In today’s world cars rarely are created with a single handed passion; but sadly are the culmination of consumer focus groups, competitive analysis, marketing brand strategy, bean counting and safety engineering. What comes of this process? Vanilla…Plain and simple, modern cars are more similar than dissimilar. My passion for the German makes historically stems from the fact that they were engineering driven companies that then pushed their product down to their marketing departments to sell. As a lifelong BMW fanatic I have long been passionate about the “Ultimate Driving Machine”, sadly BMW of late has fallen into the trap of chasing volume above all else. Modern BMW? Vanilla…
Why do I tell you all that? Simply because the M-Coupe represents the polar opposite of Vanilla… It’s the car that to this day I am FLOORED that BMW ever green-lighted? I can almost envision a crowded German pub, electronic music pounding, pints of empty beer steins and a dedicated cadre of true car enthusiasts huddled over a hastily drawn napkin sketch of this car… This hastily drawn sketch turns into an afterhours secret skunkwerks project and somehow it gets presented to management. That IS the Z3 M Coupe!
I have loved this car since it was introduced and two years ago I bought this example. I am re-orienting my collection and have made the tough decision to not hold onto this car (still not 100% committed!). As you all know, I am very particular and wanted a very specific combination. I looked high and low for an Imola Red example with the two-tone Red/Black leather. Sure its loud and obnoxious, but so is this car! They just look too plain with the solid Black interior. I also wanted a no excuses example; to me that means 100% original paint, full history from new and near concours condition. This is THAT example…
A few highlights:
1999 BMW M-Coupe
32,xxx original miles
100% original paint
Full history from new
No accidents, stories, excuses, Clean Carfax
1 of 170 in this configuration (Imola Red/Red Sunroof)
1 of 2,180 S52 M-Coupes
Upgrades:
18” BBS RS-GT in BBS Gold Centers/Polished lips
H&R Springs ~25mm lower than stock
Brembo Front Brakes
OEM E36 M3 Sport steering wheel recovered in Perforated/Smooth leather with Tri-color stitching
Coco Mats (as new OEM Black carpet mats as well)
LeatherZ center armrest
If you haven’t had a chance to drive one of these cars, you are in for a treat! Take a classic BMW 240hp inline six, a proper 5-speed manual, low curb weight, an antiquated E30 rear suspension setup and what do you have? A car with SOUL! The motor is silky smooth, the steer communicative and the rear end will steer with the throttle in a way no modern car does! This car literally screams “drive me stupid and I will erase your frustrating day at work”!
As you can see in the photos, this car is antiseptic clean (are you surprised?) inside and out. I did one long road trip to Vegas, but other than that it has just been very lightly used. The paint and body is spectacular as is the interior. Look closely, it doesn’t even have the AC button/console crack that 99% of them seem to have.
I’m not sure what else to tell you, just steel yourself to be the center of attention with this car! I will warn you, its love or hate! I have people flipping U-turns to follow me to Starbucks just so they can see the car. I also had a women at the gas station the other day flat tell me “that is the UGLIEST car I have ever seen!”. I wanted to make a nasty comment, but then realized the car is actually somewhat ugly. Isn’t that its beauty? God, I love this car!
So are you the right person to be the owner of this “Clownshoe”? Do you have thick skin and being stalked doesn’t cause you anxiety?