Its endeavours produced a thoroughbred high-performance sports car – based on the series-produced BMW 3 Series – that was perfectly suited to daily use.

The upshot is that there is arguably still no other car that blends such prominently honed motorsport genes and uncompromised everyday practicality into such an emotionally stirring overall package.

Use in touring car racing was the overriding development objective for the first-generation BMW M3. The M3 was not an attempt to produce a sporting flagship for a volume-produced model range.

Instead, it originated from the idea of developing a racing car for motorsport that would also be available in a road-going version.

The selected category of racing was Group A production touring cars – as seen in the German Touring Car Championship that had succeeded the German Racing Championship.

The Group A regulations stated that for a racing car to be homologated, at least 5 000 road-legal units had to be sold within 12 months.

Having the chance to develop the production and race versions of the car alongside one another presented the development team with a tremendous opportunity, which they duly capitalised on.

The axle kinematics, suspension, and damping were all perfectly tailored to the future demands of motor racing, as was the braking system, which combined the standard ABS with inner-vented brake discs at the front and an engine-driven high-pressure pump.

Details such as the transmission’s shift pattern with first gear at the bottom left also gave a clear indication of the vehicle’s singular focus on racing.

On top of this came extensive weight-saving measures. While the body was manufactured from sheet metal in the traditional manner, the front and rear bumpers along with the side skirts, boot lid, and spoiler were made of plastic.

The BMW Motorsport experts tweaked the car’s aerodynamics, with the C-pillar of the BMW M3 following a slightly shallower angle than the standard body and having a broader base.

This allowed the airflow to be directed towards the distinctive rear spoiler more effectively.

Extensive use of high tech in the powertrain

The experts at the Motorsport department used the two-litre four-cylinder engine fitted in series-production models as the basis for the M3’s unit, as the low weight of its construction and its high-revving capabilities meant it had exactly the right ingredients for a racing engine.

They had to subject it to some intensive power therapy. First, they increased its displacement to 2,3 litres and converted it to a four-valve arrangement.

For this purpose, the team employed a suitably modified cylinder head taken from the six-cylinder engine featured in the BMW M1, whose combustion chambers were – conveniently enough – spaced exactly the same distance apart as the four-cylinder unit.

The crank drive on the BMW M3 was designed to be so rigid that it could handle 10 000r/min and more. The standard production car’s rated engine speed of 6750r/min.

Therefore plenty of margin was left for further evolutions of the motorsport off-shoot.

From sporting machine to heavy-duty transporter: the BMW M3 Pickup (1986)

When the first generation of the BMW M3 was brought out, it was also seen as the perfect means of transporting work equipment and parts around the premises of what is now BMW M Division in Garching near Munich.

The only problem was that goods transport did not figure very highly on the list of the first M3’s many talents. It did not take long to remedy the situation, the body of a BMW 3 Series Convertible being transformed into a BMW M3 Pickup.

“The convertible bodyshell was chosen as the basis for two reasons,” recalls Jakob Polschak, head of vehicle prototype building and workshops at BMW M Division and an employee at the company for more than 40 years.

The Pickup’s long service life alone is clear evidence that the once-off versions being presented here are not mere gimmicks or engineering exercises.

On the contrary, they are high-performance cars that have been optimised to perfectly match their intended task or field of use. As such, they epitomise the philosophy of BMW M.

Plus, they also fulfilled another important purpose, “Our apprentices, graduate trainees, and placement students assisted in the construction of all of these prototypes,” explains Polschak.

“This allowed them to gain invaluable hands-on experience at the same time as freeing up resources for us – a classic win-win situation.”

A starter model for young target groups: the BMW M3 Compact (1996)

The same was also true of the 1996 BMW M3 Compact, of course. The idea behind this model was to present younger customers, in particular, with an entry point into the world of BMW M cars.

“To a certain extent, the M3 Compact can be regarded as the forefather of today’s BMW M2,” remarks the workshop chief with a twinkle in the eye, and it is easy to see why he draws the comparison.

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If it had gone into production, the M3 engine’s power would in all likelihood have been lowered somewhat. In the prototype, however, it was allowed to unleash its full 321hp, which made easy work of propelling a lightweight car (it tipped the scales at just 1,3 tons).

“It is 150kg lighter, more agile, firmer and even more uncompromising,” enthused German motoring magazine Auto motor und sport (issue no 13/1996) after testing it.

A feasibility study under real-world conditions: the BMW M3 Touring (2000)

The BMW M3 Touring prototype likewise materialised because a production model was under consideration. The M3 Compact was made available to journalists for testing in order to sound out customer interest.

But the M3 Touring served entirely in-house purposes. “This prototype allowed us to show that, from a purely technical standpoint at least, it was possible to integrate an M3 Touring into the ongoing production of the standard BMW 3 Series Touring with very little difficulty,” explains Jakob Polschak.

“One important thing we needed to demonstrate was that the rear doors of the standard production model could be reworked to adapt them to the rear wheel arches without the need for new and expensive tools.”

Once it had passed through the assembly line, the M3 Touring required only minimal manual follow-up work to fit the M-specific add-on parts and interior details, for example.

History repeats itself: the BMW M3 Pickup (2011)

Once the first-generation BMW M3 Pickup started to show the first serious signs of wear after around a quarter of a century of service, it was time for a successor.

As with the original, those responsible for its creation again opted for a convertible body due to the existing strengthening elements.

“The conversion work had initially proceeded in the usual, largely unspectacular manner during the spring of 2011. But then someone came up with the idea of marketing the vehicle as an April Fool’s joke, as April 1 was just around the corner,” recounts Polschak.

To prime the public, spy shots of calibration runs on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit emerged in the run-up to the day, which served to fuel speculation about plans to build a production model.

And it worked. Reports from the time show that a good many journalist and blogger took the bait and believed the rumours.

Even the official press release, published on April 1, 2011, did not immediately set matters straight, first presenting the BMW M3 Pickup as the “fourth body variant” following the Sedan, Coupe and Convertible, before going on to say:”309kW under the bonnet and a payload capacity of 450km over the rear axle take the BMW M models’ hallmark blend of racing-style driving pleasure and everyday practicality to a whole new level.”

It also pointed out that the Cd was only marginally higher than that of the BMW M3 Coupe, the car was 50kg lighter than the Convertible and the 20kg Targa roof could be removed to further lower the centre of gravity and therefore deliver even sharper handling dynamics.

It was not until the final paragraph that the press release discreetly revealed the model in question was actually a one-off built for use as a workshop transport vehicle. Unlike its predecessor, however, it had also been licensed for road use.

The BMW M3: a sporting icon and dynamic benchmark for five generations

The M3’s story of success has no equal in the automotive world. The 2,3-litre four-cylinder unit with four-valve technology produced 147kW and accelerated the M3, which weighed just 1 200kg, from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6,7 seconds.

Top speed was 235km/h. In 1988 the Evo version was unveiled, with power increased and a top speed of 243km/h. And this was followed in 1990 by the final development stage of the first-generation M3: the BMW M3 Sport Evolution with a 177kW 2,5-litre engine produced in a limited run of 600 examples.

The second generation of the BMW M3 – not developed specifically for use in motorsport this time – was a much more understated affair.

Unveiled in 1992, its six-cylinder engine developed 210kW from three-litre displacement and peak torque of 320Nm. It also featured the innovative new camshaft control system VANOS.

The new model set two world records – for the highest output per litre and the highest specific torque (108Nm) produced by a volume-produced naturally-aspirated engine.

An extensive facelift in 1995 saw the displacement of the six-cylinder in-line engine increased from 2 990 to 3 201cc, with output rising to 236kW.

Added to which, the new engine also employed Double-VANOS, which brought fully variable camshaft control on both the intake and exhaust sides.

In summer 1996 the BMW M3 became the first series-produced car to be offered with the option of an SMG automated manual gearbox.

Featuring an aluminium bonnet with powerdome, prominently flared wheel arches, an aerodynamically optimised boot lid with rear spoiler lip and four tailpipes exiting the dual-flow exhaust system, the third-generation BMW M3 unveiled in 2000 cut an extremely eye-catching figure once more.

Power again came courtesy of a naturally aspirated six-cylinder in-line engine. The completely newly developed unit developed an output of 252kW from its 3 246cc and peak torque of 365NM.

Instead of being equipped with a straight-six engine, like the two previous generations of the car, the fourth incarnation of the BMW M3 presented in 2007 was powered by a high-revving, naturally aspirated V8 developing 309kW.

Among the extensive intelligent lightweight design measures employed were the carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) roof fitted as standard and a front axle made almost entirely from aluminium.

The current (fifth) generation of the BMW M3 was introduced in spring 2014. In keeping with the change in nomenclature for BMW’s series-produced models, only the four-door sedan is badged “M3”, while the coupe and the convertible variants were given the model designation M4.

In all three body variants, a free-revving straight-six engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology and 317kW provides the power.

Rigorously applied intelligent lightweight design elements include the extensive use of lightweight materials such as CFRP and aluminium for many chassis and body components.

All of which has shaved around 80kg off the weight of its predecessor.

Source: Newspress

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