BMW M3 E46 2006 INTERIOR DRIVER
BMW M3 E46 2006 INTERIOR SERIES

BMW M3 E46 2006 INTERIOR DRIVER

Harley said of the 1M, for example, 'It was so fully formed and well-rounded that it felt like BMW itself had made it.'Įager to sample some of these wholly wonderful wares, I cleared a few hours in my Monterey Car Week schedule and booked a date with the S1 M5 you see here - the (current) daily driver of Mr. It's because as far as tuners go, Dinan produces some seriously well-executed products. And that wasn't just because it was, you know, amazing. The last time the Dinan name graced the pages of Autoblog, Michael Harley was waxing poetic about the S3-R BMW 1M Coupe, a car that still stands in his ranks as one of the best cars he's ever driven. The lightweight chassis is rounded out with competition-level aerodynamics and all the mandatory safety equipment. While the production version has switched to a turbo six, the DTM version still uses a V8: a 4.0-liter unit with four-valve cylinder heads, mandatory air restrictors and a Bosch ECU to channel 480 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque to the rear set of Hankook racing slicks through a six-speed sequential gearbox. Replacing the M3 DTM that has impressively won half of the DTM races it has contested over the past two years, BMW's latest racing car is made in the mold of the new M4 coupe. Now BMW is set to enter its third season since returning to the DTM, and this is the car with which it intends to do so.

Since returning to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2012, BMW has won the drivers' title once and the constructors' title twice, proving the Bavarian manufacturer to be not only a suitable challenger to the two-horse race between its star- and ring-emblazoned rivals, but the dominant force in German tin-top racing. And in Germany, the DTM championship has managed to lure BMW back onto the grid to open up the battle between Mercedes and Audi. Ford battle to include challengers from Mercedes, Nissan and Volvo.

BMW M3 E46 2006 INTERIOR SERIES

In Australia, the V8 Supercars series has grown from a Holden vs. In the UK, the British Touring Car Championship is enjoying the largest and most diverse grid in its long history. In Northern Europe, rival local series have amalgamated into the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. We may not get to enjoy the fruits of it all, but we're in the midst of a golden age in touring car racing around the world. As if they needed an answer.īMW unleashes new M4 racer on DTM Mon, 15:30:00 EST A quick Google search revealed it to be a heavily modified version of the discontinued 1 Series M Coupe.

On the other end was a representative from Dinan Engineering who wanted to know if I would be interested in driving the company's new S3-R BMW 1M. Since I had little hope of even driving one again, I deliberately pushed all memories of BMW's 1 Series M Coupe from my mind - until my phone rang recently. All told, only 740 units made it to the States, and each was gobbled up at a starting price of $46,135, a price tag history will show to be a bargain. the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe doesn't target boy-racers, it targets enthusiasts.' Yet sadly - and despite strong demand - BMW limited the model's production to just one year. Aggressively short and stubby in stature but packing telltale flared wheel arches that hinted at its potential, the four-seater was a spiritual successor to the original (and much loved) E30 M3 from decades earlier.Īfter spending a day with the original high-performance 1 at New York's Monticello Motor Club, I declared, 'The little coupe with the big flares is old-school retro cool and deliciously fun to drive. It was also a return to form for the brand. In simplest terms, the two-door was a 1 Series fitted with a modified version of the automaker's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, and the running gear (gearbox, driveshaft, axles) from contemporary M3 models. I nearly shed tears a few years ago upon learning that BMW was only planning to produce a very limited quantity of its then-new 2011 1 Series M Coupe. Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coupe Wed, 11:57:00 EST

Bmw m3 e46 2006 interior