This has to be BMW’s most avidly followed product. The M3 Coupe in its market segment has always been the quintessential right-out-of-the-box, front-engine, rear-traction Euro boy racer—unquestionably not family-friendly, unashamedly sexist in its buyer demographics, and lusted after equally by all sexes, nationalities, species, and faiths.
It also doesn’t hurt that the latest M3 continues the model’s history of being the most attractive product of its time in the Munich lineup. Compared to the third-generation “E46” M3 that ceased deliveries in mid-2006, this new “E92” car is a significantly re-hatched kettle of fish. It is comforting, however, that the end result makes our neck hairs bristle just as they always have while steering around the E46. You may just need to force it a bit more than before.
The roads heading north and inland from Marbella to Ronda in central Andalusia are notoriously good driving roads. Weather was crystal clear, warm, and dry, so the standard set of specially formulated eighteen-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tires (nineteen-inchers are available) kept us good and stuck to the road for two days, including ten hard laps of the Ascari circuit on day two. Once these special treads get hot and as sticky as possible, and once you are master of your own throttle and torque, most understeer is squeezed out of the new equation.
It also doesn’t hurt that the latest M3 continues the model’s history of being the most attractive product of its time in the Munich lineup. Compared to the third-generation “E46” M3 that ceased deliveries in mid-2006, this new “E92” car is a significantly re-hatched kettle of fish. It is comforting, however, that the end result makes our neck hairs bristle just as they always have while steering around the E46. You may just need to force it a bit more than before.
The roads heading north and inland from Marbella to Ronda in central Andalusia are notoriously good driving roads. Weather was crystal clear, warm, and dry, so the standard set of specially formulated eighteen-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tires (nineteen-inchers are available) kept us good and stuck to the road for two days, including ten hard laps of the Ascari circuit on day two. Once these special treads get hot and as sticky as possible, and once you are master of your own throttle and torque, most understeer is squeezed out of the new equation.
