Determined to stay at the top of its game, BMW's definitive road car for the track has never stood still. M3 powerplants have evolved over time from four to six to eight cylinders, and now back once again to six - albeit with some turbo enhancement. And the personality of the M3 has changed over time too: starting off as a track-focused E30 coupe before maturing into the high-performance E46 road car and then the E90 luxury performance saloon and coupe. And of course BMW has seen fit to launch convertible variants too - where market demand saw fit.
No doubt the new F80 will move the game on once again, providing a new benchmark against which rival high-performance saloons and coupes like the Mercedes C63 AMG and Audi's RS4/RS5 will be judged. But some of the names have changed, with BMW rebranding the M3 Coupe and Convertible as M4s - leaving the M3 moniker with the saloon version.
What M3 buyers really need to know though is which of these previous M3s is the best current buy? Are some gaining value? Which incarnation delivers the best value for money? And of course, which M3 is destined to become the definitive future classic?
Many thanks to Gary Woollatt at Autobahn and the M3cutters BMW M3 Group Forum for their help with this feature.