RE: Spotted: BMW 320Si
Discussion
Usget said:
The trouble with this car is that they could have made it so much better. "If we're going to do a homologation special, then let's do it properly, Fritz," they could have said.
Instead, to all intents and purposes, it's a normal 320i with some nice wheels.
So no, it's not the spiritual successor to the E30 M3.
You're missing the point of what a homologation special is.Instead, to all intents and purposes, it's a normal 320i with some nice wheels.
So no, it's not the spiritual successor to the E30 M3.
This car is every bit as much of a homologation car as an E30 M3, Escort Cosworth, or 911 GT1. What's different these days is the level of modification from the cooking model which is required to homologate the components for the series that the car is destined to run in.
The 320si doesn't have big brakes and wide arches, as the rules allow the teams to design and fit these without them being fitted to the road cars. It does require the engine to be based on a production unit, hence the trick castings and carbon cover.
Actually it looks like enough performance for real world driving on British roads. 10K seems like a lot to pay (in the UK) for a 6 year old car with this sort of spec though, unless it was a minter I guess. I reckon that I might be more tempted to look for something more interesting at Shed money and put the money in the bank as insurance against an unforeseen mechanical calamity.
When I first saw the headline, I thought it was a typo on a spotting of the "original" 320iS - the E30 variant, which is definitely an interesting - and rare - car.
Short stroke E30 M3 engine, 192bhp and 155lb/ft torque. And no doubt it weighs considerably less than this latter abortion of a homologation special.
Short stroke E30 M3 engine, 192bhp and 155lb/ft torque. And no doubt it weighs considerably less than this latter abortion of a homologation special.
Really interesting and funny little article on a fairly interesting little piece of BMW and britains motorsport history...
yes its no ball of fire, but its also very cheap and hardly different to a normal 320 on price....
and yet 75% of the posters seem to be slagging on the writer and moaning about the car.
Jesus... what more do you want from your free website???
Nice one Dan Trent. I enjoyed it. Personally I won't be buying one... and could see why a 320d would probably be better and faster choice to 99% of people.
But I still enjoyed the little read and geek stuff!
and remember it when it was new...
Thanks Dan and PH.
yes its no ball of fire, but its also very cheap and hardly different to a normal 320 on price....
and yet 75% of the posters seem to be slagging on the writer and moaning about the car.
Jesus... what more do you want from your free website???
Nice one Dan Trent. I enjoyed it. Personally I won't be buying one... and could see why a 320d would probably be better and faster choice to 99% of people.
But I still enjoyed the little read and geek stuff!
and remember it when it was new...
Thanks Dan and PH.
Terminal failure of the engine aside, it's a very interesting car and I celebrate the fact it was made.
A friend had the E30 318Si and another a 325i 3dr, and I must say that the 318Si had plenty of spirit and felt great to be in as a passenger. At the time the 325i was the faster smoother silkier car, but the Si was special!
I actually prefer the 4 door E9x generation of the 3 series. The Coupe looks like a banana somehow, and that criticism extends from lowly models to the M3.
4 door or touring for the win!
A lovely car generally imo. I look to check if I've seen an Si, I don't really give two hoots if I saw an M3.
Maybe that makes me sad but I don't care
Dave
A friend had the E30 318Si and another a 325i 3dr, and I must say that the 318Si had plenty of spirit and felt great to be in as a passenger. At the time the 325i was the faster smoother silkier car, but the Si was special!
I actually prefer the 4 door E9x generation of the 3 series. The Coupe looks like a banana somehow, and that criticism extends from lowly models to the M3.
4 door or touring for the win!
A lovely car generally imo. I look to check if I've seen an Si, I don't really give two hoots if I saw an M3.
Maybe that makes me sad but I don't care
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
Terminal failure of the engine aside, it's a very interesting car and I celebrate the fact it was made.
A friend had the E30 318Si and another a 325i 3dr, and I must say that the 318Si had plenty of spirit and felt great to be in as a passenger. At the time the 325i was the faster smoother silkier car, but the Si was special!
It is an interesting car, but nowhere near as interesting as what BMW have done before.A friend had the E30 318Si and another a 325i 3dr, and I must say that the 318Si had plenty of spirit and felt great to be in as a passenger. At the time the 325i was the faster smoother silkier car, but the Si was special!
Oh, and your friend didn't have a 318Si. They had a 318iS
From memories of my old 318iS (E36) and friends 325i at the time, I definitely preferred the drive in the iS - of course it didn't have the power to be insane, but it was definitely well balanced and always had a smile on my face after darting around the twisties.
I test drove a couple of these when buying my E90. They are a very good car but you have be be 100% on it for any sparkle to emerge, in normal driving it feels like any other underpowered 4cyl M-Sport E90.
99.9% of the time a 6 cyl M-Sport E90 is the much nicer car to drive, this coupled with the dissapointing economy and the looming threat of imenent engine implosion meant i chose the 325.
I totally get the specialness and cool factor of the car, i own an E30 318is too! but as a car to drive it just doesn't add up.
99.9% of the time a 6 cyl M-Sport E90 is the much nicer car to drive, this coupled with the dissapointing economy and the looming threat of imenent engine implosion meant i chose the 325.
I totally get the specialness and cool factor of the car, i own an E30 318is too! but as a car to drive it just doesn't add up.
Any can thats built to p
s off the Marketing people is just what I like, although this is an exercise in making an engine fit regulations of 1 form of motorsport and therefore mildly pointless, but the success they've had in the WTCC and BTCC shows that it works.
Wouldn't mind a drive, but owning one doesn't interest me.
s off the Marketing people is just what I like, although this is an exercise in making an engine fit regulations of 1 form of motorsport and therefore mildly pointless, but the success they've had in the WTCC and BTCC shows that it works. Wouldn't mind a drive, but owning one doesn't interest me.
So a slow 4 door, bigger, heavier car compared to a smaller, lighter more powerful 2 door coupe. The only thing they have in common is that they were built for homologation but comparing it to an M3 is tenuous at best.
A much closer match to a modern version of an M3 is the 128i. It's the most powerful NA engine you can get in a one series coupe, has about the same power as an E30 M3, is a COUPE and is better match size\weight wise too. Just a pity that they never offered the 128i over here.
A much closer match to a modern version of an M3 is the 128i. It's the most powerful NA engine you can get in a one series coupe, has about the same power as an E30 M3, is a COUPE and is better match size\weight wise too. Just a pity that they never offered the 128i over here.
Porkie said:
Really interesting and funny little article on a fairly interesting little piece of BMW and britains motorsport history...
yes its no ball of fire, but its also very cheap and hardly different to a normal 320 on price....
and yet 75% of the posters seem to be slagging on the writer and moaning about the car.
Jesus... what more do you want from your free website???
Nice one Dan Trent. I enjoyed it. Personally I won't be buying one... and could see why a 320d would probably be better and faster choice to 99% of people.
But I still enjoyed the little read and geek stuff!
and remember it when it was new...
Thanks Dan and PH.
yes its no ball of fire, but its also very cheap and hardly different to a normal 320 on price....
and yet 75% of the posters seem to be slagging on the writer and moaning about the car.
Jesus... what more do you want from your free website???
Nice one Dan Trent. I enjoyed it. Personally I won't be buying one... and could see why a 320d would probably be better and faster choice to 99% of people.
But I still enjoyed the little read and geek stuff!
and remember it when it was new...
Thanks Dan and PH.
Much rather read about something interesting, with a bit of genuine motorsport providence.
astirling said:
What does how it was marketed have to do with it? The author feels is shares some of the same thinking and qualities, that's how he came to the opinion.
So much critiscism on PH these days, of the writers, other posters and virtually every car that's talked about. Losing interest in these forums at a rapid rate as a result, and I don't imagine I'm the only one.
I would have thought that the author would have answered for himself. So much critiscism on PH these days, of the writers, other posters and virtually every car that's talked about. Losing interest in these forums at a rapid rate as a result, and I don't imagine I'm the only one.
I appreciate and respect his opinion, however my own opinion differs from his and is not (as wrongly perceived) a criticism.
I believe one of the purposes of the forum was the sharing of different opinions. If we all thought the same then there would be very little discussion.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff