Motoring Australia compares the F80 CP M3 and the E36 M3 GT

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Original article here: https://www.motoring.com.au/bmw-m3-o...review-111624/

Enjoy the read below (very fair review IMO)... One thing to note for our American friends that this M3 GT is the Euro spec with 286HP double vanos S50 engine.

BMW M3: Old & New Review
March 18, 2018


Almost quarter of a century separates these two BMWs, but has time diminished the E36 series?

Like your old stuff better than your new stuff
If you’ve heard it once you’ve heard it a thousand times from some old duffer; cars were much better in the good old days.

They had more character, more style, more communication. Yeah, they broke down more, but you could fix them yourself and that just added to the charm. It’s easy to wonder, as you half-listen sort-of politely, whether it’s simply rose-coloured glasses affecting aged memories.

But could there be a kernel of truth in all this? Could cars of yore be more enjoyable than they are today? Have we made that much progress?

Well, let’s find out, because we’re getting the chance to sample two very different BMW M3s, separated by 22 years and three generations of development.

And as a nice extra touch, we’re driving them on homeground in the mountains of Bavaria, just up a winding road from BMW’s headquarters in Munich.

Representing the current day is our dark and malevolent F80 M3 Competition. Emerging from the past, courtesy of BMW’s own collection, is this 1995 E36 M3 GT.

The Competition is the standard M3 screwed up to 11 with more power, a revised suspension, bigger wheels and Michelin Super Sport tyres. Many people think it’s the M3 the F80 always should have been.

While the E36 was the first M3 generation to officially come as a road car to Australia, the GT model never made it down under. It was a left-hand drive limited edition of just 350 examples issued to homologate BMW for FIA and IMSA GT racing.



Spec check

For cars with the same name these two are so very different. Yep, they both have inline six-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive, but beyond that, they really diverge.

The F80 M3 Competition is a four-door, measuring up at 4671mm long, 1877mm wide, 1430mm high and has a 2812mm wheelbase. It weighs in at 1635kg – quite light for this day and age. The 3.0-litre turbo-petrol engine makes 331kW @ 7000rpm and 551Nm @ 1850rpm. Our car came with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and accelerated from zero to 100km/h in 4.0 sec.

The E36 M3 GT is a two-door. Its key measures are 4432mm, 1709mm, 1336mm and 2700mm. It tips the scales at 1460kg and was bagged for being a heavyweight at launch. It makes 217kW @ 7000rpm, 323Nm @ 3900rpm, has a five-speed manual gearbox and accelerates from zero to 100km/h in 5.9 secs.

In Australia today, the M3 Competition retails for $146,900 plus ORCs. In 1995 in Germany the M3 GT cost 91,000 Deutsche marks. The first M3 that went on-sale in Australia in 1994 was priced at $124,650.

So, the newer car has more of everything. It’s much bigger and heavier, has far more power and torque and blitzes the 0-100km/h sprint far quicker. It even has more doors because these days, a two-door M3 is an M4.



The current day

Dang, the M3 Competition is a heck of a car. It has sheer, overwhelming force.

Jump on the throttle and you can feel those 20-inch Michelins scrabbling to transmit all that urge to the ground while you are compressed in the seat. Thanks-be for traction control, and stability control and all the rest of the controls.

In the rear-view mirror, the dark green GT is retreating from sizable silhouette to dot. It has no hope of keeping up with the unleashed Competition in a straight line.

And the new M3 is not only fast it’s adjustable. The M Drive control means you can set it to be relatively comfortable, moderately aggressive or completely animal. In the latter mode, Sport+, it shunts through the gears, pounds your back over the lumps and accelerates with a manic, growling intensity.

And its’s not just the dynamic aspect of the car this adjustability applies to. Even the driver’s seat – it’s superbly comfortable by the way – has substantial motorised choice built into it.

It should be no surprise this car is so capable and overwhelming, because that’s exactly what it looks like standing there in the metal. It’s Darth Vader, mercilessly ready to sweep aside anything in its path.

The openings at the front of the car are much more aggressive, much more defined. It looks like it could suck small children in to those cooling inlets. The GT’s tiny kidney grille is laughable by comparison. Funnily enough though, it has a much more substantial rear wing than the current car’s lip spoiler.

The M3 Competition is much more multi-dimensional than the E36, because it’s also a luxury car with a level of equipment far beyond its namesake.

Leather stitching drapes over the instrument panel; a colour media screen and rows of controls contrast with the GT’s vinyl and suede trim, basic air conditioning, radio and oh-so-Atari-orange digital readouts.



The time machine

Just jumping into the cockpit of the GT is enough to let you know this is a very different vehicle to the F80. It has a very simple and basic interior.

There is simply no adjustability offered with the GT, apart from the steering column and what turns out to be a very comfortable driver’s seat. There’s not even a cupholder!

But it doesn’t dilute the experience. There’s something to be said for a combination of less weight and less power. The GT underlines just how intimidating and big the Competition is.

Instead of driving with some caution, the GT encourages you to use all its resources. There’s no bottomless well of torque, so you have to rev it out to redline to appreciate its crisp, naturally-aspirated character, for whipping through the corners and then going flat-knacker again along the next straight. The immediacy and contact this car provides is just brilliant. It’s certainly more intimate to drive than the F80.

It’s so controllable without the need for electronic assistants. Which is just as well, because ABS is all you’ve got. It’s just you and your right foot.

At times, it’s cool to just drop back from traffic and then listen as the Multi-Vanos variable cam timing 24-valve engine accelerates with a howl while changing up through the short-geared five-speed gearbox. The throw is maybe a bit long, but the accuracy is unerring.

Rolling on 17-inch rubber, the GT rides better than you might expect on its passive suspension. This is no tied-down old-school kidney smasher. But the handling and grip is there in the chassis. It looks compact and sexy from the outside and that’s how it drives.

For a car this old, this example of the breed really is nice and tight. The steering doesn’t feel soggy, there are no creaks or groans.

There is a clunk or two from the drivetrain however; a plastic trim piece did fall off the door during our drive and by the end of the day the brakes were juddering like the discs had warped.

It doesn’t sit like a rock on the freeway like the current M3 does, it even gets pushed around a bit in the slipstream of trucks. But if that’s the trade-off light weight requires then so be it.



Final thoughts

The GT has more in common with the current M2 than M3. A lightweight, go-hard go-kart. The Competition is a bruiser with luxury trimmings. It’s a pocket battleship, full-on power in a compact package.

For all the mutterings of the old-timers, driving these two fabulous cars back-to-back makes it clear how much progress the automotive industry has made. The F80 M3 is drowning in airbags and electronic driver assist technology.

They’re a big contributor to the weight gain of the new M3 over its ancestor, which has just one airbag. Of course there’s also a heap more luxury equipment in the Competition and that plays its role in the bulking up process as well.

And just in isolation, on winding Bavarian mountain roads, the old car’s sense of connection and purpose provided by its weight advantage gives it an edge over the new M3. It feels made for this stuff.

But when the road opens up, even a little, it simply can’t live with the turbocharged power of the new car. On an autobahn the Competiton would happily settle in the fastlane at 200km/h-plus. The GT gets there, but it takes longer and works harder.

These cars are united more by the name than what you find under the skin. Driving the GT is to be reminded of where BMW came from with its naturally-aspirated high-revving I6 engines and pin-sharp handling.

Driving the M3 Competition is to appreciate what BMW has become; uber capable, truly luxurious and perhaps just a bit too besotted with raw outputs.

I’ve got to admit, in this case, there’s some truth to the ramblings of those old duffers. The E36 M3 GT is a true classic in the best driving sense. I wonder if we’ll be saying the same thing about the F80 in 22 years?



BMW E36 M3 GT pricing and specifications:
Price: $91,000 DM (plus ORCs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder
Outputs: 217kW/323Nm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel: 9.1L/100km (Claimed)
CO2: 211g CO2/km
Safety Rating: N/A


BMW F80 M3 Competition pricing and specifications:
Price: $146,900 (plus ORCs)
Engine: 3.0-litre petrol-turbo six-cylinder
Outputs: 331kW/551Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual clutch auto
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR)
CO2: 194g CO2/km
Safety Rating: N/A

[dkhm3]

thanks nice read.

i had the pleasure of owning an e36 m3 for 3 years and loved every minute. it was the best car i've ever owned since, til my f8x m3

someone should tell the author that the m2 weighs almost the same as the m3. lightweight go kart it aint.

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Originally Posted by dkhm3

thanks nice read.

i had the pleasure of owning an e36 m3 for 3 years and loved every minute. it was the best car i've ever owned since, til my f8x m3

someone should tell the author that the m2 weighs almost the same as the m3. lightweight go kart it aint.

Hi.

He did somehow saying that the E36 was considered a porker when launched ;-). I think he linked the M2 to the GT because of their more compact dimensions. Of course "go kart" here needs to be taken with a pinch of salt...

[nicknaz]

I'll be honest, I drove an E36 M3 on the streets again a while ago, and it was fun and involving sure, but the pace was way off the mark.

I'd love an E36 M3 in heavily modified club racer form, but as a stock car for street usage, no thanks....

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

I'll be honest, I drove an E36 M3 on the streets again a while ago, and it was fun and involving sure, but the pace was way off the mark.

I'd love an E36 M3 in heavily modified club racer form, but as a stock car for street usage, no thanks....

Then again the US E36 is nothing to compare to the European E36 which has the real M engine...

[Jaymax85]

Originally Posted by dkhm3

thanks nice read.

i had the pleasure of owning an e36 m3 for 3 years and loved every minute. it was the best car i've ever owned since, til my f8x m3

someone should tell the author that the m2 weighs almost the same as the m3. lightweight go kart it aint.

exactly, m2 weighs the same

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by Paul-Bracq-BMW

Then again the US E36 is nothing to compare to the European E36 which has the real M engine...

Isn't the euro spec e36 m3 a mid 13s car in the 1/4 mile? vs. USA spec e36 m3 is a low 14s car?

I'll stand by my original comment

it was fun and involving sure, but the pace was way off the mark. I'd love an E36 M3 in heavily modified club racer form, but as a stock car for street usage, no thanks....

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Isn't the euro spec e36 m3 a mid 13s car in the 1/4 mile? vs. USA spec e36 m3 is a low 14s car?

I'll stand by my original comment

Well of course if you compare the performance of a 1995 car to today's M3/4... In Europe the car also had a 6-speed manual and was upgraded later to the S50B32 engine with 320hp.

The goodness of the E36 chassis is well known as it is the basis for many track cars...

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

I'll be honest, I drove an E36 M3 on the streets again a while ago, and it was fun and involving sure, but the pace was way off the mark.

I'd love an E36 M3 in heavily modified club racer form, but as a stock car for street usage, no thanks....

In Canada, we were lucky enough to get a few EU spec E36 M3 in 1993 specially imported by BMW Canada. My uncle, who worked for BMW, showed up at my parent's home in one and let me test drive it. I fell completely in love with the M3. It was very fast for the era, the engine and chassis were just fantastic. On that day I swore to myslef I would one an M3 some day. Fast forward a couple of years, and the E36 M3 offered in Canada was that toned down US version. I went to test drive one. While being a very decent and capable car, the magic I had felt driving the EU version was just not there. I was quite dissapointed, not the same car at all.

[cotmfk]

I never understood why they gave the US market a neutered version of the E36.

And I'm glad people are posting noting that the M2 is basically the same weight as the M4. Stop the myth about the M2!! M2 is also not as good on track as M4. Parrots/sheeple need to go experience things for themselves rather than just repeating what they hear.

(M2 is a fine car, don't get me wrong... )

[silvergray545]

The S50B32 was an amazing motor. It's a shame they never brought them to the US. I also wonder if we did receive the S50B32 powered E36, would the E46 do as well as it did? The S50B32 made 321hp and the E36 weighed in at 3,100-3,200 pounds. The E46 made 333hp (US)/338hp (EU) and weighed in at 3,400-3,500 pounds. The E46 has the superior chassis. But in a straight line, I think it would come down to the better driver between the two.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

In Canada, we were lucky enough to get a few EU spec E36 M3 in 1993 specially imported by BMW Canada. My uncle, who worked for BMW, showed up at my parent's home in one and let me test drive it. I fell completely in love with the M3. It was very fast for the era, the engine and chassis were just fantastic. On that day I swore to myslef I would one an M3 some day. Fast forward a couple of years, and the E36 M3 offered in Canada was that toned down US version. I went to test drive one. While being a very decent and capable car, the magic I had felt driving the EU version was just not there. I was quite dissapointed, not the same car at all.

I haven't had the pleasure of driving a euro e36 m3 but the 1/4 mile figures I can find don't paint a drastically different acceleration potential be the North American car.

is this just down to "feel" from better in gear acceleration?

Or when you are younger and have less perspective cars seem faster? I remember thinking integra R was a rocket ship!

[neilum]

meh, decent review.

M2 isn't light and doesn't feel like a go cart. The S2000 feels like a go-cart, even the M2 is too big.


He goes too far into trying to say the F80 is far far removed from being a nimble sports car and more of a luxury bruiser.

It just doesn't line up with reality. The F80 drives very much like a sports car in the sense of that light on your feet/nimble feeling.

Also, I've driven both cars and on spirited drives, the F80 actually feels "more built for this stuff" than the E36 M3 does.