Thursday 4th December 2014

BMW Z3 M Coupe: Catch It While You Can

Flawed gem or a quirky irrelevance? Recent market moves very much suggest a classic in the making

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Is it just me, or do cars that have serious flaws carry far more appeal than any cold pinnacle of engineering perfection? For me, flaws don't detract from an experience, they add character, and character is exactly why I love the quintessentially quirky BMW M Coupe.

Fancied one of these? Get your skates on

And it seems I'm not alone: the M Coupe embers are starting to glow hot in the classifieds. A growing band of us are increasingly appreciating the unique charms of one of Munich's oddest creations. Odd - or barking mad. Looking like a mash-up of MGB GT and the sort of 'shooting brake' that Leslie Phillips might have driven in a 1960s cad-flick, it is an exceedingly cool object.

Let's face it, though, it grew out of pretty inauspicious beginnings. The Z3 M Roadster on which it's based was slammed by almost everyone as one of the biggest disappointments ever. The 1998-2002 M Coupe did redeem many of its faults, however, in particular the torsional rigidity issue, transforming the handling.

The M Coupe is indeed a cracker to drive. At its 2006 Z4 M Coupe launch, BMW wheeled out an example of its old Z3 M Coupe, an opportunity too good for me to miss. Driving the two cars back to back, it would be hard to imagine a bigger demonstration of the difference between 1990s engineering and the sophistication that had galloped in less than a decade later.

Big six, small car, large grin

But assured and rapid though the Z4 was, the earlier car was loads more fun. Its charms are very much of the old school. It's a bruiser, with plenty of horses transmitted to the rear axle, which you're pretty much sitting over, and no traction control (very late cars got it, but not the example I drove). I recall snap oversteer on demand on damp roads, a surprisingly comfortable ride, pace on a devastating scale (5.2 seconds to 60mph is darned strong even by today's standards) and that fabulous gem of a 3.2-litre six.

This is a car with 'classic' writ large upon it: a pukka BMW 'M' two-seater with an utterly unique character and extreme rarity. Just 986 RHD M Coupes were built (821 with the 321bhp S50 engine, the rest with the S54 engine from 2001). Only 609 examples came to the UK, and remarkably around 500 still appear on DVLA records. This is a rare beast in anyone's books.

So what price an M Coupe? Two or three years ago you could have bought one for under £9,000. Today, the cheapest in the classifieds is £11,950, and even though it's a right-hooker you'll have to go to Holland for it.

Is Chris right about the bold Dakar Yellow?

Values are on the rise, for sure. A 1999 Cosmos Black example in RHD with 43,000 miles on the clock came up for auction at the recent NEC Silverstone Auctions sale. Despite an estimate of £15,000 to £18,000, it eventually sold for £23,625. Top whack in the classifieds is now £29,995 for a low-mileage one-owner car.

Colour? Estoril Blue is the classic, and most numerous, colour. This one looks great at £12,995, although it's leggy at over 100,000 miles now.

Personally, I'd hunt down one of just 42 Dakar Yellow Z3 M Coupes registered in the UK, like this one. A striking colour like this always enhances a charismatic shape, and the M Coupe has a boredom bypass the size of the A1M.

So: a BMW M GmbH coupe that's rare, generally speaking easy to get parts for, not outrageously expensive to run, genuinely interesting to drive and uber-cool. A flawed gem and still eminently affordable - but probably not for very long.

[misterblonde]

Always loved this car...could almost persuade my family that it's got room for them as well as me...

[g3org3y]

I love this car, proper cult classic. Prices have always been strong.

Estoril blue or Imola Red for me please.

[JuanEl]

I was at the NEC with the intention of buying that very z3m coupe. After inspecting the car (which was slightly tatty) and history I was shocked to see what price the car finally sold for when you consider buyers commission on top of the sale price and VAT. The car was purchased by what looked like a nice chap on a whim for his other half!

Stunning cars that will no doubt continue to appreciate as the numbers dwindle but for the time being I'll make do with my garage queen E46 M with 25K on the clock

[gigglebug]

Or if you want something slightly different

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

[V8 FOU]

Great cars. Always loved the look of these, and the last of the true analogue cars?

[anonymous-user]

I adore these. TBH I have probably missed the boat as prices are creeping up and really good examples are few and far between. The recent purchase of a 130i seemed like the best compromise of value and fun for me, not in the same league engine wise but it's a more realistic car for me to own and properly run.

[peter450]

Surely the roadster is likely to be the bigger hit in the future ?

[Lordbenny]

A lot slower than I thought it would be.....you can get a nice porsche 996 for the same money!

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

Edited by Lordbenny on Thursday 4th December 10:46

[Vetteran]

Saw one outside Mototechnique the Ferarri restoration people a couple of days ago. Thought it probably was owned by a member of their personnel. Got me thinking along the lines of the article.

[dutchpaddy]

It is no M, but I love my 2.8l I bought earlier this year and do not plan on selling it at all. It often gets more looks and attention than some more modern / expensive sport cars (but that was not the reason why I bought it)

Edited by dutchpaddy on Thursday 4th December 10:51

[The Don of Croy]

I was admiring one of these at Munich Legends about six years ago - the salesman dismissively referred to it as the 'toy' and in some way not a proper car...but it does have an appeal, even now.

It's about the right size - compact two seater - with a nice layout, very nice engine, good seats, what's not to like?

[kambites]

I think this was the last car BMW made that I genuinely desire. There are more recent ones that I can see myself buying in the future because they're the best car that fits my requirements, but not that I really want.

[Mr Whippy]

V8 FOU said:

Great cars. Always loved the look of these, and the last of the true analogue cars?

Z4 M Coupe is essentially the same engine/gearbox, and I think the diff, but with better everything

And it has all the mod-cons for stability if you want them, switchable if you don't.

Plus it's newer so you can get a minter that will last years without issue, vs something that will need £££ on maintenance and will be starting to do stuff like rust etc now.


I'm sure these cars are great, I like them... but if you bought one now it'd have to be a dry weather only car, garaged, do low miles etc, to keep it's value... and that's just a waste for this kinda day to day fun M car imo.

I'd rather buy a Z4 M and enjoy it more often and not worry about the impact on it's value

Dave

[Cheburator mk2]

Such a shame that in standard form the Z3M is absolutely pants to drive - understeers like a pig and mushy brakes to start with, and non supportive seats to finish. Loved the design though...

[SteveSteveson]

peter450 said:

Surely the roadster is likely to be the bigger hit in the future ?

Unlikely. The roadster was never much wanted or that much of a car, even the M version. It had the engine, but didn't have the additional stiffness of the Coupe bodyshell, or the quirky left field styling.

dutchpaddy said:

It is no M, but I love my 2.8l I bought earlier this year and do not plan on selling it at all. It often gets more looks and attention than some more modern / expensive sport cars (but that was not the reason why I bought it)

I didn't realize they did a non M Coupe. Did they only do the M in the UK, or is it just that I was young enough at the time that all my motoring news came from EVO?

[theJT]

Cheburator mk2 said:

Such a shame that in standard form the Z3M is absolutely pants to drive - understeers like a pig and mushy brakes to start with, and non supportive seats to finish. Loved the design though...

I know this isn't a very PH thing to say, but honestly I think the 4pot one may be a better car. Yes, it's relatively slow, and no it doesn't make a particularly inspiring noise, but it's very... "Pointy". You just aim the nose where you want and that is _exactly_ where it goes. Without the weight of the big six up the front it handles and stops very nicely... I've had mine for going on 7 years now, and it's still really quite a fun thing to drive - as long as you accept that you have to carry speed, not gain it.

I do wish it was faster every time I get caught behind a caravan tho. Big power quick overtakes are really not it's forte.

[dutchpaddy]

Indeed UK / right hand drive only came in M version. Whereas Europe / US there was also a 2.8l version which had the M52TUB28 engine. In 2000 BMW replaced it with a 3.0 engine

[FWDRacer]

peter450 said:

Surely the roadster is likely to be the bigger hit in the future ?

With you 100%. Once people have finished fapping themselves into oblivion over driving dynamic benefits of the Breadvan/Coupe. In 12-20-30 years time it'll be a classic market irrelevance (except to proper beards). Both Coupe and Roadster will be scarce in number.

How many people get excited over a MGB roadster over a coupe? And this car is the 1990's equivalent. Flawed but fun, and great to drive roof down. I really enjoyed my shot in a Z3M Roadster. Worth it for the engine alone.

Edited by FWDRacer on Thursday 4th December 11:23

[aka_kerrly]

Love these things, as another poster pointed out the stronger colours like red, yellow and LS blue look tremendous.

Does anyone have much experience of the non M 2.8 versions that were available in the US & mainland Europe???

[kambites]

SteveSteveson said:

I didn't realize they did a non M Coupe. Did they only do the M in the UK, or is it just that I was young enough at the time that all my motoring news came from EVO?

Correct, the non-M version was never sold in the UK. I don't think there was much choice of engines either, maybe just the 2.8 (which I have a feeling was actually a 2.5).