As you may have read about earlier this week, our very own RacingPete is enjoying
trundling about in his brand-new BMW M3
. But it has got us thinking - a 400bhp V8 and a £60k asking price is a long way from the spirit of the high-revving four-pot original, isn't it?
That's a debate that could run and run - you could argue that the M3's no-compromise sporting DNA has remained intact, but we'd also listen to you if you said that the big V8 and hi-tech ancillaries has forever changed the M-car experience.
Whatever your point of view, it's hard to deny that both cars are pretty darn cool. So just as we can salute the M3's achievements of the present, we thought it was high time to contemplate the M3's glorious past, too.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)