Celebrating BMW 100 Years With The E46 M3
100 YEARS OF BMW
BMW M3 E46
THIS YEAR BMW HAS TURNED 100 AND M’s QUEEN CELEBRATES 30 OF THEM. DO YOU THINK WE HAVE CHOSEN A 118d OR ONE OF THE BEST EVER SPORTS CAR THE WORLD HAS SEEN?
Words by Andrea Balti
Photos by Giorgia Rossi and Alex Marrone
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You have to love any excuse to celebrate, to have a glass of champagne more and to be more fresh than ever in order to impress friends and neighbors. And if your aunt is not turning 100 but BMW is, the desire to do something that has to do with our beloved cars knocks on the front door of our brain. 2016 marks an important milestone for the Bavarian brand that celebrates a century of life in a period that consolidates itself as one of the best companies that cover the automotive landscape from every point of view: cars, sports cars, race cars, hybrid cars, but also motorcycles and so on and so forth. With the X5 it has virtually given way to the SUV phenomenon and with the small 1 Series has further expanded its sales volume. The i3 and i8 are the future at hand, and we certainly can’t fail to mention those models that satisfy at best the desire for driving chills that every car guy awakens whe approaching a model of the M division. Instead of attending standard meetings packed with people and thousands of initiatives, that they remember closely buffets for everyone and no one, we wanted to celebrate in our own way, taking the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary inside the anniversary with one of the most legendary BMW ever, the M3, who turns 30. However we did not chose the new model, which is nothing more than the four-door version of the M4 Coupe, but the one that represents for us (and hopefully not only us) one of the best deals on wheels that you can get in the garage. Little money but a lot of stuff with the E46 M3 that straight from the early 2000s is still able to stand up at all, especially in terms of involvement and enjoyment.
Appointment with our friend Fabio, owner of TOP GT Asti, a great lover and reckless driver which also boasts various successes in the world of drift at National level and beyond. His eyes convey pure passion and his desire to share proper experiences at the wheel confirm that we have chosen the perfect party companion – its E46 M3 is there waiting, sly, glistening as if it just factory fresh, with that Melbourne red color and black BBS wheels. It best represents the icon of sportiness for the Bavarian house, a sober suit suitable for life of everyday concealed in a mechanical temple of perfection, in this case mated to a manual 6-speed gearbox which powers to the ground on the rear wheels the 343 horsepower of the 3.2 6-cylinder. The sun plays hide and seek with the clouds today, and in the dim light, the color of the body seems to become deeper, darker, a sort of blood red and all of this contributes to make even more epic the moment during which Fabio jumps at the wheel and puts on the table his business card made of full throttle action, the engine to the limiter and the rear styling perfect trails from right to left of the deserted road choice for today’s shooting. Just that song, that metallic howl, as soon as it peeps in your head, never leaves you and it’s a bit how you look at your friends playing with the new 10th birthday presents, burning by the desire to make them yours. In less than fifteen years, the time has brought enormous changes, and today, even some hot hatches are capable of delivering a similar power, but as for emotions, we do not even remotely come close. The appointment with history has been written 30 years ago, but with the third generation, BMW has literally offered the world a masterpiece – this M3 is able to change your mood within a few kilometers, it smells new but has that retro flavour, those obsolete plastic and that 90s hint here and there that make it even more sexy and an object of our desires. Every road, traveled at the wheel of the E46 becomes a chapter of your automotive diary.
When it touches the 8000 revs the 6 cylinder is at the peak of its work, you trigger the following gear and it continues to push forward – and while holding onto the steering wheel you do not want anything but the next corner at the risk that you have forgotten to have your family in tow, since this may well be the only car you need. And today, in 2016, thinking that just € 15,000 would be enough to take home a real video game fun auto, where you can really make a difference at the first roundabout, it’s amazing. Everyone should have an E46 M3 in the garage. Its mechanic flavor, that desire to rein and put you to the test constantly are its most pure character, that bite in the stomach is now an increasingly rare experience behind the wheel, despite performance facts have been further brought up. The fun bar is what counts here and it is always at top levels, just like when Fabio facilitates the loss of grip at the rear by pulling the handbrake lever, throws down the gas and straightens its nose after 150 meters. Probably in this case you will have to deal with a tire consumption equal to that of petrol, but you will live pampered by the peace of the senses, breathing the smell of burning rubber mixed to that of satisfaction.
Some birthdays never end, but change, they are transformed. The E46 M3 was and still is the pinnacle of driving experience with rear-wheel drive, the “cadet ship” that everyone wants and that in fact it is within everyone’s reach. The following series increased the performance side embracing a powerful engine with 8 cylinders with many more horses, an equally aggressive style, but definitely more muffled and soft, and today, the new M3 and M4 are back to having six cylinders, but lost part of what made special this sprightly little old lady driven today with Fabio. There are a couple of turbos, lightning speed gear changes thanks to an automatic box finally free from defects or lag response, but less personality. A good car, but just a car and many of us rather like special things – we do not care if they have some flaws, because we prefer to measure their value to those aspects that make them rather exceptional, unrivaled for competition and able to brand experience in our hearts we will always remember – in fifteen years, in thirty, or even a hundred.
Auto Class Magazine wishes to thank Fabio Bordignon at TOP GT Asti for the dedication and professionalism, and also for having let us drive his baby!
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