RE: Spotted: BMW 320Si

Wednesday 30th January 2013

Spotted: BMW 320Si

The real successor to the E30 M3 or a marketing exercise for the gullible? We err on the former...



Depending on where you stand appreciation of the E90 BMW 320Si marks you out either as a discerning enthusiast for motorsport-honed homologation specials. Or the biggest sap to ever worship at the altar of 'race on Sunday, sell on Monday' marketing nonsense.

Si was a homologation model for WTCC glory
Si was a homologation model for WTCC glory
For those of us in the former camp the Si is one of the cooler homologation cars ever built and an elegant riposte to those for whom bottom line horsepower figures and mine's bigger than yours displacement seem to be the only arbiter of performance credibility. It could, at a push, even be considered the nearest BMW has ever actually come to building a spiritual successor to the E30 M3 and much closer to that car's core values than anything that's worn that badge since.

The very real danger you could, were it not for those lovely 18-inch Motorsport wheels, lose your treasured Si among the 320d throng crowded outside any given service station on the British motorway network is one of the many cool things about it. Likewise the perverse pleasure in the fact that for all its purist WTCC connections it's not actually that fast. Skins of rice puddings - and, indeed, most hot hatch drivers - have little to fear from its 173hp or 147lb ft of torque. 0-62mph of 8.1 seconds. Nor, in fact, do 320d drivers, who have a couple of tenths and diesel torque in hand.

Carbon cam cover among the upgrades
Carbon cam cover among the upgrades
It's the kind of engine that needs its neck wringing to really make progress - GT86 doubters need not apply - but, happily, it's built for exactly that. In an age of heavy-nosed, low-rev sluggers this zingy, revvy four-cylinder 3 Series is a real revelation and, perhaps, a more relevant performance car than many 'real' M cars. That it had to be built, probably to the dismay of the sales and marketing department, to allow the motorsport division to win at WTCC (Andy Priaulx taking the 2005 crown in the Si) is deeply cool to the more rebellious among us too.

And, oh, the geekery! Like the fact the homologation roots mean a more oversquare configuration (bore up by 1mm, stroke reduced by 2mm), bigger intake and exhaust valves and ditching Valvetronic for cleaner high-rev response. Or that the cylinder head was cast in the same facility as F1 engines. And the carbon cam cover (you don't have that on a 320d...) helps save 10kg and lower the centre of gravity.

Private Le Mans Blue example looks good
Private Le Mans Blue example looks good
Just be responsible about how, with whom and where you deploy such critical information. Women will literally throw themselves at you. As they rush for the door.

Having made the case for why you might want one here's an example of one you could actually buy. There are five currently listed in the classifieds, including two at BMW main dealers for, respectively, £8,995 and £9,850 and with respectable mileages. For the 49K on the clock and rather smart Le Mans blue paintwork this privately offered example for £8,500 looks rather tempting though, even if the fuzzy pics mean you'd probably want to check it out in the metal first. Given an equivalent 'regular' 320i isn't much cheaper and a similar vintage main dealer 320d can cost a couple of grand more there's no excuse not to indulge your inner geek and make like Priaulx.


BMW 320Si (E90)
Engine:
1,998cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Power (hp): 173@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 147@4,250rpm
MPG: 31.7mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 223g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 49,700
Price new: £24,975
Yours for: £8,500

See the original advert here.

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

jmesgotav8

Original Poster:

99 posts

149 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Struggling to see why I would drop 10k on one of these. Was there any chassis mods or is it just bling wheels and a special (but slow) engine?

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
jmesgotav8 said:
Struggling to see why I would drop 10k on one of these. Was there any chassis mods or is it just bling wheels and a special (but slow) engine?
+1, those wheels do look very nice though lick

SpudLink

5,669 posts

191 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
I wasn't aware of tho 320si homolgation routes.

I have a similar opinion to the 1st poster. If it had superior suspension and brakes I could see the appeal. And maybe a few 'cup' style weight saving measures.

dibblecorse

6,872 posts

191 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Thats a proper tenuous article ..... its a lowly powered 320 that no one other than an uber geek would care about its roots, its not special and it never will be .....

simonigrale

918 posts

205 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
I drove one once. It made a lot of noise and didn't really go anywhere.

I think for this type of car you would rather have a diesel.

I appreciate the motorsport connection and the lighter engine ect. but anyone buying this type of car would want a diesel surely.

You don't want to be revving the bks off a 3 series saloon with the family in the car. You'd want to be pushing on with effortless torque....

Its only 20 hp more than the 320i and 10 kilos lighter.

If you were wanting to spend sub 10k on a special 3 series this is the car....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

The stats speak for themselves, plus the Alpina suspension set up is much better on UK roads.



Edited by simonigrale on Wednesday 30th January 11:44

Froomee

1,418 posts

168 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
The wheels are lovely, i regularly see s 1 series locally with them on.....

MiseryStreak

2,929 posts

206 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Yeah, a spiritual successor to the E30 M3, except for the fact that the 20 year older car had much more power, a lot less weight and a whole heap more desirability.

Greg 172

233 posts

200 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Pffft. £8,500? Could put that down as a deposit on 135i, etc. etc....

simonigrale

918 posts

205 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Shouldn't a homologation car look like this ?


The Don of Croy

5,975 posts

158 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Perhaps this is more do-able option than finding a tidy E30 318iS I've been hankering after...

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
I'd love to see a version of the 1-series along these lines.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
That would be great if it weren't for the s/h value of M3's and M5's. A curiosity nothing more.

MagicalTrevor

6,476 posts

228 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
I believe that the engine also say lower in the engine bay to lower the centre of gravity. Might be wrong though.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Don't quite a few of these develop 'engine problems' - often resulting in a new engine?

garypotter

1,483 posts

149 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
BMW 320SI, just screams desperation from a manufacturer who lost its way and alot of client with an ugly duckling design!! regardless of the homologation blah blah blah.


Usget

5,426 posts

210 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
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.

Bladedancer

1,260 posts

195 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Don't get me wrong, it ain't a bad car but this goes nowhere near the truly interesting homologation cars of old.

excel monkey

4,544 posts

226 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
Usget said:
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.
More of a spiritual succesor to the E30 318iS. That's no bad thing.

*Al*

3,830 posts

221 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
A friend had a white one which i drove, it was so slow! Don't waste your money.

X5TUU

11,908 posts

186 months

Wednesday 30th January 2013
quotequote all
really struggling to see any point of this ... it has a quite pathetic engine and its the ugly 4door 3series ... seems pointless to me