2 BMW E30 M3

IT REMAINS THE BENCHMARK more than three decades on from its 1986 debut and a driver’s car that can still deliver the connection and immediacy that many newer cars struggle to achieve. As John Barker points out, the E30 M3 has a raft of abilities that are ageless; it’s a car that’s as compelling today as it was when new. Every time we drive an example we’re reminded what great balance and poise are all about.

Its roots are in motorsport from a time when homologation rules meant the road car equivalents were as close to competition cars with a warranty as you could get. And this shone through in their specifications, in the M3’s case including a dog-leg gearbox, left-hand drive only and a four-cylinder engine that focused on delivering the goods rather than pleasing the ear. And it was marvellous as a result. Every drive in an M3 becomes something to log away in the memory banks.

But it’s not simply because the E30 M3 is as inspirational to drive today as it was when it was new that it makes the podium, it’s because of the foundations it laid and the subsequent M3s it has given us. It remains the icon, but every new generation has been anticipated with equal levels of pent-up enthusiasm for yet another great in the making. It’s partly why we crowned the M2 CS our 2020 evo Car of the Year – because you could sense it had been engineered and developed with the same unblinking focus and attention to detail as the brilliant original.

Some don’t get the E30 M3. Its steering is slow, the engine lacks torque and the gearshift isn’t the quickest. Drive it only briefly and at a sedate pace, or compare its straight-line performance against more modern machinery and those observations are hard to argue with. But as with many of the truly great performance cars, the longer and harder you drive, the more it gets under your skin.

It’s a precision instrument that rewards measured inputs, one that thrives on commitment and gives you more back the more you put in. It requires your willingness to work it to the high level it was designed to operate at. So the rewards aren’t there on a plate, ready to flatter you and impress your mates. You have to work for them. And it’s worth every last drop of effort you put in.

The E30 M3 combines the best of the Elise and GT3 RS that it finishes above in our Perfect 10. The pared-back purity of the Lotus married to the precision and devastating capability Porsche’s Motorsport department instilled in the GT3 RS. Few cars we have driven combine these attributes better than an E30 M3.

‘IT’S AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS WHEN IT WAS LAUNCHED’