Friday Fun: Choose Your M3
Welcome back to Choices, where seemingly similar cars are pitted against one another in a battle for your affection. It’s like trying to choose your favourite hamburger (they’re all great, right?) Your task, if you agree to accept it, is to determine which of the four cars below you'd love to have in your garage. But you can only pick one. It’s as simple as that. Have fun with the quartet below.
The Contestants
- 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution
- 1994 BMW M3 GTR
- 2004 BMW M3 CSL
- 2010 BMW M3 GTS
The BMW M3 has one of the most loyal, devoted and rabid fan bases of any automobile every built. Approaching its 40th anniversary, the M3 has always represented a fantastic combination of performance, luxury, and style. It has been as successful with enthusiasts as it has been on the racetrack.
But which BMW M3 is the best? Amongst its fanbase, answers differ greatly. Some love the first generation E30 M3, with its four-cylinder engine and lightweight chassis. To appease those fans, we have the fantastic 1990 M3 Sport Evolution with its larger, 235 hp engine.
The second generation E36 also has its share of followers and for them we included the 1994 BMW M3 GTR, which was essentially a stripped-down road going version of the race used in Germany as part of a GT Cup Touring Car series.
Although the highlight of E46 generation of the M3 was the GTR Road Car, it was such a limited edition with a prohibitively expensive price tag, we are sticking with the still awesome 2004 BMW M3 CSL. Finally, rounding out our group of four is the E92 2010 BMW M3 GTS.
My Choice
As much as I love the classics, I'm selecting the 2009 BMW M3 GTS. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will be most welcome during my traffic-filled commutes and I’ll never get tired of hearing that 4.4-liter V8 scream. The other three are cooler cars with more pedigree, but I'd be petrified of anything happening to them on the road.
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A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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