Value and victory
The M3 takes the value-for-money trophy – that is as clear as a melt-water stream. By comparison, the 911 is a disappointing exemplar of extreme de-contenting and almost eye-wateringly ambitious pricing.
If you choose the Carrera S then certainly you can create a more affordable example of the breed than this car, and give away very little in the process. The only chassis-related option to be considered a musthave is the rear-wheel steering. Its almost imperceptible good work burnishes the already agile yet stable 911 with more of both, giving it a crucial edge against the BMW on give-and-take roads. It’s one reason the Porsche manages to feel more firmly planted than the M3 more of the time (the BMW fields an immaculately balanced 50:50 weight distribution), helped of course by that weird but wonderful rear-engined layout.
Forget Porsche’s ceramic brakes unless you’re a trackday regular, and think twice before checking the boxes marked PASM sports suspension, with its 10mm chassis drop (it’s ripplingly firm), and sports exhaust, because however hard everyone tries, the flat-six (now liquid-cooled, turbocharged and petrol particulate-filtered) simply no longer sounds like we remember it. We must accept that.
So, the M3 is more car for the money. The BMW also scores highly for both its increased practicality and more premium execution. The four-door M3 is a true flagship in fit and feel. Love and care is evident all over the thing, from the lush materials of its driving environment to the silken machinations of its powertrain and rear axle.
But the M3 is a fair bit thirstier, its hyper-active steering either needs work or asks that you adapt, depending on how generous you’re feeling, and ultimately, when you’re able to indulge these cars in the kind of driving for which they were surely created, it is the 911 Carrera S that’s able to squeeze out that crucial extra drop of adrenaline to make this the closest of photo-finishes.
It’s a draw. A cop-out? Maybe, but sometimes answers are too complex to be tidied up into binary soundbites. And the truth is the BMW M3 and Porsche 911 have as much in common as they do points of difference. Since first they faced off they’ve changed, almost beyond recognition. But both remain relevant. And both are magnificent.
Head to CAR’s YouTube channel for our BMW M4 versus Porsche 911 video