The all new E36 M3 had an extremely hard act to follow. The previous E30 M3 had dominated international Motorsport for nearly a decade. Our TV screens were continually bombarded with e30 M3s winning Touring car races and championships all over the planet.

The all new E36 3 series was already a massive showroom hit in the executive saloon car market but how were BMW Motorsport going to offer an M3 when the regulations for Touring Car Racing had changed to the 2 litre Super-Tourer format.

Performance car buyers would not be satisfied with a new M3 being a homologation special sporting a modest 2 litre powerplant. The M3 would need to pack a bigger punch than that.

1992 saw the launch of the 3.0 litre e36 M3 with the all new S50, 24-valve, twin-cam, single vanos, 286 bhp, 320 Nm power plant. Now, us hardcore lovers of all things E30 M3 were cynical. We had fallen for the delicate, flattering, beautifully balanced handling of the E30 M3 with its small and lightweight four-cylinder engine set well back in the engine bay but the E36 was something different.

The mission was to offer a far more user friendly M3 with increased performance. The new E36 M3 had to be capable of a school run, a trip to the shops, a long-distance cross-country charge to a business meeting and weekend trips to the Nürburgring or Spa.

There is no doubt the E36 M3 blended workaday usability with performance and track focus. A new benchmark was set for a general public who now craved far higher levels of road car performance.

The new Z-Axle rear suspension gave the extra performance of the M3 a sure footedness that more than compensated for the heavier and larger 6-cylinder engine used to achieve the higher level of performance.

Although not homologated for the BTCC or WTC,  the 3.0 M3 was homologated for International Group N, a category of motorsport it dominated. Group N was a category of racing usually seen in events like the Nurburgring 24 hour or Spa 24 Hour.

This highly competitive championship required the use of the standard factory power plant, standard gearbox and standard suspension geometry.

With the E36 M3 engine being technically below 3.0 litre at 2990cc allowing the E36 M3 to compete in the under 3.0 litre class of group N with total dominance.

It was a massive success for BMW Motorsport meaning that old adage of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” generated enormous interest from the general public leading to a very successful sales product from BMW M

We are delighted to be able to offer this extraordinary, show winning E36 M3.  Finding cars in this condition is now almost impossible. They were a victim of their own success having been used as daily cars for the first 15 years or so.

Poor UK weather and our salted roads meant all M3s have suffered from corrosion leading to often poor-quality welding and fabrication. Unfortunately, this work was often carried out to a standard that represented the value of the cars then not now.

This M3 has passed through the workshop for detailed inspection and report. The car will leave here with the very highest level of prep ensuring not just up to date routine service work carried out but also the all so important age-related maintenance and future proofing ensuing no nasty surprises. The following will be carried out.

Inspection II service
New brake fluid
New coolant
New tyres all round
Bodyshell protection with clear cavity wax
New MOT

The car will be handed over to the new owner with all original service wallet, handbooks, fully stamped service book, original BMW sales brochures, keys, tools, one of the most comprehensive history files we have seen with every single invoice since 1997 and only 14,000 miles, letters from the BMW dealer to the second owner, old V5s, every MOT, old tax discs, original build sheet, the actual judging sheets from its time competing in national concourse events and even the trophies showings it success. You just need to supply the trophy cabinet.

Please enquire with Barney for full details of this concourse winning E36 M3